The Supertonics, Wootton’s all-male a cappella group, won second place at the first annual a cappella competition on February 2. The event was hosted at Wootton by the University of Maryland College Park’s own a cappella group, the Generics. In addition to the Supertonics, Wootton’s coed singing group, Chaos, participated in the event as well, although they did not place.

“We’re really happy about second,” senior singer Keith Schwartz said. Schwartz sang “Toxic,” (as made famous by Britney Spears) while performing energetic dance moves. The Supertonics set themselves apart by using props, like sharp sunglasses, eliciting cheers from what was apparently a fan club in the front row of the auditorium.

Senior Max Swider and junior Fasil Gebeyehu got into character for their song “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” (from Disney’s The Lion King). Swider won the title of Outstanding Vocal Percussion, more commonly known as “beat-boxing.”

First place in the competition went to Walt Whitman High School’s Barbershop Quartet. The four students used standard a Cappella songs, but sang them with the overall best precision, rhythm and harmony.

“I think the Barbershop Quartet was judged differently because of the complexity of their songs. Their music is completely different from ours,” junior Mary Malderelli of Chaos said.

A cappella is music sung without instrumental accompaniment. Both the Supertonics and Chaos are known for their modern takes on a cappella, preferring to take songs from a variety of genres instead of solely the classics. “We try to mix up the genres, mainly pop, and then we’re getting rock, and R&B,” junior John Loewy of the Supertonics said.

“We sing ballads, up tempo beats, pop songs that are arranged for a cappella,” said junior Jessica Futran, who sang “Hands Clean” by Alanis Morrisette. The members of Chaos were happy with their performance and look to future competitions as opportunities to improve.

“I know we were ready, and we were all pretty nervous. We made a few mistakes, but everyone makes mistakes, and all in all, I think we did a really good job,” junior Spencer Wight said. Wight sang “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by Deep Blue Something.

Some members felt that the group could fix inconsistencies with their rhythm and timing. However, there was good chemistry between seniors Ben Greenberg and Nicole Cho in their duet “Falling Slowly,” with vocal percussion adding depth to their other songs.

Although both groups arrange some of their own music, they usually use songs prearranged by collegiate a cappella groups.

“For the Festival of the Arts this year, we’re going to do original arranged songs,” senior Robert Yin said, referring to the practice of taking a song and adapting it for a cappella by adding voice parts and harmonies.

 Aside from the Festival of the Arts and a cappella competitions, the Supertonics recently performed at a nationally televised event. On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day “we [were] part of the program in [the District of Columbia],” Yin said.

They have also performed all over the community at various parties, as well as at a Best Buddies benefit and a National Honors Society sponsored “prom” for senior citizens.

“[The senior citizens] were alive. They almost jumped out of their wheel chairs,” Loewy said.

Junior Jack Stonesifer of Chaos was responsible for organizing the festival. Chaos will be performing March 8 at a high school competition hosted by the Contemporary a Cappella Society of America (CASA).