McMaster A Cappella hosted their annual winter concert at the L.R. Wilson Concert Hall, where the sold-out event showcased an unforgettable night of musical talent
The McMaster A Cappella groups kicked off the holiday season with their annual winter concert on Nov. 23, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the L. R. Wilson Concert Hall. MMAC is made up of four unique a cappella groups: Macappella, PitchSlapped, The MacaFellas and Bass'd.
Oluwatobi Adesipo, the president of McMaster A Cappella and a co-director of PitchSlapped, spoke about all the different groups that worked together to put together the concert.
"We have one group that is all voice ranges and is noncompetitive, that group is called Bass'd. And we also have three competitive groups. One of them, MacaFellas, they're a low voice group, then there is PitchSlapped which is the group I'm in and that is the higher voice group. Then there is Macapella which was the first group at McMaster and they are also an all voices group," said Adesipo.
The performance showcased a lineup of musical arrangements featuring dancing and singing by all the groups. Arrangements included Mary's Boy Child by Boney M., a Weeknd Medley, Once Upon A December by Liz Callaway, Bills Bills Bills by Destiny's Child and more holiday and pop favourites.
"Each group does two to three songs and then those songs are dispersed throughout the show . . . and we also do this thing called small groups . . . we encourage people to make their own arrangements or find arrangements online and then they can ask whoever they want to be in their small group," said Adesipo.
"I think just being on campus or in the LRW and all 80 of us occupying the same space, walking around, seeing how many people are being brought together for this one event is in and of itself my proudest moment," said Adesipo.
I think just being on campus or in the LRW and all 80 of us occupying the same space, walking around, seeing how many people are being brought together for this one event is in and of itself my proudest moment.
Oluwatobi Adesipo, President
McMaster A Cappella
An exciting highlight of the performance was the prize draw. Audience members could buy raffle tickets before the performance for a chance to win one of several prizes.
The prizes included four free music lessons from Picks & Sticks Music, two $100 vouchers from Allure Fitness, two free movie vouchers from The Westdale Theatre, one voucher for a free dozen cupcakes from Westdale Cupcakes and a serenade performance.
"Our club specifically always auctions off a serenade from the executive director team. Someone can come up on stage and then the executive director team sings to them while the audience is watching," said Adesipo.
Adesipo emphasized the passion and time and time MMAC members put in to the performance. "It's truly a lot of time but we all do it because we love it and we love to sing . . . so I'm excited for people to reap the rewards of all their efforts," said Adesipo.
Adesipo reflected on the impact of being able to host an event with such large groups of performers. "There is nothing more important than community . . . being surrounded by truly some of the most talented people I've met in my life at all times is such a blessing," expressed Adesipo.
There is nothing more important than community . . . being surrounded by truly some of the most talented people I've met in my life at all times is such a blessing.
Oluwatobi Adesipo, President of
McMaster A Cappella
If you missed McMaster A Cappella's stunning performance, they have a spring concert next term, individual club events, club fundraisers and more! Check their Instagram for more updates and ways to get involved with a cappella at McMaster.
By: Drew Simpson
On June 26, the McMaster University board of governors, specifically the executive and governance committee, approved recommendation from the senate executive committee to establish the Centre for Networked Media and Performance.
According to the Oct. 18 board of governors meeting agenda, the vision for the CNMAP is “the production, exploration and analysis of new forms of expression, communication and collaboration enabled by networks and networking techs.”
As highlighted in the agenda, the approval for the centre comes as the rapid proliferation of technology continues to outstrip discussions about their human uses and impacts. At the heart of the technological revolution is the advent of “the network,” namely connections such as shared software, online communications and new electronic and data environments.
“Humanities research has a special role to play in this context,” reads part of the agenda.
“Research and research-creation in the media and performing arts offer a setting in which new configurations of our networked landscape can be imagined, actualized, evaluated, and transformed in experimental ways.”
As of its launch this past summer, the CNMAP has been utilizing the networked imagination laboratory and the black box theatre in L.R. Wilson to organize workshops, conferences, interdisciplinary collaborations and other forms of artist-centric research.
According to the board of governors agenda, the centre has interest in hosting an interdisciplinary national sound conference at McMaster in 2019.
Some examples of the ‘nodes,’ or research spaces, that are said to comprise the centre include the cybernetic orchestra, pulse lab, networked imagination laboratory, software studies reading group and the sounds studies reading group.
The the CNMAP also connects these nodes through an online platform aimed at facilitating communication and collaboration.
Some anticipated CNMAP expenses include national and international conferences, server software costs for the online platform and the cost of graphic design and promotion, which can involve hiring undergraduate multimedia students.
Revenues allocated to these expenses include the seed funding of $40,000 by the humanities faculty vice president of research.
In its first semester, the CNMAP was involved with organizing and promoting a number of events, including four free live coding workshops and the “Imaginary Landscapes” exhibition, which occurred in Dec. 2018 and featured soundscape performances, a cybernetic orchestra concert and an informative artist-centric poster demonstration.
Students interested in receiving updates and getting involved with the CNMAP can contact David Ogborn, the centre’s director, at [email protected] and/or follow the centre on Facebook and Twitter.
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