By Rebecca Vikari
When Chase Weed first heard Vocal Point at age 7 in his hometown of Boise, Idaho, he knew that he would one day be a member of an a cappella group. He never dreamed that he would actually be a member of Vocal Point.
As he stood outside the audition room his heart filled with anxiety and excitement. Would he be chosen to be a tenor in this group?
As he walked into the room, some of his worries subsided as he saw old friends who were rooting for him to do well.
BYU''s male a cappella group, Vocal Point, is starting fresh this semester with several new group members.
The rigorous audition process included a preliminary audition of a 60 second prepared solo and some sight singing. Callbacks were the first day of classes and the returnees were required to dance and sing for about two hours. The director and returning group members looked at how personalities worked together and then gave the hopefuls a call.
'We have 16 gigs total and rehearse for 10 hours a week,' said J.J. Haines, a returning Vocal Point member from Alaska. 'When you join, you sign a contract. There''s no quitting. You sign your life away.'
'It''s pretty nerve-wracking,' said Micah Lorenc, from Colorado Springs, Colo. 'It''s cool though to be around the people that you used to see perform, but you know that they have high expectations.'
The group of nine guys rehearses every day for two hours and the time is spent learning new songs and arrangements. Each rehearsal begins with a hymn and a prayer.
'It helps us realize why we''re doing it.' Lorenc said.
Following the song and prayer, the guys warm up and tune their voices. Then they learn a new song by splitting into small groups so they can hear their parts more clearly.
The group''s director James Stevens is partly the reason the group is so good, said Michael Sackett, a new member from Orem.
'He can pick out a part and know that it''s off and then know how to fix it,' Sackett said.
Part of what makes the group so solid is the fact that they arrange 95 percent of the music they sing. They learn 20 songs in just a few months in preparation for their fall and winter shows.
'It''s really fast,' said Ben Henry, from Missouri. 'We put the songs together really quick.'
All of the singers had musical background before joining Vocal Point. Their experience ranges from school musicals to high school choirs and state competitions. Many of the members participated in BYU Men''s Chorus, Jazz Singers and the Young Ambassadors. Two members are media music majors and the others vary in what they study. But one thing they do have in common is each member is a return missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
'It''s the thing I look forward to every day,' Weed said. 'It''s like a stressful vacation.'
The guys have a show coming up on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2006. It will be two hours long and will feature some of their classic songs: 'Sing, Sing Sing,' 'Spiderman' and 'He is Born.'
'I think we might be knowing what we''re doing on Nov. 15.' Henry said.
Tickets are now on sale for both shows in the HFAC.