Geneseo alumna Gabrielle Owen ‘19 (pictured above) sings with Between the Lines at the 2019 fall invitational hosted by BTL and Emmelodics. Current BTL members are doing their best to maintain a lively atmosphere despite social distancing precautions enforced due to Covid-19. (Courtesy of Annalee Bainnson ‘19/alumn photographer).
The current pandemic and subsequent guidelines have forced people at Geneseo to get creative and find new ways to continue to have fun, memorable experiences within reasonable boundaries and restrictions. Google Hangouts, Zoom and other video chats are often considered awkward, second-rate substitutes for in-person interactions, which makes enthusiasm a challenge.
The all-gender a cappella group Between the Lines (BTL) held a virtual zoom interest meeting on Thursday Sept. 24, and if nothing else, the meeting proved that Zoom calls do not have to feel cold or uninviting. An energetic and friendly atmosphere pervaded throughout the meeting and, apart from the occasional buzzing sound and other technical flubs inevitable with Zoom, the hosts were able to make everyone feel at home.
There was a wide range of students, each coming from a different background, interested in joining BTL. As they were invited to introduce themselves, there was the feeling as if everyone was already familiar with each other and excited to hang out. Unsurprisingly, the question on everyone’s minds was how COVID-19 would change the way BTL planned to work to achieve their goals for the year.
Senior alto and current president of BTL Sara Devoe explained how the semester would look.
“We’re going to have Zoom meetings on Sundays, our virtual meeting,” Devoe said. “On Wednesdays, we have been meeting outside in my backyard, because it's very big— with masks on—seeing what we can do.”
The lack of a formal concert this fall will not deter the group from enjoying themselves.
“We are still learning music because that’s why we join a cappella,” Devoe said. “[We join] to learn music for fun and for our own benefit since we like doing it, and we have these talented people who make these awesome arrangements, so why not learn them?”
The music that BTL performs is arranged solely by the members of BTL themselves. Some of the songs that are in the works for this Fall include “The Chain’” by Fleetwood Mac and “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles. A piano recording of the latter was shared with Zoom guests on the Sept. 24 call. The sheet music was screen-shared so everyone could take a look at it. Throughout the meeting, the chat in the zoom was peppered with jokes, additional info and compliments about the music and the group.
Senior vocal percussionist and musical director for BTL Raphael Elmasri commented on the changes wrought by COVID-19 on the club.
“Under normal circumstances, usually we would have rehearsal twice a week,” Elmasri said. “And over the course of a semester [we’d] learn eight songs and do two school concerts.”
In response to the question of how many openings there were, while there were no hard-set numbers, Elmasri addressed BTL’s current gender imbalance.
“We are very short on boys currently, so it will be a little tougher to get in as a girl just because we’re pretty much full for the higher voice parts,” Elmasri said. “We are looking to take female voices still, but we only have four boys in the group currently.”
Otherwise, BTL insisted that they need more members in general. The group size is usually made up of 17 to 18 singers.
For the audition, candidates needed to prepare a verse and a chorus from any song of any genre other than musical theatre. BTL does not normally perform numbers from musicals as a separate Musical Theatre Club already exists at Geneseo. In-person auditions were held outside from 9-12 p.m. on Saturday Sept. 26.
BTL has been commended across Geneseo as a supportive group that fosters a strong sense of community. Senior soprano and BTL publicist Sarah Channels elaborated on this welcoming atmosphere.
“I saw BTL sing a song called “Greek Tragedy” by the Wombats [at an a cappella event] and the energy was so insane, everyone looked like they were having the best time of their whole lives,” Channels said. “I still remember every detail from that one performance because I was so amazed by … how good the song was and … the chemistry everyone had with each other.”
Geneseo grants students the opportunity to surround themselves with like-minded individuals who love to perform. Junior alto Julia Berger had not originally planned to join an a cappella group, but a former BTL president encouraged her to audition, so she did.
“I was never going to think about it until he said something,” Berger said. “I’m just so happy I did. It’s still one of the best decisions of my life, joining BTL, because these really are my people.”