How Long Have A Cappella Groups Been Around?

In the fall of 2010, The A Cappella Blog invited every collegiate a cappella group we could find to participate in a survey. Our objective was to develop a better understanding of current trends in a cappella—what groups are or are not doing and to what degree.

Over 300 groups from across the US and abroad responded to the survey. Throughout our 2010 publication season, we will review results from this survey and talk about what our findings mean. We welcome and encourage groups to look over the information to learn, to benchmark and to satisfy their own curiosity.

This edition’s question: How long has your group been in existence?

Responses to this question ran a pretty wide spectrum. Of the groups surveyed, about 13 percent had been active for fewer than five years, while 25 percent had existed for between six and 10 years, 21 percent for 11 to fifteen years, and about 40 percent for more than 16 years.

The array of responses is demonstrative of the make up of today’s collegiate a cappella world. There are groups with a great deal of tradition, which have survived all sorts of cultural change and, in many cases, transformed themselves over time. Take the Tufts Beelzebubs—recently famous for their appearance on the inaugural run through of The Sing-Off and lending their vocals to “Teenage Dream” on Glee, but existing for over forty years. On the flip side, you have successful groups like Rutgers Casual Harmony and CSUN Acasola that were around for less than a year before they started turning heads in ICCA competition, and that seem like permanent fixtures on the collegiate scene now, despite each being founded less than a decade ago.

Given that over 86 percent of the responding groups reported they had been around for longer than five years, it seems as though many groups are surviving and thriving. The fact that still more groups are still arriving on the scene with each passing year bodes well for the long term growth of the community.