A cappella concerts are some of Colorado College’s most popular events. Each concert attracts tons of students to hear their colleagues sing without the aid of instruments. Ellement, CC’s only all-female group, has their bi-annual concert this Thursday night.
Sophie Javna, a senior Theater major, has been a member of Ellement since her first semester of freshman year. While she had not formally been a part of a cappella before CC, Javna always loved to sing with groups of her friends. In high school, she and two friends in Ashland, Ore. would busk, “standing out there for like two or three hours, and making twenty or thirty bucks.”
After seeing the group perform, Javna knew she wanted to join the group.
“[I] instantly fell in love with the girls and had to get in,” she said. Since she specifically loves singing with other women, she knew that Ellement was the group for her.
“I’ll sing with anybody with a good ear who likes to listen and experiment, but there’s something about getting a group of women together and blending their voices that’s really powerful for me.”
Javna says that some of her favorite parts of being in the group are the group traditions, especially their annual cocktail party.
“All of the girls cook something, and then we put on a little teaser for a group of friends in anticipation of the concert. The dinner before is a really fun time,” she explained. “We have tons of memories as a group, but also a lot of great individual friendships.”
The audition process for Ellement happens at the beginning of every semester, with each audition starting with a song of the singer’s choice. Javna says that if she “gets goosebumps, that means that the girl should move on to the next round.”
The existing members of the group decide ahead of time on a rough number of girls they’re looking for that semester. After the initial song, those who move on do a combination of “ear training and blending, and exercises to see that they can hold a pitch and not change key.”
Rather than separating the girls by categories like mezzo and soprano, Javna explains that “the overall sound quality is what [they’re] really looking for.” One of the group’s main goals is to find great harmonies, since they “arrange everything by ear,” rather than reading or writing music.
“Having the potential members sing with current members of the group is a great way to choose them,” Javna said. “The time that I’ve known that other girls should be in the group is when they add a depth to the existing sound.” The audition process is fairly competitive; roughly 25 girls auditioned this semester, while only four were accepted.
While they look for a wide range of musical backgrounds, one quality that the group really seeks out is an “instinct about music and about voice.
“The girls who know how to go into detail about how to change a song have so much emotional intelligence.” Javna said. “The majority of the girls have been singing their whole lives and just love to sing and love music.”
When asked about her favorite types of songs to sing, Javna responded, “as a group of powerful women, we love to sing songs by powerful women.” A unique thing about Ellement’s repertory is that each member gets to pick their own solo, resulting in a “huge range of styles from Destiny’s Child to Hall and Oates.” While they generally gravitate towards slower songs since they are “really beautiful and show off [their] voices,” the girls have been trying to include various faster-paced songs this year as well.
As the group’s only senior, Javna says that she is especially excited to “see the group come into it’s own.”
“I’m really proud of what it’s become,” she said. “I could not and refuse to envision my CC experience without it.”
“I’ve gained incredibly valuable leadership experience,” she adds. “I deeply respect and love every girl in the group. It takes so much heart to be in Ellement and they are all beautiful, beautiful people.”
While after graduation plans are “up in the air right now” for Javna, she’s confident that she will continue singing.
“One thing that I’ve never questioned is my love of singing with women, and my love for the voice.”