The A Cappella Holiday Season - Gift Ideas & Video Selections
In The 5s, an ACB contributor breaks down an a cappella-related topic with a list of 5.
In this edition, we’re taking a look at The 5s of the a cappella holiday season..
Five Gifts for the A cappella Enthusiast In Your Life
1) A pitchpipe or tuning fork. An out of tune a cappella group rarely sounds pretty, and unless a group is fortunate to have someone with perfect pitch, they’ll need one of these doo-hickeys.
2) A top-notch a cappella compilation CD. Whether you go with The Best of Collegiate A Cappella (BOCA), The Best of High School A Cappella (BOHSA), Voices Only, Sing or one of the other premium collections folks are putting out these days, there are few better ways to master one’s craft than to appreciate and learn from those who are already on top of the world.
3) A top-notch non-a cappella CD. No one’s knowledge of music is truly comprehensive. Pick an exemplar from another generation or another genre to blow a young musician’s mind—you never know what new direction you might help guide someone in.
4) A CASA membership. A membership to The Contemporary A Cappella Society will give your a cappella enthusiast access to a wealth of resources and content to indulge and deepen his or her passion.
5) A black top. How many groups haven’t worn black tops as part of their uniform at one time or another? Pick something stylish and get your loved one ahead of the fashion game.
Five Holiday A Cappella Performances To Help Get in the Spirit
1) ”Miracle” by The Yeshiva University Maccabeats The Jewish holiday video masters are back with their latest Hannukah offering.
2) “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” as performed by University of Oregon Divisi and On the Rocks This super-sized, co-ed super group came together in 2008 to deliver a holiday classic in simply lovely form.
3) ”That’s What Christmas Means to Me” as performed by Nick Lachey and the members of the season two cast of The Sing-Off It’s network-sanitized a cappella at its finest. Sure, this is cheesy, but it’s a fun and well put together spin on all-too-often-forgotten holiday favorite.
4) "The 12 Days of Christmas" as performed by The US Navy Band Comedic a cappella song stylings with a classical sound; like SNC, these guys can't seem to settle on just one song, and can't stop entertaining their live audience.
5) ”The 12 Days of Christmas” as performed by Straight No Chaser This is perhaps the most iconic holiday a cappella song of all-time. It became an instant classic and catapulted SNC into the mainstream for very good reason. Check it out.