Choir
continued from page 1
when Silva realized what he was
looking for didn’t exist, he and Hol
lens decided to start their own
group.
Silva, a junior music technology
major, said the group offers an ac
curate picture of a cappella singing
while serving musical and enter
tainment functions.
The group was one of six quarter
finalists from the Western region at
the International Championship of
Collegiate A Cappella competition.
Inspired by the other groups they
heard at the competition, the mem
bers upped their singing intensity
and focus, and increased their
number of gigs to at least one per
week.
“No matter how I feel, whenever
I go to rehearsal, I end up being
very glad I’m in the group,” said Ja
son Johnson, who sings tenor I and
II.
Johnson said the group’s music
selections range from gospel and
classical to bebop. Johnson said
every song takes experimentation,
along with trial and error.
Johnson, a junior music educa
tion major, said the challenge of
singing a cappella is that it’s easy to
go out of tune without backup in
struments. He said another obstacle
in singing a cappella is to not take
obvious breaths.
“It can be wearing on your
voice,” Johnson said.
Peter Vomocil, who sings bass II,
said that because they sing a cap
pella, they often have to create in
It just sounds good,
and it's all natural. There's
nothing helping them. It's
all their voices. This was
officially the highlight of
my day
Joanna Chan
sophomore
sociology major
struments with their voices.
“We have to back ourselves up
vocally,” Vomocil said. “For some
people it’s natural.”
Silva said he and Tyler Boeh of
fer the group vocal percussion, a
skill that involves a lot of air and
practice.
“Vocal percussion uses parts of
the mouth, lips and nose all togeth
er in ways that you don’t usually
use to sing,” Silva said.
Vomocil, who has been singing
since second grade, said for him,
the group is not only a hobby but
something he loves that’s outside of
his daily routine.
“We do what we like to sing,”
said Vomocil, a junior theater arts
major. “We are self-motivated, self
taught and self-directed, and that
gives us flexibility to do what we
want.”
Vomocil also stressed the fact
that all the members, despite their
diverse interests, are joined by a
passion and love for music.
“There is so much individuality
in the group,” Vomocil said.
“Everyone brings their own
strengths to the group. We may not
have necessarily all crossed paths
without the group.”
Hollens said many of the mem
bers of the group have background
talent from other choirs, such as the
University Gospel Choir and
Chamber Choir, along with training
from private voice lessons.
“On the Rocks” will be singing at
3:45 p.m. every Wednesday spring
term in the EMU Amphitheater.
More information about fall term
au-ditions is available at
www.uoontherocks.com.
Gun
continued from page 1
Principal Jane Harrison then en
tered the student’s classroom with
another teacher and quietly re
moved him from class. They pro
ceeded to the office, where the gun
and a loaded clip were discovered
in the student’s backpack.
“The kid was clearly terrified,”
Harrison said. “He wasn’t very
happy about me going through his
backpack.”
Police learned that the gun be
longed to the boy’s father and was
stored in a locked cabinet. The boy
unlocked the cabinet using a key
removed from its hidden location,
police said.
Harrison said she was impressed
with the manner in which police
calmly handled the situation.
Students said they were shocked
at Wednesday’s incident.
“I knew him, and I didn’t think
he was like that,” said Michael
Blankenbeckley, a Kelly Middle
School student. “I just hope it nev
er happens again.”
Kelly Middle School is located
at 850 Howard Ave. in North Eu
gene.
The student taken into custody
transferred to the school in Janu
ary, just missing a week-long safe
ty program and non-violence edu
cation program held by the school
in December, Harrison said.
Harrison stressed that today’s in
cident is a prime example of just
how effective awareness and edu
cation programs can be.
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