SAUGUS — The high school’s a cappella group, Tonal Chaos, held its inaugural Spring Showcase event, at which it highlighted a cappella groups from around the New England area.
Tonal Chaos hosted groups from communities throughout the state, such as WitchPitch? from Salem, NOTEorious from North Reading, Newtones from Newton, and Voices ReChoired from Marlborough, for the concert.
As the lights dimmed in the Lemoine-Mitchell Auditorium on Thursday night, the audience fell quiet as Tonal Chaos President Olivia Stanton and Vice President Bella Henriquez announced the festivities for the evening.
Soon after, Tonal Chaos took the stage, performing a medley of pop hits such as “505” by Arctic Monkeys, “Cure For Me” by AURORA, and “All The Things She Said” by t.A.t.u. in a choreographed routine.
Audience members frequently clapped to the beats of the songs, cheering and applauding.
The rebranding of the a cappella group to Tonal Chaos was a recent change, according to one of the group’s co-directors, Jessica Manuel.
“The Sachimes, which is what the original group was called, started in I believe ‘08, ‘09, maybe later?” she said.
Co-Director Evan Smith interjected, saying that the group might have started around 2016.
Manuel estimated that the group has been called Tonal Chaos for two and a half years.
Smith said that he frequently plugged the event to his students in both the middle school and the high school throughout the last few days.
“Some of the younger kids, the middle-school kids, were really hyped up about the idea, because I told them, ‘This is what you continue into,’ so they’ve been kind of buzzing about that. And you know, it’s been on the morning announcements every morning for the past week,” Smith said.
The theme that informed the setlist, Manuel said, was the passage of time and the “change in relationships through the passage of time.”
Manuel said that over the summer, students listened to songs that they felt aligned with that theme.
She said that it is “magical” to watch the students come together for a cappella.
“I feel like these kids really find their tribe when they’re involved with something like this, and when they feel like they’re part of something like this,” Manuel said.
“You have students from different grade levels, students with different hobbies, students who take different classes, everybody gets to get together, and it definitely turns into a little family,” Smith said.
“We’re the mom and the dad!” Manuel joked.
Henriquez said that the showcase was an opportunity to give back to the community. Tonal Chaos often goes to showcases hosted at other schools, and she said the group wanted to return the favor by inviting other a cappella outfits.
“There’s no better feeling than being on stage with your a cappella group, and other a cappella kids who feel how you feel, and understand what you’re going through, listen and cheer you on, it’s like the best feeling, it’s really fantastic,” Henriquez said. “It’s really fantastic.”
Manuel hopes that in the future, more schools will participate in the event.
“We have four schools involved, besides us, and we’re just wanting to keep it rolling,” Manuel said. “The more schools the better, the more participants the better.”
