The members of Miami University's two all-male a cappella groups, the Cheezies and the Remnants, which were previously affiliated with the Men's Glee Club, are now performing under the names Open Fifth and Soul2Soul, respectively. This decision comes with a restructuring of the groups as official student organizations.
While both groups became student organizations around the same time, the decisions to do so were made independently, according to Kyle Motts, president of Soul2Soul. Restructuring the a cappella groups allows the entire male population to audition, as compared to limiting auditions to the 80-100 person glee club.
"We want to give the opportunity to everyone on campus," Jake Menker said, president and business manager of Open Fifth. "Opening the audition pool will take the group to the next level."
This parallels the all-female a cappella groups on campus, the Treblemakers and the Misfitz, who have had access to the entire female population at Miami as student organizations in previous years. Both groups recognize the need to start building their own publicity.
"We need to market and sing as much as we can," Menker said. "The Cheezies had campus recognition since 1989."
The group will be advertising open rehearsals and pop-up performances throughout the semester via social media. Open Fifth can be followed on Facebook at Facebook.com/OpenFifth and on Twitter at @Open_Fifth.
"The guys are trying to see where they can get their name out authentically," advisor for the group Kelly Bennett said, "We want to get people to hear them as Open Fifth."
Soul2Soul, named after a lyric in a familiar song to current and previous Remnants members, is also using social media to promote itself. Soul2Soul can be found on Facebook at Facebook.com/Soul2Soulacappella and on Twitter at @Soul2SoulMU.
"I love a cappella and glee club; both add a lot of value to Miami's campus," Motts said. "Singing, sharing music and brotherhood are the goals of each group at the end of the day."
The majority of the a cappella men have remained in glee club, according to Menker. By separating the entities, the groups are simply able to focus on their own goals.
"We are all still committed to the glee club," Menker said. "It's a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone."
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Joint auditions for Open Fifth and Soul2Soul will be held from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday Sept. 2 and Wednesday Sept. 3, in 102 Benton Hall. Those interested in signing up for an audition time can check out either group's Facebook page for a link.
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