A medley of Rockville High School singers have begun arranging their own a capella mashups as music group Vocal Point kicks off their second season at Rockville.
The a capella group consists of students in one or multiple choir classes at Rockville, as well as those who enjoy singing outside of school. The flexible structure of a student-led group allows for anyone who doesn’t have space in their schedule for a choir class to join or who prefers to sing popular songs rather than choral pieces.
Vocal Point sponsor and RHS choir teacher Chloe Weiss explained the crucial difference between choir classes and the student-led music group. “For choral [classes], it is more curriculum based, but an a capella group takes pop songs or rock songs and they create medleys. And so that also allows for a completely different take of music that they’re able to provide,” Weiss said.
Choir students singing together for fun were inspired to found the group in the 2024-2025 school year, and performed under student direction at various choir concerts. This year, senior Andrea Adelantar has taken up leadership of the group and plans to have a successful season with the group’s 14 other members.
After hearing that other MCPS schools have vocal groups who compete in a capella events, Adelantar knew she wanted to foster the same musically challenging environment at Rockville. Vocal Point held auditions that were open to all Rockville students to try out, maintaining the high standards that would distinguish the passionate singers the group was seeking.
“[Auditioners were looking for] vocalists that could do really well in an ensemble, but [who] could also be very strong soloists,” Adelantar said. “If we have a complex piece with multiple moving parts, then people need to be … strong singers who could stand alone, but also work really well in a group setting.”
The group plans to perform at all the Rockville High School choral concerts this year, as well as the Rockville Town Center tree-lighting ceremony this winter. Adelantar intends to work with the group to create a repertoire of pop songs arranged with voice parts replacing any instrumentation.
“I find pieces that could blend well together, and I choose a part of the song that’s interesting from a soloist [and] an ensemble standpoint, and then, if it’s in the same key [and] you’re in the same BPM [beats per minute], then it can make it really easy to turn into a medley,” Adelantar said.
Vocal Point provides a space at Rockville for those who know the importance of music education in schools to share their passion for music with others through performance. The students’ love for singing and dedication to music shine through at rehearsals and onstage.
“It is a scientific fact that when a group of people are singing at the same time, their hearts beat in sync,” Ms. Weiss said. “And so I think that really goes to show that the love for music, the love of community, the hope to create something as a group, [to] put your voice toward something, is not only super important at these times, but also just in general.”
