A student organization will perform at the Plaza District’s Festival, an annual celebration of local art, music and food.
OCUpella, a student a capella group, will open the festival at 11 a.m. Sept. 30 on the festival’s main stage.
Stephanie Francis, vocal music education senior, has been in OCUpella for four years and said she is happy about the opportunity.
“We were so excited to be selected and look forward to being a part of this amazing community event. I am looking forward to just walking around the Plaza District and taking full advantage of the food vendors,” Francis said.
New material will be showcased, Francis said.
“We will be performing four songs, two that we are reprising from last year and two that are new. One thing that is unique about our music is that almost everything we perform is student-arranged,” she said.
Onnika Hanson, acting junior, said she loves being able to perform with the group outside of theater shows and school events.
“I’m really excited for this event because it’s a chance for us to perform for people other than students,” she said. “We get to broaden our audience, and it really is a fun experience.”
Hanson said she plans to stick around after the performance and check out the local artists.
“I love art, and I always think it’s cool when you can see singers, painters and other artists from the local area,” Hanson said.
Jacob Elliott, music theater senior, said his favorite part about being in OCUpella is the opportunity to learn and grow as an artist.
“We get to write, learn, develop music all the time, and work together to make sure we give a great performance, all without the added accompaniment,” Elliott said.
Most of the group’s performances are on school grounds, so the upcoming event is a change to look forward to, Elliott said.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to branch out for this group and really let a larger group of people know about the amazing performance group we have at OCU,” Elliott said.
Elliott said he would love to stay and explore the festival, but he has to leave to prepare for another performance later that day.
“Being the busy, super-committed performers we are at OCU, I, along with three other members, have to go directly from the plaza performance to get ready for a performance we have later that afternoon for the Chamber Choir,” he said. “I’m sure that the remaining members of the group will stick around and have a blast at the festival.”
The stage OCUpella will perform on is located on 16th Street in the parking lot between Gatewood and Indiana avenues.
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