Notably Sharp, one of the University’s newest a cappella groups, was formed in the spring of 2011 by Chris Delaney ’14, Eli Timm ’13, and Anna Sproule ’14. It joins a long line of a cappella groups at Wesleyan (fun fact: the University was nicknamed “The Singing College of New England” in the 1800s), and the collegiate network at large.

“There is a huge amount of talent on this campus,” Delaney said. “We felt that there were a lot of people capable of and excited about singing a cappella, so we decided to try forming our own group.”

A cappella as an institution has been a fixture at colleges for generations. These groups have bred influential musicians such as Cole Porter (a former member of the Wiffenpoofs of Yale) and Art Garfunkel (a former member of the Columbia Kingsmen). Since 1980, there has been a renaissance of the tradition. The number of active groups in the United States has increased from 300 to roughly 1,200 troupes showcasing a myriad of styles and genres.

“Our group doesn’t really have a niche,” Delaney said. “It’s more the best-dressed group than anything else—hence the name—but we kind of just pick songs that we all like and we think will sound good in a cappella.”

When Notably Sharp held its open call at the beginning of the year, the auditions yielded 50 talented Wesleyan students, from which the group selected three freshmen. There are nine other students in the group.

“Auditions this year were really exciting,” Delaney said. “We saw so much talent that we were just not expecting, and it was really a shame that we couldn’t accept all the people we wanted to. But since we do not have any graduating seniors, we had to limit our selection to three.”

For those of you unfamiliar with the process of an a cappella audition (like this reporter), it is pretty much like any other audition. You fill out a form,  participate in an informal interview with the panel, and perform your piece without accompaniment. Since you are auditioning to sing, the process will also generally include a few vocal exercises to check your ear, pitch, memory, and other aspects of  your singing ability. In addition, a cappella groups like to throw in some less-serious questions.

“Every a cappella group on campus thinks that it is the funniest, so they add all of these little questions, just to get to know you,” Timm said. “For example, ‘What’s something your mom doesn’t know about you?’ That’s ours.”

While these questions don’t significantly influence final selections, they are there to relax and encourage potential members to show a little more of their personality, which is important for the group dynamic, both in and out of rehearsal.

Notably Sharp meets three times a week, for a total of six hours of rehearsal. They are currently working on establishing their base repertoire of 15-20 songs, including “Time of the Season” by the Zombies, “Happy Ending” by MIKA, “The Cave” by Mumford & Sons, and “Killing Me Softly,” made famous by Roberta Flack.

“Because it’s such a new group, we’re not expecting anyone to graduate for a couple of years,” Timm said. “So we are excited to get to know each other really well and take time to make this group the best we can.”

Leah Khambata ’14, a singer around campus, has a few friends in Notably Sharp and saw them perform earlier this month.

“They are a very talented group of singers who have a fresh and invigorating sound,” she said. “Hats off to them for forming it on their own and managing to create that kind of sound in such a short period of time.”

When asked what separated Notably Sharp from other a cappella groups on campus, Delaney cited its group chemistry and anti-competitive spirit.

“We don’t want to compete,” he said. “There are a lot of really talented groups on campus, and I think that one of the great, unique things about Wesleyan’s a cappella scene is that there really isn’t that much competition among different groups. We just have a shared love of music, and the desire to make music as a campus.”

Although it has a very short history, and its essential repertoire is still in development, Notably Sharp’s call for new talent yielded an unexpectedly large turnout, which helped it become a recognizable name around campus.

Delaney is currently in talks with various recording studios to arrange for the group to drop a first album by the end of the year. In the meantime, Notably Sharp is settling into its place in the greater Wesleyan community.

“We’re just a bunch of people who love music, love to sing, and love to have fun singing with each other,” Timm said.