When a cappella group Redefined performs this Saturday night it will be the culmination of more than just 10 popular songs such as Macy Gray's \Why Didn't You Call Me,"" or Incubus' ""I Wish You Were Here."" It will also be the debut full concert of UW-Madison's first co-ed a cappella group.
""To me there's this limitless potential,"" said UW-Madison sophomore and group co-founder and director Nate Mendl.
While the university has two well established a cappella groups on campus'the all-male Madhatters and all-female Tangled Up in Blue'Mendl said Redefined offers a cappella a new level of possibilities on campus because of the wide range of voices that comprise it.
""It just makes everything musically more exciting,"" he said.
This may have been one of the underlying motivations why he and two other students decided to create the group. They held auditions in October and two weeks later began rehearsal.
Choral Department Chair Beverly Taylor agreed to sponsor the group, which uses School of Music facilities when it practices.
Now meeting twice a week, the 14 students who comprise Redefined come from diverse backgrounds. There are not only music majors but also chemical engineers, theater students and political science and sociology majors.
""We've got a wide variety of people but they're all great singers,"" said Redefined member and UW-Madison sophomore Rick Groves. ""It's a lot of fun and everybody's dedicated.""
Since its formation, Redefined has had various smaller performances such as business functions and most recently they opened for the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella.
The songs they perform, which are all arranged by their own members, are based on popular music. Usually one singer imitates the soloist while the rest of the group imitates the orchestral background.
""It's a lot freer'it's not like you have to do exactly what's written,"" said UW-Madison sophomore and group member Amy Amano. ""You make it your own.""
The group is also special because it is still so new, and as the members work together to establish it, they are also learning how their voices work together to create the music, Mendl said.
""We're all kind of together forming an identity of the group,"" he said.
As it makes its presence known on campus, Mendl said the members of Redefined are learning how to work together to create music.
""Just getting everyone thinking on the same page is important when you're singing together,"" he said.
While Saturday's concert may be the first time Redefined boasts its unique sound to UW-Madison, Mendl said the group has future plans to make its name known in the community, such as beginning to record a CD after spring break. But Mendl also said that the group's future depends on the collaborative desires of all of its members.
""I'm just going to direct it and make it the best ensemble in the direction the group wants to go,"" he said.
Redefined will perform a free concert, along with Tangled Up in Blue, this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Calvary Lutheran Chapel, 701 State St.
