Mater Dei’s Choral and Vocal Music Program is composed of many moving parts, though Mater Dei’s a cappella is one unique program that stands out from the traditional class choirs. They perform at all Mater Dei choir events and also have the opportunity to participate in other vocal opportunities such as the Festival of Children and have the opportunity to sing the Star Spangled Banner at football games. There are four different a capella groups: Rubies, Bristol Boys, Vocal FX, and Rolling Tones, offered as an additional course block and as after school honors classes which choral students are invited to audition for at the end of the previous school year.. Each group sings different genres of music, from jazz to gospel music and even catchy pop tunes.

Mater Dei Rubies is an all-girls ensemble that sings barbershop music, which is a style that includes three to four part harmonies. Typically their genres include swing and jazz, as well as Gospel music. Senior Lauren Fernandez is in her third year of Rubies and values the way that both she and the other members of Rubies have evolved over the years.

“Within myself, I’ve gotten more comfortable with [singing],” Fernandez said. “[As a group] we’ve been taking on harder and harder pieces and just growing. We take what we learned from the previous years and bring it into next year. And this year, and just overall, our work ethic and the difficulty of the music that we’re doing has grown.”

Fernandez is also the 2024-2025 small group leader for Rubies. Under her tutelage, she helps the girls sonically develop their musical skills to the best of their abilities.

“I like to work collaboratively a lot, Fernandez said. “I like to steer us in the right direction, but [also] ask for input from all the other members.”

As the girls work on their music, they become quite close both as friends and as an ensemble. This allows them to  further empower themselves in order to succeed at singing together as one cohesive unit.

”My favorite part of Rubies is connecting with the girls through music and building those bonds,” Fernandez said. “Once you get it right, it’s a whole different world. And we’ve seen that a lot this year already, which is so cool.”

Rubies’ male counterpart, Mater Dei’s Bristol Boys, is an all-boys barbershop ensemble. Senior Micah Golden initially joined Bristol Boys last year because he appreciated the music and joyful performance he saw from his friends who were already part of it. 

“I was inspired by previous upperclassmen,” Golden said. “I just loved the style of it because it felt fun to sing and interact with the audience.”

One important aspect of a cappella is making sure that everyone’s voice blends together cohesively. Golden appreciates the growth he has witnessed so far while being in Bristol Boys and how they have been able to develop their unique sound.

I’ve seen a lot of stronger, more fluid sounds with one another. We blend in well with one another, to make sure that it’s all balanced really, really well, because we just want to have smooth and seamless transitions throughout the different songs and different views of pieces,” Golden said.

As the year runs its course, Golden is excited to watch Bristol Boys grow together both sonically and as a community of singers through their performances.

“For Bristol Boys, I’m excited for [the] sonic dynamic that we all have,” Golden said. “I’m already starting to see some changes compared to last year, and they’ve all been just wonderful. And everybody’s great to get along with, of course. I think that’s what I’m most excited for; to see that potential just keep on growing and growing with each rehearsal.”

Some students participate in multiple a cappella ensembles. Junior Briel Jim is both a member of Rubies and the leader of the pop a capella group Vocal FX. She has learned to balance her workload by managing her time wisely, even if it means sacrificing downtime during the school day.

There’s a lot more music to learn, especially because I am the leader of Vocal FX,” Jim said. “It’s a lot more work. So I make sure that I get all my [school] work done so I have more time to run my music, because the music can be a little hard. I just kind of have to find a way to [manage my time by] spending time during my lunch [practicing].”

Vocal FX sings a cappella pop songs using arrangements from the website Musescore. Jim appreciates how the element of pop makes Vocal FX more enjoyable, but also teaches her to become a better leader. It also adds a level of discipline to the ensemble because they have to make the most of rehearsal time.

“For Vocal FX, I usually tend to have a carefree side because [it] has always been fun for me,” Jim said. “I still want to have that environment, but I also have to be [strict] if people aren’t doing what they’re supposed to. I have to be a leader [and] I have to tell them [to do their work].”

Jim has benefited from joining Mater Dei’s a cappella ensembles by learning to better read music and become a stronger singer. This also strengthens her appreciation for music.

“[A cappella] helps you get a feel of how to read music, and you’re able to start learning music on your own a lot better,” Jim said. “Then you’re able to have more of an appreciation for music because [you’re] singing, and pop is really fun, too.”

Sophomore Amy Vutran is a member of Rolling Tones, an all-girls a capella group that primarily sings soft pop. After listening to a cappella ensembles perform her freshman year, she was inspired to audition. She felt enchanted by the sonic dynamic and wanted to further her involvement in Mater Dei’s Choral Program.

“I auditioned for Rolling Tones because during my freshman year, I had seen how amazing the group sounded knowing that it was all voices and no music,” Vutran said. “I loved the idea of being able to harmonize and sing outside of choir classes. I wanted to be more involved in choir considering it’s my favorite thing that Mater Dei provides and seeing that I was able to audition for a cappella groups was a great opportunity for that.”

Vutran is excited to grow with Rolling Tones throughout the rest of the year, as both a singer and a person.

“I am most excited to be able to sing with the girls because it’s an amazing group of hard-working girls,” Vutran said. “I feel at my best when I sing in Rolling Tones and I also feel a sense of security knowing that I have the most understanding, loving a cappella group there is. I really get to understand why choir is like one big family because the girls in Tones feel like my sisters even though we just started the school year.”

Vutran encourages students to audition for a cappella because of the welcoming, hardworking community that supports each other both onstage and outside the classroom.

“Being in Rolling Tones is so fun because we get to showcase our hard work at concerts and shows,” Vutran said. “It’s a great way to gain more friendships and develop teamwork skills, and it feels like you’re not alone and have a group of supporters with you on stage. It’s overall a great experience because everyone within the group is a leader themselves and when everyone works diligently, we sound amazing.”

Mater Dei’s Choral and Vocal Music Program is composed of many moving parts, though Mater Dei’s a cappella is one unique program that stands out from the traditional class choirs. They perform at all Mater Dei choir events and also have the opportunity to participate in other vocal opportunities such as the Festival of Children and have the opportunity to sing the Star Spangled Banner at football games. There are four different a capella groups: Rubies, Bristol Boys, Vocal FX, and Rolling Tones, offered as an additional course block and as after school honors classes which choral students are invited to audition for at the end of the previous school year.. Each group sings different genres of music, from jazz to gospel music and even catchy pop tunes.

Mater Dei Rubies is an all-girls ensemble that sings barbershop music, which is a style that includes three to four part harmonies. Typically their genres include swing and jazz, as well as Gospel music. Senior Lauren Fernandez is in her third year of Rubies and values the way that both she and the other members of Rubies have evolved over the years.

“Within myself, I’ve gotten more comfortable with [singing],” Fernandez said. “[As a group] we’ve been taking on harder and harder pieces and just growing. We take what we learned from the previous years and bring it into next year. And this year, and just overall, our work ethic and the difficulty of the music that we’re doing has grown.”

Fernandez is also the 2024-2025 small group leader for Rubies. Under her tutelage, she helps the girls sonically develop their musical skills to the best of their abilities.

“I like to work collaboratively a lot, Fernandez said. “I like to steer us in the right direction, but [also] ask for input from all the other members.”

As the girls work on their music, they become quite close both as friends and as an ensemble. This allows them to  further empower themselves in order to succeed at singing together as one cohesive unit.

”My favorite part of Rubies is connecting with the girls through music and building those bonds,” Fernandez said. “Once you get it right, it’s a whole different world. And we’ve seen that a lot this year already, which is so cool.”

Rubies’ male counterpart, Mater Dei’s Bristol Boys, is an all-boys barbershop ensemble. Senior Micah Golden initially joined Bristol Boys last year because he appreciated the music and joyful performance he saw from his friends who were already part of it. 

“I was inspired by previous upperclassmen,” Golden said. “I just loved the style of it because it felt fun to sing and interact with the audience.”

One important aspect of a cappella is making sure that everyone’s voice blends together cohesively. Golden appreciates the growth he has witnessed so far while being in Bristol Boys and how they have been able to develop their unique sound.

I’ve seen a lot of stronger, more fluid sounds with one another. We blend in well with one another, to make sure that it’s all balanced really, really well, because we just want to have smooth and seamless transitions throughout the different songs and different views of pieces,” Golden said.

As the year runs its course, Golden is excited to watch Bristol Boys grow together both sonically and as a community of singers through their performances.

“For Bristol Boys, I’m excited for [the] sonic dynamic that we all have,” Golden said. “I’m already starting to see some changes compared to last year, and they’ve all been just wonderful. And everybody’s great to get along with, of course. I think that’s what I’m most excited for; to see that potential just keep on growing and growing with each rehearsal.”

Some students participate in multiple a cappella ensembles. Junior Briel Jim is both a member of Rubies and the leader of the pop a capella group Vocal FX. She has learned to balance her workload by managing her time wisely, even if it means sacrificing downtime during the school day.

There’s a lot more music to learn, especially because I am the leader of Vocal FX,” Jim said. “It’s a lot more work. So I make sure that I get all my [school] work done so I have more time to run my music, because the music can be a little hard. I just kind of have to find a way to [manage my time by] spending time during my lunch [practicing].”

Vocal FX sings a cappella pop songs using arrangements from the website Musescore. Jim appreciates how the element of pop makes Vocal FX more enjoyable, but also teaches her to become a better leader. It also adds a level of discipline to the ensemble because they have to make the most of rehearsal time.

“For Vocal FX, I usually tend to have a carefree side because [it] has always been fun for me,” Jim said. “I still want to have that environment, but I also have to be [strict] if people aren’t doing what they’re supposed to. I have to be a leader [and] I have to tell them [to do their work].”

Jim has benefited from joining Mater Dei’s a cappella ensembles by learning to better read music and become a stronger singer. This also strengthens her appreciation for music.

“[A cappella] helps you get a feel of how to read music, and you’re able to start learning music on your own a lot better,” Jim said. “Then you’re able to have more of an appreciation for music because [you’re] singing, and pop is really fun, too.”

Sophomore Amy Vutran is a member of Rolling Tones, an all-girls a capella group that primarily sings soft pop. After listening to a cappella ensembles perform her freshman year, she was inspired to audition. She felt enchanted by the sonic dynamic and wanted to further her involvement in Mater Dei’s Choral Program.

“I auditioned for Rolling Tones because during my freshman year, I had seen how amazing the group sounded knowing that it was all voices and no music,” Vutran said. “I loved the idea of being able to harmonize and sing outside of choir classes. I wanted to be more involved in choir considering it’s my favorite thing that Mater Dei provides and seeing that I was able to audition for a cappella groups was a great opportunity for that.”

“I am most excited to be able to sing with the girls because it’s an amazing group of hard-working girls,” Vutran said. “I feel at my best when I sing in Rolling Tones and I also feel a sense of security knowing that I have the most understanding, loving a cappella group there is. I really get to understand why choir is like one big family because the girls in Tones feel like my sisters even though we just started the school year.”

Vutran encourages students to audition for a cappella because of the welcoming, hardworking community that supports each other both onstage and outside the classroom.

“Being in Rolling Tones is so fun because we get to showcase our hard work at concerts and shows,” Vutran said. “It’s a great way to gain more friendships and develop teamwork skills, and it feels like you’re not alone and have a group of supporters with you on stage. It’s overall a great experience because everyone within the group is a leader themselves and when everyone works diligently, we sound amazing.”