Founders and current members of the University of Rhode Island a cappella group, the Rhody Rhapsodies, came together onstage to perform their 10th anniversary invitational on Friday.
During the show’s final number, Rhody Rhapsody alumni were welcomed onto the stage for a rendition of “And So It Goes…” by Billy Joel. Third-year URI student Joelle Shamatta was selected as the soloist for the piece. Soloists are chosen by a group vote, which makes selection even more special, Shamatta said.
“It just feels so validating to have that as like, ‘Oh my God, you guys want me to sing this important piece for you,’” Shamatta said. “And then on top of it, it was like ‘Oh my God the alumni are coming back.’”
Current Rhapsodies members reached out to alumni over the summer with the idea for an anniversary performance, founding member Josh D’Ambra, ‘20, said. After sending section parts and recordings to participants, alumni were welcomed to dress rehearsal the week of the performance.
“It was really unique to come back and see what people have carried on,” D’Ambra said.
After graduating in 2020, D’Ambra became more appreciative of groups like the Rhody Rhapsodies.
“When you come out of college, it’s really hard to find these groups where you can just make music like this, especially all singers, you know,” D’Ambra said.
To perform in between the Rhody Rhapsodies’ two sets, seven collegiate a cappella groups travelled from throughout the Northeast region to perform, cheering on their fellow vocalists from the audience.
The Rhapsodies opened the show performing three covers ranging from pop to country: “Troublemaker” by Olly Murrs, “It’s Called: Freefall” by Rainbow Kitten Surprise and “Cowboy Casanova” by Carrie Underwood. The numbers each featured a soloist, as was a theme throughout the evening.
Fellow Rhode Island group Hawkward from Roger Williams University took the stage next, performing covers of “When You Believe” by Pentatonix and Marren Morris and “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele. The University of Hartford group L’Shir followed.
UHarmonies, a smaller all-women’s group also from the UHart, broke the pattern and performed “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish without a soloist. University of Connecticut group Extreme Measures closed out the first act with “Say Say Say” by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson.
The intermission brought the Rhody Rhapsody tradition of the beatbox interlude. Beatboxers from every group, and some URI alumni, were welcomed onto the stage to share a few bars of their best work. Half of the beatboxers represented were either current or former Rhody Rhapsody members.
Beatboxers performed a variety of styles, including simulating the sound of popping a bottle of champagne and mime-playing a trumpet, which earned raucous applause from the audience.
Sound Logic from Worcester Polytechnic Institute opened the second act, their soloist Roy Sianez paced the stage to give a theatrical performance of “Space Oddity” by David Bowie. Fellow WPI group Simple Harmonic Motion followed, and University of Massachusetts group Doo Wop Shop was the last of the visiting groups to perform.
The Rhody Rhapsodies closed out the show with another three covers: “Halloween” by Novo Amor, “Slow Sipper” by The Dip and the “And So It Goes…” Joel cover.
After a tearful goodbye to graduating student Kaylee Arnold, visiting groups returned to the stage to take a photo together. The Rhapsodies can be found @therhodyrhapsodies on Instagram.