"The best thing about the Pitches is that it is about the passion," said senior communication major Erin Gellert. "There is no one telling me to do this or what to do."
If Gellert sounds confident in her role as one of 13 singers in UB's all-female a cappella group, the Royal Pitches, she should be. Recently, the Pitches made it to the semi-finals in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella in Pennsylvania. The Pitches will perform this Sunday at 8 p.m. in the Student Union Theatre.
Entirely self-directed by its student members, the group displays the level of cooperation that earned them their recognition. At their rehearsals, ideas on improving the sound of each song are offered after they are sung.
Co-directing the group are Michelle Seekamp, a senior theater major and Laura Campbell, a junior business major.
"This has been an amazing year and semester. Not only did we finally go to the competition and move up to the next round, we really had fun in the process," Campbell said. "We bonded with our fellow (male) a cappella group, the (Buffalo) Chips, and we feel like we truly improved a lot over the last two years."
Formed in 1997, the Pitches have vocalized a diverse array of harmonies to produce beat box sounds, bass lines and standard melodies. Their unique arrangements include an eclectic range of covers, such as songs by Bjork, the Goo Goo Dolls and numbers from "Rent."
"We have some great creative minds here that can take a song and just pull out an amazing arrangement or percussion and they don't have to know everything about music to do this stuff," said Campbell about the composition process. "That's what this group is like, it's a place where you can use your talents in a creative way and share it with people who love music and singing."
Sunday's concert will also have an emotional dimension. The spring show will be the last for graduating seniors Gellert, Seekamp, Annelise Abrams, a music theater major and Melissa Palleschi, a communication major.
Consequently, the Pitches are looking for new members and plan to hold auditions in the first few weeks of the fall semester.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
