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January 31, 2005 Vol. 76, no. 3S
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| JOIE DE
VIVRE: CEE senior Rachel Radell (center) performs
with fellow students in the a cappella group, Artists in Resonance.
See them for free every Monday at noon next to Sather Gate. |
The
joy of making herself heard
CEE senior keeps it light with AiR, the student a cappella
group
Rachel Radell grew up singing.
Her family sang together in the car, around the Christmas tree, and
while they cooked dinner. She and her brother challenged each other
to singing duels. She sang in high school and even sang at the Kennedy
Center as part of an honors choir.
But when she got to campus, Radell stopped singing because her civil
engineering schoolwork was so demanding. "I had to be sure I could
do engineering, so I put it on hold," she says. "Then last
year I thought, 'Heck, it's my senior year, why not?'"
In the fall, Radell found herself with ten other students wandering
past a Jamba Juice store. "Someone started singing and then we
all joined in. It was so fun and random. I think we made the Jamba Juice
people happy because afterward they came out and gave us free smoothies."
Radell was with members of the student a cappella group, Artists in
Resonance, or AiR. Last April, she joined the group and has been singing
alto for them ever since. "I liked the freedom it offered because
the students are in charge," she says. Plus, "We all have
fun singing. We goof around. We're known as the cheesy group."
AiR's performances aren't your standard choral repertoire.
You might hear something from Sesame Street or Britney Spears or Roy
Orbison. You might also see Radell putting on some wild Divinyls moves
while performing her signature solo, 'I Touch Myself.' Moves
are a big part of AiR's performances; members sing and create percussive
sounds while performing choreographed parts.
It looks easy, but the group spends hours making its own arrangements
and practicing, says Radell. To decide on their program, members suggest
songs they like and then vote on the top 15.
Radell estimates she spends seven to eight hours a week on AiR, which
makes balancing everything else tricky. Besides being an alto and a
CE student, she also gives tours for UC Berkeley Visitor Services at
the Campanile and is active in a sorority. "It's tough,"
she says. "It's all about time management and prioritizing.
Sometimes I sacrifice AiR. School is always first."
The secret is discipline, she says. (Many of her fellow AiR members
are also in math and science, and Radell has a theory that they're
better at budgeting time.) She also suggests choosing activities that
are flexible enough to allow school to come first.
Regardless, she advises engineering students to choose an outside activity
because "it helps rejuvenate you." For Radell, singing is
the ultimate pick-me-up. "It makes me happy," she says.
See AiR perform for free every Monday at noon next to Sather Gate. To
join the group or hire them for your next party, go to http://www.artistsinresonance.com/main.htm.
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