It's awards season for Hollywood, with every possible guild and critics' group handing out shiny objects and heaving laudatory comments upon actors and actresses. Yet for a few students on campus, this past month was a time when nominations for distinguished awards were passed on to them in a long-standing tradition of excellence.
Three of Tufts' a cappella groups were honored by the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA) in the Scholastic division of the annual Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs). For "Mixed Collegiate Album," the Amalgamates were nominated for "Stopping for Breakfast." The group was also nominated for the song "Everlong" in the "Mixed Collegiate Song" category, a nomination that Shir Appeal was also honored with for their piece, "Ga'agua."
The Jackson Jills garnered two CARA nominations for their album, "Headcase," and for Kate Marshall's ('03) arrangement of "Song for a Winter's Night," from that album.
Amalgamates president Erin Bergin was especially proud of her group's achievement. The ensemble was undergoing financial hardships while recording "Stopping for Breakfast," to the extent that one member had to design a microphone by hand. "Being nominated without the luxury of a recording studio was really rewarding," said Bergin.
The album, released last year, covers a broad variety of styles. "There was a lot of energy in it," said Bergin, citing one of the possible reasons for the nomination from the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA.)
Ellen Shlossberg, president of Shir Appeal, was equally pleased with the announcement. "The biggest part [of being nominated] is that we're recognized on a secular level. We tend to be the only culture group on these things," Shlossberg said.
Submitting their latest album "Transliteration" for review, CASA chose to recognize a Hebrew song as opposed to some of the English language pieces. "Ga'agua," which translates to "longing" in English, is "kind of corny," according to Shlossberg. She attributed the song's merit to Nili Riemer's ('03) arrangement, which is filled with difficult rhythms and a skillful mixing of voices including soloist Shula Waldoks ('03).
The nomination for "Ga'gua" marks the ensemble's second consecutive album to be recognized by CASA; "Unpealed" (2002) won mixed collegiate song and was runner-up for best album.
Shlossberg also thanked the greater Tufts a cappella scene for Shir Appeal's success. "We are heavily influenced by the other a cappella groups at Tufts, so its great for all of the groups," she said.
Not surprisingly, Emilie Pinkham, president of the Jills was also ecstatic with the nominations. "This is huge," said Pinkham, "It's a real honor to be nominated." The Jills have won best album at least twice before, but it had been a few years since the Jills were last recognized.
"We're taking a lot of risks that some haven't liked," said Pinkham. Such risks include song selection and arrangement choice, but these risks apparently paid off, as their nomination came in the latter category, for "Song for a Winter's Night," arranged by Kate Marshall ('03), a cover of the Sarah McLachlan song composed by Gordon Lightfoot.
Essence, sQ!, and the Beezlebubs did not submit albums for consideration for this year's CARAs.
The nominees were decided upon by 60 fans and performers of varied backgrounds who reviewed the 150 albums released in 2004 that were submitted for consideration. The winners of the CARAs will be announced on April 1.
