Not one person alone can stop climate change.

It requires teamwork and cooperation, which encompasses the idea of the “co-opera.”

Puja Thapa / Business manager

On Friday, March 23, a group of musicians from the School for International Training (SIT) in Brattleboro, VT came to Keene State College to present their original co-opera, “Secret of the Seasons.” A co-opera is a show that is not only put on by the performers, but also includes the audience members. Throughout the show the audience was invited to sing, dance and play along with the musicians when they were handed percussion instruments.

Between songs, viewers were asked to discuss certain topics as they arose with fellow members seated around them.

After a brief discussion, all the groups came back together and were asked to share what they talked about.

The show’s writer and Professor at SIT, John Ungerleider, explained his inspiration behind the creation of the co-opera. “People talk about issues with climate change and how we address them, especially how we address the emotional challenge,” Ungerleider explained. He continued, “The music helps us deal with the emotions, especially fear, denial, and how we transform that into action. It’s such a big issue and it’s easier to go, ‘I can’t deal with it, want can I do?’ So hopefully this helps people shift their focus.”

When asked what Ungerleider hoped the take-away from the performance would be, he responded, “To figure out by the end of the show what are some personal and political actions they could take, and it’s not just personal, it’s not just recycling and changing light bulbs. It’s got to be some social policy, some collective action.”

Assistant professor of environmental studies Thomas Webler first saw the performance in Brattleboro back in October.

From there, he decided it would be beneficial to his students, as well as community members, to see the show. “We need to communicate in lots of different ways about climate change. It helps us to personally reconcile what’s going on and talk about our personal reaction, but to also communicate and be with others in a positive space about it,” Webler said.

During the performance, Webler did a presentation about how global warming occurs.

After explaining the process, Webler invited audience members up to do a series of demonstrations to simplify the science behind climate change. Senior and environmental studies major, Hannah Rettig, decided to attend the event after receiving a recommendation from Webler to come, and was pleasantly surprise by the show. Rettig said, “I heard about it through Dr. Webler and I was interested to see what it was about.” Rettig added, “I really had no idea what to expect, but I really liked the music and I felt they did a great job with that.” Rettig continued, “This is something that we’re all working towards as environmental studies majors and to come here and hear people sing about it, because we talk a lot about it all the time, but to add music was really fun.”

The point that Ungerleider kept pushing was the process of moving away from fear to change. Earth is continuing to experience extreme weather conditions all over the world. However, instead of worrying about what could happen, Ungerleider urged people to think about the changes that they can make to help. While not a single person alone can fix the environmental crisis, the little changes can help. As John F. Kennedy once said, “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.”

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscquinox.com

On Saturday, Feb. 24, the band Johnny Fireseed and the Junkyard Dogs taught an audience full of children the importance of recycling through the power of music.

Angelique Inchierca / Photo Editor

The group was formed by vocals, guitar and cajon player Patiño Vazquez, who has been playing music for 40 years. “It’s my whole life. I grew up in a musical family. My mother is a classical tried pianist for Cuba and my sister played piano too,” Vazquez explained.

When he got older, Vazquez’s mother signed him up for piano lessons, but Vazquez said he wanted to march to the beat of his own drum. “[My mom] signed me up for piano lessons, and I had to rebel cause I couldn’t play the same instrument as my sister or my mom, so I went searching for my own instrument,” Vazquez said. “The first one was a clarinet, the second was the saxophone and then I saw a guitar for sale at a yard sale for forty bucks. I was working a paper route so I could buy it with my own money, and that’s what I did.”

After the purchase of his guitar, Vazquez continued with the creation of his music career. “I played loud and joined a punk band at fourteen, and I toured North America four times with that band. I got a great experience, and it has been snowballing ever since.”

One of the unique things about Johnny Fireseed and the Junkyard Dogs is that every single one of their instruments is made out of recycled material. As the show progressed, every time Vazquez introduced a new instrument, he would explain to the audience what that instrument was made out of. The idea to make instruments out of recycled material came to Vazquez when he found some wood in a dumpster. “I was always ticking with instruments too and fixing my guitars and I realized that when I got that piece of wood out of the dumpster I was like, ‘I’m going to make a guitar out of this,’” Vazquez explained.

Attending the performance was Jessica Gelter and her daughter Evelyn Gelter. Jessica had not heard of Johnny Fireseed and the Junkyard Dogs prior to the performance, but decided it would be a good show to bring her daughter to. “It looked really cool with the whole recycled instruments thing,” Jessica said.

When Evelyn was asked what her favorite instrument was, she said, “That one,” and pointed to the theremin, which is controlled by relative position of your hand around the antenna.

Although the show had to end with two songs remaining due to a time constraint, both Jessica and Evelyn expresses they enjoyed the concert. “I thought it was great, I was sad it had to end. It was just really groovy and really fun,” Jessica explained. Evelyn then added,“It’s interesting and inspires people to try new things.”

After the performance, audience members were invited to a reception to create their own instruments out of recycled material. The reception also included cookies and lemonade.

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

Dance is more than just movement, it’s a universal language.

Photo illustration by Sebastien Mehegan / Administrative Executive editor

On Wednesday, Feb. 14, seventeen people lost their lives in a school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Among the killed was 14-year-old Jamie Guttenberg. At a candlelight vigil on Feb. 15 honoring all who were killed in the tragedy, Guttenberg’s father, Fred Guttenberg described her as “the life of the party, the energy in the room, she made people laugh, and she was always known.”

Included in all her qualities that have been shared with the world by her family and friends, Guttenberg was a talented dancer.

On Feb. 17 and 18, those competing in dance competitions all around the country were asked to wear orange ribbons, Guttenberg’s favorite color, in honor of the late 14 year old. However, the outreach of the orange ribbons are now exceeding the platform of dance competitions. Videos of people dancing all over the world wearing the orange ribbons are now surfacing on the internet. The videos are seen to reach as far as Paris.

In the wake of the tragedy in Parkland, dance has served as a coping mechanism to bring people together.

When talking to Keene State College dancers about how they feel dance brings people together, they all expressed a similar idea; dance is a universal concept.

Senior Amanda Untracht said, “Dance is a language. Whether or not you understand it, there’s still this feeling that anyone who observes it, and or does it, leaves with. So it’s not so much a spoken language, but there’s this overarching theme of connection with it because it’s not spoken.”

While there is a theme of connection as Untracht explained, junior Faith Pudlo pointed out you don’t have to have a similar background or interests as someone to be able to dance with them. “You don’t have to have anything in common with someone and you can create any sort of dance. You can have a relationship through movement without knowing anything about them, or even being able to speak the same language,” Pudlo continued. “I think the universal aspects of dance are incredible and I think globally that has always been a constant with movement.”

The dancers were also asked what being a dancer means to them. Sophomore Chelsea Hance said, “To me, it’s about expression. I could say what I want through my movement without actually talking. It’s very free and it’s a form of letting go.”

What makes dancers unique is that they can all have a different reason for why they dance and what it means to them. Pudlo talked about what being a dancer means to her, personally. “Being a dancer, for me, mainly means having an understanding of my own body and space and awareness, but also being able to tune into the energy and movement of others. And incorporating that into my everyday life,” Pudlo said.

Untracht summarized what dance means to most dancers by saying, “It means the world to me.”

Whether you’re dancing in room or dancing in a famous company, there is a unity that can be found across all spectrums.

Dance does not see race, gender or wealth. It’s a form of communication that can be used to bring all different kinds of people together. When dancers can unite over a common heartbreak or common movement, that unity can be powerful.

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

We are currently living in a world of instant gratification. With a click of a button, or a tap on a screen, media consumers are given their desired entertainment within seconds after requesting it.

Online streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu put the power back in the hands of the viewer by giving them the ability to watch what they want, when they want to watch it, whether it be a network program, or the streaming platform’s original series.

Back in 2009, when my family first signed up for Netflix, I excitement struck my house when the movie we were all waiting to see finally arrived in the mail.

All of us gathered around the TV and watched whatever movie we had requested and then, a few days later, it would get sent back in the mail.

However, after a year or so, my family canceled the DVD shipment because of the growth of instant online content.

According to the Los Angeles Times, in 2016, DVD sales decreased by seven percent since the previous year and subscriptions to online streaming platforms increases by almost 23 percent.

This data reflects the claim that consumers are no longer interested in ownership, but rather instantaneous access.

With the growing accessibility of online streaming, media consumers are seeing a rise in independent programs, or straight to Netflix series. Some of the most popular television series within the last year have been Netflix’s originals.

At the 2017 Emmys, the only network that won more awards than Netflix (20 awards) was HBO (29 awards).

In comparison, all together, the streaming companies of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu took home 32 awards at the 2016 event.

However, streaming companies’ abilities to produce original content does not reach only as far as television shows.

On Dec. 22, 2017, Netflix released the anticipated film, Bright.

The film starred Will Smith, and Joel Edgerton.

Upon the film’s release, it became one of the website’s most streamed programs ever, although it did receive harsh reviews from critics.

Netflix’s capability of making content instantly available to viewers surprised the public during the 2018 Super Bowl.

When the company aired a preview for an upcoming movie, viewers were shocked to see that the movie, The Cloverfield Paradox, would be immediately released after the game.

The movie’s release came with no previous information that it was even being created.

According to Vanity Fair, a few hours before the Superbowl, the actors had a conference call with the film’s producer J.J. Abrams when he finally informed the cast about the title of the movie, and it’s plan to release after the Superbowl; neither of which the cast had any prior knowledge of.

Abrams explained during a London screening of the movie, the film’s surprise release was, “We thought, what was the most fun way we could surprise people with this. We went and had this totally weird, top-secret, creepy meeting with Netflix, and they were so great. They thought it was an amazing idea. And in six to eight weeks, this went from ‘could we do this’ to ‘this is on, and we just need to shut up about it.’”

With Netflix now having the ability to instantly release movies and or television shows with only a few hours of notice to the public, people are left asking, How could this change the entertainment industry?

If Netflix, Hulu or Amazon can simply release blockbusters straight to their streaming platform, then what’s the point of even leaving the house?

If online streaming continues in this new concept, the money movies make in the box office could be severely affected.

Studios are already struggling to get moviegoers into the theaters, and Netflix’s experiment with the online release of The Coverfield Paradox could put these industries in further jeopardy.

As technology advances, it will be interesting to see how studios handle this change.

Will they team up with streaming companies, or try to fight against them?

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

The Night Owl Café at Keene State College filled with music on Thursday, Feb. 15, as country singer and former NBC Voice contestant Angie Keilhauer played an acoustic set of both original and covered songs. The singer opened with the Amy Winehouse classic, “Valerie” and concluded with “Gravity” by John Mayer.

Colton mccracken / senior photographer

Making connections with the music she performs and experiences in life, Keilhauer explained why Ed Sheeran’s song “Perfect” is currently her favorite song to play. “I know [Ed Sheeran] got engaged, and I find context in songs. I feel like I wrap myself around them more. Knowing that he just got engaged made the song more intense to listen to,” Keilhauer said.

During the show, Keilhauer took requests from audience members playing a diverse set from Dolly Parton to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. When an audience member requested Keilhauer play Aerosmith, she did not shy away from the challenge. Impressing many listeners with her rendition of “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” first-year Lindsey Ljungberg identified that song in particular as her favorite. “I loved it she was really good. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but probably the Aerosmith song was the best,” Ljungberg said.

Throughout the performance, Keilhauer told stories about her musical voyage, and how she ended up where she is today. Teaching herself guitar from YouTube, Keilhauer began on her path of becoming a professional performer after she quit her job at an auto- salvage yard and signed a contract to be a full-time musician on a cruise ship. The job involved her playing three to four hours every day for six months. After returning from the cruise, the singer went on tour and later competed on The Voice in 2016.

“It was an incredible, unexplainable moment,” Keilhauer described the feeling when she saw the chairs turn around. “I remember being like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to love this experience and stop worrying about what’s going to happen afterwards. Just enjoy the moment,’ Keilhauer said. “I looked up at the crowd, and it felt like the crowd got louder when I looked up, and I remember getting lost in that sound and then all of a sudden looking down and three judges had turned around.”

Although three judges (Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Pharrell Williams) turned around for Keilhauer, her journey on the competition show did not begin there. Keilhauer had auditioned multiple times to be on the show, but had not made it past the blind auditions until the 2016 season. However, Keilhauer did not view her failures as a reason to give up, but as a reason to try again. “I think that you have to have a relationship with failure, and actually seek it,” Keilhauer said. “You have to play the odds and fail often to get the success you want.”

Keilhauer has recently signed a contract with a manager from Nashville, and is scheduled to release a new album this summer, adding her total original music albums to three.

First-year Kim Kalis attended the KSC show, and was blown away by the singer’s performance. Kalis expressed, “I thought she was really good, I really like her. I’m probably going to listen to all her music right now. I was really impressed.”

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

Whether it’s slam poetry or a simple Haiku, poetry has been a form of expressing emotions for centuries. On Saturday, Feb. 10, poet Neil Hilborn came to the Night Owl Café at Keene State College. Completing multiple American as well as world tours, Hilborn has become the most watched poet ever. His poetry consists of comical poems like “rejected Tinder bios,” but also more serious issues such as his personal battles against mental illness. Hilborn was introduced to poetry at a young age by his mother and began writing shortly after. “My mom read poems to me a lot as bedtime stories. It just seemed like a natural way to think about language for me. I wrote my first poem when I was about eight.”

Colton mccracken / senior photographer

From there, Hilborn started creating his poetry whenever he found inspiration. Hilborn explained his two different sources of inspiration when writing his poetry. “To me there are two different kinds of inspiration, along with two different writing processes. There’s the one you always hope for, like that lightbulb moment, which always happens when I’m doing something else. Like I’m biking or washing dishes; doing something that’s taking up my attention. Then my brain is like, ‘You have to write things right now,’ and I’m like, ‘Cool brain! Yes, I do!’ But I can’t depend on that. It’s not super common,” Hilborn said.

His second method, Hilborn explained, is getting inspiration for other authors and their poetry. “So usually what I do is I take whatever poetry book I’m into and I just read, and I dissect, and I think about it too f—— hard until I find a line, or an image, or a structure I want to steal it and I’ll steal it,” Hilborn joked. “It’s all about consuming the art form. How else am I going to learn new ways to write if I don’t see the ways other people are writing,” Hilborn explained.

The audience was filled with KSC students eager to see the slam poet. Junior Randii Elie, who has been watching Hilborn online for 6 years, expressed her excitement seeing him perform live. “I’m a huge fan, I’ve been watching Neil since I was 14. This was like a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch him,” Elie continued. “It was a bit of an emotional catharsis. There is something completely different about getting to see it and hear it, rather than watch it online.”

Sharing a similar opinion was sophomore Sara Olson. Olson was also familiar with Hilborn’s poetry., “I love Neil Hilborn and watched him on YouTube before. I’m a big fan. His poetry makes me feel like there are people like me in the world,” Olson said.

Although much of Hilborn’s poetry centers around the ideas of mental illness, Hilborn often jokes about his own struggles, and incorporates them into this poetry. The concept of being about to laugh at yourself is something Hilborn hopes his fans will take away from his poetry. Hilborn explained, “It’s okay not to take yourself so seriously all the time. I talk about a bunch of heavy stuff like depression and suicide. I think there’s something to be said about uncutting the seriousness of what you’re going through, while also acknowledging the darkness. I think balance is important,” Hilborn added. “Don’t take yourself seriously all the time because it can be therapeutic finding ways to laugh at yourself.” Hilborn has a new poetry book titled “Future” is coming out on Apr. 6 and begins a national tour on Feb. 15.

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

Vagina. It’s a word you don’t hear casually thrown around in everyday conversation. But what if it was? On Friday, Feb. 9 and Saturday, Feb. 10, Keene State College put on it’s annual production of Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues.

Colton McCracken / Senior Photographer

While the title itself could be misleading, the play is not about talking vaginas. The monologues instead focus on the women who are giving them.

From comical stories about discovering yourself “down there,” to more serious ones about harassment in the workplace, the monologues showcase the joys as well as struggles of being a women.

When dealing with a topic which has become so prominent, especially with the rise of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, it was critical for both the actresses and the directors to do the subject justice. Senior and director Alyson Lear explained the work that went into creating the production.

“We have been rehearsing since we got back from break, and we had auditions before break. It has been a labor of love, but it has been very worth it,” Lear said.

The cast rehearsed for four weekends, three times a weekend. Despite the time commitment, the actresses were happy to take part in the show. Katrina Feraco, who graduated from the college in December, has been part of the production for two years.

Growing up, Feraco’s father had been on the board at Bridges, the domestic violence support center in Nashua and Milford, New Hampshire, which is how she originally heard about the Vagina Monologues.

“He had always talked about ‘Oh the [Bridges] do the vagina monologues as a fundraiser every year,’” Feraco explained. When she found out that KSC did its own production, Feraco auditioned. “I did it because I know how important MCVP [Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention] is to the Monadnock area. They deserve all the funding and support they can get from the community, and if me getting up there telling other women’s stories [raises awareness], then I’ll do it,” Feraco said.

In addition to raising awareness for sexual violence, Lear wanted to eliminate some of the stigma that surrounds the vagina. “I think we need to be able to talk about vagina’s more,” Lear expressed. “Just the word alone is taboo and I think that itself is a reason to be getting on stage and screaming about it.”

Agreeing with Lear, assistant director Dakota Umbro added, “We [women] have to empower each other.”

Senior women and gender studies major Emma Simpson attended the show and expressed her enjoyment of the performance as well as the importance of it. “I think it’s really wonderful to come and listen to women’s stories,” Simpson said.

Simpson also added her positive feedback of this year’s production, and said specifically, “It was wonderful. It always is, but I felt like this year in particular was really great.”

The Vagina Monologues delivered an important message of female empowerment that Lear hoped audience members took away for the show.

Lear said, “There’s no shame in bodies and living life with whatever body you have. Embrace it and own it.”

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

On Sunday Jan. 28, interested students, faculty and community members piled into the Alumni Recital Hall to see Resident Artist Christopher Swist celebrate his fifteenth year at Keene State College. Although he is better known for his music created on the marimba, Swist decided to showcase his talent on the vibraphone to commemorate the event. The recital was Swist’s first vibraphone-exclusive concert.

With a concert of this importance, Swist explained the large amount of practice and planning that went into the performance.

Benajil Rai / Multimedia Director

“I spent my whole winter break here,” Swist joked. Swist then acknowledged the contributions of all those involved and their willingness to help. “I knew that if I asked my friends to write pieces that they were going to write something, and that’s always exciting,” Swist expressed.

Unique to many of the performances at KSC, the entire program was written by professors and faculty at the college. First-year Kacie Palmacci expressed that that was one of the factors which made her decide to attend the recital.

“I knew that a lot of the pieces were faculty composed, so I thought that was really cool. I have or have had all of the professors that are listed [in the program],” Palmacci stated. In addition, after each song, the lights were turned on in order to give Swist the opportunity to acknowledge the composer sitting in the audience.

During the performance, three new pieces were debuted. Featured composer, Andrew Smith’s piece “Solder,” was well received amongst audience members. “It [Solder] had a lot of dissonance and a lot of contrast with long held out notes; not a lot of rhythmic stuff but definitely more haunting and eerie,” Junior Corinne Colgrove expressed.

Also declaring “Solder” as the piece that stood out to her was Palmacci. “I really liked Solder by Andrew Smith. I thought that one was really cool, and I like his style.”

While having to learn new music is challenging, Swist expressed he believes the most difficult part of playing any sort of percussion is the choreography of it. Swist explained the importance of using a specific mallet to obtain the correct sound the composer is looking for.

“You literally have to organize where you set your mallets; whether on the left or right, and give yourself enough time [to change mallets],” Swist said.

All the music showcased in the recital was modern, with the oldest piece being from 1998. This made for a performance that was not typical for the Redfern Arts Center Palmacci explained.

“This is definitely one of a kind for Keene State. Most of the performances here are straight forward, very classical pieces, but this is definitely breaking those boundaries.”

Swist’s goal for this recital was to create unique and original music, which is something he has loved doing since he was an undergraduate.

“Some people like to listen to what’s comfortable and they know, but a lot of people like to listen to something that is completely unknown and original. I think most of the pieces in this program are.”

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

In an exhibit that ran from Dec. 4-8, Keene State College students in the Sculpture II and Sculpture III classes were able to showcase their creations in the Carroll House.

Angelique Inchierca / Photo Editor

Filling three rooms with unique pieces of artwork, the sculptors observed as fellow students, facility and some community members marveled at their pieces.  As the crowd at the Carroll House amassed, compliments about the sculptors could be heard from all over the exhibit.  One specific sculpture that sparked the interest of many observers was a creation by senior Sam Stephenson.  The work was made of two televisions surrounded by plants. Stephenson explained that he got the idea from looking at an art organization called St. Heron.

“[St. Heron] had an installation with a bunch of plants and then one single TV in the middle. Then I sort of started looking into the way that plants communicate. Actually, I was sort of thinking, ‘What would plants say to us if they could talk?’ Then I found out that plants do communicate with each other through chemicals.”

Continuing to explain how plants communicate with each other, Stephenson described how the use of the television tied into his concept. “I just wanted to sort of simulate [plant communication] in an environment sort of combining nature with something super man-made, like the TVs.”  Although it was not being presented at the time, Stephenson said that one of the televisions was supposed to display a binary code, as well as play a spoken poem. “[The poem is] a direct translation of what the binary code is, so it’s sort of trying to bring together that connection of communication between humans and between plants.”

Angelique Inchierca / Photo Editor

Reporting that Stephenson’s piece was her favorite in the exhibit was junior and art major Rachel Stearns. Although she did not have any pieces on display, Stearns said she took the Sculpture I class last fall. In light of this, Stearns expressed admiration for the challenging tasks that goes into making intricate sculptures. “I know building things is kind of difficult, and just making everything come together and look okay is something that takes a lot of practice.”

In addition to the presentation of sculptures, on Wednesday, the KSC Art Department sponsored an ornament show that ran in Carroll Hall alongside the exhibit.

Students, faculty and staff were all invited to enter the contest with the hope of winning a $50 giftcard to Margaritas, located in downtown Keene. All ornaments entered in the contest were available for the purchase of $5, with proceeds going towards Hundred Nights shelter.

Junior Christopher Mitchell entered his ornament depicting Santa Claus on a spaceship with the jets represented as reindeer. Mitchell explained that when he was stuck on an idea, a phone call to his mom gave him inspiration.

“I called my mom and I was like, ‘Hey, what’s a cheap, cool kind of idea that I could do?’ She said, ‘Do something more modern. Don’t make something more old-school, kind of go out of the box.” From there, Mitchell found himself in the art studio making Santa into an astronaut.  Through the organization of the KSC Art Department, campus and community members were able to spend an afternoon observing what the sculpture students have been up to this semester.

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

On Saturday, Dec. 9, the Keene State College acapella group Chock Full O’Notes performed in its’ winter concert.

Gerald alfieri / equinox staff

Featuring modern artists such as Imagine Dragons and also turning back the clocks to NSYNC and Michael Jackson, the concert showcased a diverse repertoire of largely student-arranged music.

KSC senior Erin Conti, who has been in the group since her sophomore year, was one of the members who arranged a piece that was performed. Arranging your own piece is not an easy task, Conti explained.

“Sometimes the way you write an arrangement or think something’s going to sound is different from when you actually hear everyone do it. If it’s not as full as you think it was going to be, you have to adjust parts.”

Having three of her works showcased, Conti expressed the difficulty the group had with learning one in particular. “I actually arranged three songs that we’re doing, and one of them isn’t an original but it’s an adaptation of one that I found. It’s a mashup of Gravity by Sara Bareilles and Run to You by Pentatonix. It was just really difficult for us to get down and we weren’t sure we were going to finish it.”

Despite having difficulties prior to the concert, the mashup was well-liked by the audience. Sophomore Janis Gaudreau communicated it to be her favorite song performed during the afternoon. “It was amazing, and it gave me chills,” Gaudreau stated.

Over the course of the recital, audience members were asked to donate to the group’s fundraiser. By donating, audience members were given tickets to put into a bucket, to select which new member of the group they wanted to see get pied in the face. If $100 was raised, all of the newbies would get pied. By the end of the evening, the group reached their goal of $100 and all of the newbies were met with a pie in the face. In addition, senior Sophie Katz was pied as well. Katz is the only senior who is leaving this semester.

The group of musical individuals have become extremely close during their time together. Junior Morgan Sulham expressed the bonds made between the members and what being in Chock Full O’Notes means to her. “These guys are like my family on campus. Like we’re all each others’ at-campus family, and it’s just like a really awesome group of people. I’m so grateful to be a part of it.”

While the connections made between the group members could last a lifetime, singing and performing acapella music can be a challenge. Using no instruments, and having all the voices come together as one is tough to do well.

Conti explained how you have to trust the other group members as well as how the methods of learning the music can be hard.

“You have to depend on just your voices. A lot of the times for our group in particular we don’t learn the sheet music, we just learn by listening. Having to rely on just your ears and our own voices can be difficult,” Conti said.

This was the last concert for Chock Full O’Notes this semester, but performances will start again in the spring.

 Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

Vannessa Nichols can be contacted at vnichols@kscequinox.com