Collegiate Times

The sounds of a cappella music from across the state will strike a chord of unity when coming together to support those impacted by the April 16, 2007 tragedy.

The Virginia Tech Memorial A Cappella CD, a two-disc compilation, features collegiate a cappella groups of Virginia including Virginia Tech’s Juxtaposition as well as groups from the University of Richmond, Roanoke College, University of Virginia, James Madison University and William and Mary.

Matthew Bolling, 2006 alumnus in computer engineering and past president of Juxtaposition, was the main organizer and promoter of this tribute.

“After everything happened a couple of weeks ago, I was trying to figure out what I could possibly do to help. In the past, Juxtaposition has done benefit concerts with the other four a cappella groups on campus. We did one for 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. It crossed my mind that there might not be enough time left in the semester and if it would really be feasible to do something,” Bolling said.

Despite these doubts, Bolling quickly took action.

“I had just finished doing the Juxta CD, which we released on Friday. So, I still had all the contacts for mastering a CD, getting it produced, doing all the licensing … everything was still in front of me. I had been talking to people two or three days before everything happened. I pretty much took it that the ball was in my court and to try put together a CD … as long as I could get some support,” Bolling said.

He continued, “What I did first; I got all the contacts and took out some spreadsheets of the people we performed with in the past. I dug around on the Internet to find others and sent out a big mass e-mail to everyone I could.”

Bolling was blown away by the feedback of the different a cappella groups.

“Every single one I e-mailed responded within the first 24 hours. Everybody was excited about it, and people that I didn’t know existed or other groups at their school spread the word for me. It was probably 72 hours, and we had about 24 groups inquiring from across the state. Half of them I have never heard of before, just people coming out of the woodwork.”

He continued, “It was definitely very overwhelming. When I first tried to do it, I had expected to struggle to find 10 to 15 groups to do one disc compilation and try to raise the money. But, after a day I already had more groups than would fit on a single CD. So, we had to make the decision to make a double CD and figured, ‘Hey, we will fit 35 to 40 tracks on it and take it from there.’”

Each group participating in the “Virginia Tech Memorial A Cappella CD” helped in funding the initial costs and donations. Because of their efforts, 100 percent of all purchases and donations made toward the project will be given directly to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund set up by the Virginia Tech Foundation and to Hokies United at Virginia Tech.

The musical arrangement on the CD is not themed; instead, it is an eclectic mix.

“They wanted us to put good music on it and do it as a show of support instead of a having a somber CD … We’ve got some slow arrangements, University of Virginia Virginia Gentlemen did a Pink Floyd song, there’s some mellow music and a No Doubt song … so a little bit of everything.”

“The primary location is on the website, ForTodayCD.com, and I set up where people can buy the album for $20. They can also give additional donations of however much they want in additional support,” Bolling said.

He continued, “Even if you can’t support the CD, hopefully everyone will support it in some other way.” Bolling stated earlier in a press release, “It is my hope that the gesture of unity shown by the groups appearing on this CD, the support of unity shown by the a cappella community by supporting this CD, and the strength of unity from people around the world donating to receive a copy of this CD will make a difference in the lives of the family, friends, students, faculty and staff affected by the events at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007.”