“The most important thing in acapella is the ability to work together and really listen to each other,” Brielle Melendez (‘17) said. After going to the first meeting, it is very clear that Forge’s acapella group, The Rolling Tones, definitely has that.

Acapella is music made without any instruments, rather with the voices of the people in the choir. This year, seniors Brielle Melendez, Ilona Bailey (‘17), and Hannah Fulwider (‘17) decided to start the first acapella choir here at Forge.

“We first got the idea to start acapella when we were at a choir competition and we saw a bunch of acapella groups competing,” Melendez said.

The process was not very difficult. All they needed was permission from the school, a faculty member to supervise, and, of course, people to join. Students who wanted to join had to have a blind audition so there would be no bias whatsoever.

These auditions, though anonymous, can be very nerve-wracking for some. There is a lot of pressure going into it.  

“The audition process is actually a funny story because I was one of the last ones to audition; the girls had me help them with the blind audition and handle the singers auditioning. Personally the audition was a great environment. The judges were very kind and settled singer’s nerves to the best of their ability,” Nell Hatton said (‘19).

Soon after auditions, the first meeting was held. They started with sectionals.

“[Sectionals] is when we split into our designated voice parts so we aren’t disrupted by other vice parts. It makes it a lot easier to get a lot done and learn our parts efficiently. Plus since this is a student run group it’s just an easier way to manage a group of teenagers,” Melendez said.

They also decided on the name of their new chorus; The Rolling Tones was chosen after several suggestions and voting.

Each song sung in acapella takes a lot more than a just a few practices. There is a lot of hard work that goes into each one.

“People should know that acapella is nothing like radio music or the singing we do with an accompanist. There are many different factors like timing, vowel shape, etc. that come into play. It’s an amazing thing to watch and hear knowing that every single person plays a part and we can come together to make a sound that sounds like nothing else,” Melendez said.

Acapella has already started learning several songs.

“Right now we are working on the song ‘Longest Time’ by Billy Joel which is a really neat song and it sounds so good just hearing all the voice parts mixed together with such a great song,” Lauryn Hobbs (‘17) said.

They also have many future projects that they will soon be getting underway.

“We are planning on performing at most choir concerts, a competition at Hanover High School, caroling around the school, and other various places like the mall,” Hannah Fulwider said (‘17).

Keep your eye out for the acapella choir. You may start seeing them a lot more.