This past weekend, Del Val’s acapella ensemble, Vox Blue, competed at SingStrong NY in Long Island, New York.
This nationwide event, where many schools competed against each other, also allowed students to attend classes, meet with professional acapella groups, and even work with said professionals.
“This whole trip was super special and eye opening for the students” said vocal director Mr. Adrian Camano. “Everyone had a good time and enjoyed every second of it.”
Vox Blue competed with three songs including: “Holding out for a Hero” which featured soloist junior Abigail Drake, “Don’t Blame Me” with soloist freshman Sage Hason, and “Love is Embarrassing” highlighting soloist senior Audrey LaRue.
After competing, judges awarded specific awards which highlighted their favorite part about each school’s performance. Del Val sophomore, Jaiden Martineau was awarded “Best Vocal Percussionist” for his incredible beatboxing.
“I didn’t have intentions on winning best VP, but I didn’t completely deny it happening” said Martineau. “I thought I had a pretty good chance, and when I got the award I was pretty chill about it. But the best thing about winning the award was shedding light on Vox Blue and Del Val as a whole in a setting as big as this was.”
The students were also able to attend many classes over the course of the event including ones that taught how to harmonize in a group, beatbox, choreograph movements, and many more.
Del Val students were able to work with the professional acapella group, “The Trills”, to perfect their competition set and to get advice and constructive criticism. The students loved working with them and took all their notes and applied them to their competition set.
“I thought the competition was very fun and I am excited for our next performances,” said senior Audrey LaRue. “I am ready to improve our songs with the notes that we were given from the judges and from “The Trills.”
One of the highlights of the trip for the group was watching the professional groups perform. The students got the opportunity to see two concerts which included groups such as “The Trills,” “Smoke Ring,” “Radius,” “Forest Fire,” and multiple others.
“I enjoyed going to the concerts and it was really cool to watch the pro shows and see all the other groups,” said freshman Lucy Devine.
