Hanes Art Center hosted a birthday party Saturday for one of UNC’s youngest a capella groups.
Cadence, an all-female a capella group, celebrated their 10th anniversary as an organization with a reunion concert Saturday, called “Cadence Turns 10.”
The community service-oriented group of 18 singers was founded in 2003, with a mission of serving the UNC and greater Chapel Hill communities.
Senior Megan Meade, president of Cadence, said the group holds concerts for free or as fundraisers to help the Triangle area. The group recently was dubbed the official all-female a capella group of UNC’s Campus Y.
Meade said Cadence followed in the footsteps of the Achordants, the all-male brother group also partnered with the Campus Y.
“It was a good fit to work jointly with Campus Y and to sing at its events because it also help us reach out to the greater community, so it’s a good connection,” Meade said.
“(The group) has given us a lot of opportunities to further our personal goals.”
Saturday’s concert was a celebration of the goals the group has reached over the past decade, as well as a celebration of its members, past and present.
Alumnae from across the country came to celebrate the birthday. The group also hosted an alumnae brunch on Saturday morning.
“This is a time in which alumnae can really see how much the group has grown,” said Emily Farnell, who was a member from 2009 until her graduation in 2011.
“When I joined, (Cadence) was really struggling to find its identity, especially being a group in the midst of a campus with so many other talented groups and people,” Farnell said. “We were still figuring out what our niche was going to be.”
“I think the group has experienced some really good growth and that we’ve really dug our heels into the Carolina community.”
Senior Leah McCann has been the business manager in Cadence for the past two years.
“I think with it being our 10th anniversary, people have high expectations for the concert,” McCann said. “We started approaching it by saying, lets just breathe and have fun and have the concert be us just throwing a huge birthday party.”
“Ten years old is big — it’s the double digits. So we wanted to go all out and have fun and show everyone that we are at that next level and not just here to be another group on campus.”
McCann described Cadence as having a versatile repertoire compared to other a cappella groups on campus.
“All of the groups have their own energy,” McCann said.
“We cater to everyone, but we definitely want to bring it, too. We have a lot of sass and attitude.”
Accompanying Cadence’s anniversary is the release of the group’s first full-length album, titled “Double Take.”
“It’s taken us about a year and a half and it cost us about $10,000, which we raised on our own,” Meade said.
Copies of the CD were available for sale at the concert, which was the last concert for both Meade and McCann.
“This is a big celebration of how far we’ve come and how we’ve made huge strides,” Meade said.
“It’s a celebration of the group and the accomplishments of all the people who have ever been a part of it.”
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