In CARA awards, eight nominations of Tufts a cappella groups

Tufts' a cappella groups have received more nominations than groups from any other university for the 2003 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards.

The Contemporary A Cappella Society (CASA), a non-profit organization devoted to fostering and promoting a cappella music, recently announced the nominations for the awards and Tufts' Shir Appeal, Essence, and The Amalgamates collectively received eight nominations in the collegiate categories.

Founded in 1992, the society consists of over 50 judges worldwide. The industry professionals listen to every released a cappella recording in each given year before making its awards selection.

Shir Appeal, Tufts' only Jewish a cappella group, previously received a CARA nomination in 2000 for arrangement for the song "When You Believe" from their second CD What Are You Saying...?. However, this year was the first time a Jewish a cappella group has received a nomination for Best Mixed Collegiate Album.

"Shir Appeal is absolutely thrilled," said the group's president, Shula Waldoks. "We work very hard on making our albums and put a lot of time and effort into recording. It is really a wonderful feeling to have the album recognized."

At the same time, the group feels excited about the promise that such a nomination entails. "We hope it opens up the door for other Jewish groups and raises the bar for the standard of Jewish a cappella," Waldoks said. The group's song "K'mo B'tmunah," from the lauded album Unpealed, was also nominated for Best Mixed Collegiate Song.

The Amalgamates, Tufts oldest co-ed a cappella group, were equally honored by CASA's accolades. Adam Pulver, who served as tour manager, historian, and co-producer of the nominated album Bamboo, credits soloist Becky Rubin for her second award nomination. Rubin won the award for Best Mixed Collegiate Soloist two years ago for her rendition of "I'm Your Baby Tonight." This year, her version of "Killing Me Softly" was nominated for the Best Soloist Award and for Best Mixed Collegiate Song.

Although extremely excited about the nominations, Pulver explains that the awards themselves do not have any influence on their musical production: "There are many avenues for accolades in the a cappella community, and often there are conflicts between the different awards. We aim to please ourselves musically and to have a great time performing. In doing so, we know that the audience will also appreciate our music."

Essence, the Tufts all female a cappella group dedicated to singing music of the African Diaspora, received four nominations for their second album At Last. Rael Nelson-James was nominated for Best Female Collegiate Soloist for "Mary." Dionna Avery and Sarah Sutton's arrangement of "It's Love" was nominated for Best Female Arrangement; "Summer Rain" received a nomination for Best Female Collegiate Song, and At Last was nominated for Best Female Collegiate Album.

Business manager Sarah Sutton expressed surprise as well as gratitude for the nominations. "I didn't think we'd be put in the arranging category. We think it's an opportunity for us to get out there and for more people to hear about us and be interested in listening to our music." Like Shir Appeal, Essence sees the nominations as a statement that "you can be a group that only sings its particular genre and yet still be nominated with all the other big groups in the other schools."

The CARA nominations were not the first recognition the three groups received this year. The Best of College A Cappella CD (BOCA) compilation includes two of the CARA-nominated songs, "Killing Me Softly" and "K'mo B'tmunah." The Recording A Cappella Review Board also named Bamboo and At Last as two of the best a cappella albums of the year.

"We are most proud about the fact that Tufts' A Cappella groups are always represented both on BOCA and in the CARAs," Waldoks explained. "The Amalgamates have always set a high standard, and this year, Essence, the Mates, and Shir Appeal are all representing Tufts in terms of CARA nominations. Tufts produce good a cappella, and we have had a great role."