Vocal Rush inside and out,a five-time national champion a acappella band
-Triece kushner
-Triece kushner
Vocal Rush. A five time national champion acappella band. The group is lead by Lisa Forkish a singer, songwriter, and educator. According to their youtube page“They have a first place win at the L.A. A Cappella Festival. In 2012, the group released a four-song EP titled "The Beginning" that was nominated for three Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards, including Best High School Album.” which is pretty cool for kids only 15-18 Years old. Unlike some of the other people on the radio, (cough cough Justin Beiber cough cough) Vocal Rush has so much talent.
Vocal rush started as an after school club that the new Lisa Forkish had volunteered to lead because there was no acapella group then. “We auditioned for a sing off, once we won it turned serious.” says Forkish
Today, in 2019, vocal rush has twelve members: Genesis Chambers, Aaliyah Washington-Purry, Maya Nunez-Adler, Juli Tucciarone, Anna Sara Meheoulley, Rose Nelson Marilyn Cliett, Rei Matsuno, Jocee Lyell, Audrey Gilbert, Richard Watson, And Persephone Smith-Donohoe.
“Vocal Rush has definitely changed me. Last year, I was the only freshman in the group so I gained a ton of new mentors that were/still are like big sisters to me. This year, everyone is best friends and I love it. I have met some of my closest friends in Vocal Rush these past two years and I don’t know what my life would be like without them. Through VR, I have gotten to experience being in a real community filled with love and trust. I had never been so close to a big group of people before until this year especially, so yes absolutely that has changed me.” says Gilbert.
*https://www.youtube.com/user/OsaVocalRush
Jumping Cities
Vocal rush is Does not only perform in Oakland but in other cities like London. On January 30* vocal rush played at Kings Place, London.
“Traveling to London was so much fun and wonderful and amazing and we got to meet new artists.” Says Matsuno.
“A lot of us got nose piercings. We found some really deep trust in each other” Says Tucciarone.
“My favorite times in Vocal Rush are when we’re performing. Each performance feels special because being in a group means you're not alone. When we perform I’m comfortable on stage because I’m with close friends who I can trust.” Meheoully says.
“Before every performance We say, ‘I love you and trust you’ to each other and we mean it" says Lyell
“when we went to London and we we got to kings place the workshop where we got to see little kids and the kids talk to us and asking us questions” says Smith-Donohoe
“My favorite part was our performance for kids ages 5-10 that were at the acapella festival. I would honestly say that, in my opinion, that was our best performance ever. I think the kids allowed us to not feel so uptight and nervous. Also, we didn’t want to see them get bored lol. So we really loosened up and PERFORMED. That was pretty incredible.” says Gilbert.
The Auditioning process.
“It was pretty nerve wracking, I didn’t know I would get in until 3 days later.” says Nunez-Adler. “I tried every year until I got in and the thing you notice is at very time you get better and better” Washington-Purry “these are the requirements for getting into Vocal Rush. Strong sight-reading ability, strong ability as a soloist, ability to move while singing and learn choreography without struggle, knowledge of choral markings and vocabulary, mastery of past repertoire Strong sense of leadership and accountability active in the department --auditions for shows, school musical, etc, professionalism in and outside classroom, maturity, reliability (no excuses), singing posture and presence in class, accountability, and a strong sense of purpose.” says ms Forkish.
“My advice for the new people auditioning for vocal rush is this: know that you are dedicating most of your time to working on music and songs” says Lyell. “Confidence and to keep working hard” says Smith-Donohoe. “Some advice I would give to kids auditioning for Vocal Rush is not to expect ANYTHING when it comes to the auditioning process. Don't expect specific students to get into Vocal Rush, don't expect yourself not to get in, etc. Having expectations is a common mistake everyone makes that causes a lot of stress and chaos during the process. If you just focus on yourself and making sure you are prepared for your audition, then it will run smoothly." Says Clitt
Vocal rush is Does not only perform in Oakland but in other cities like London. On January 30* vocal rush played at Kings Place, London.
“Traveling to London was so much fun and wonderful and amazing and we got to meet new artists.” Says Matsuno.
“A lot of us got nose piercings. We found some really deep trust in each other” Says Tucciarone.
“My favorite times in Vocal Rush are when we’re performing. Each performance feels special because being in a group means you're not alone. When we perform I’m comfortable on stage because I’m with close friends who I can trust.” Meheoully says.
“Before every performance We say, ‘I love you and trust you’ to each other and we mean it" says Lyell
“when we went to London and we we got to kings place the workshop where we got to see little kids and the kids talk to us and asking us questions” says Smith-Donohoe
“My favorite part was our performance for kids ages 5-10 that were at the acapella festival. I would honestly say that, in my opinion, that was our best performance ever. I think the kids allowed us to not feel so uptight and nervous. Also, we didn’t want to see them get bored lol. So we really loosened up and PERFORMED. That was pretty incredible.” says Gilbert.
The Auditioning process.
“It was pretty nerve wracking, I didn’t know I would get in until 3 days later.” says Nunez-Adler. “I tried every year until I got in and the thing you notice is at very time you get better and better” Washington-Purry “these are the requirements for getting into Vocal Rush. Strong sight-reading ability, strong ability as a soloist, ability to move while singing and learn choreography without struggle, knowledge of choral markings and vocabulary, mastery of past repertoire Strong sense of leadership and accountability active in the department --auditions for shows, school musical, etc, professionalism in and outside classroom, maturity, reliability (no excuses), singing posture and presence in class, accountability, and a strong sense of purpose.” says ms Forkish.
“My advice for the new people auditioning for vocal rush is this: know that you are dedicating most of your time to working on music and songs” says Lyell. “Confidence and to keep working hard” says Smith-Donohoe. “Some advice I would give to kids auditioning for Vocal Rush is not to expect ANYTHING when it comes to the auditioning process. Don't expect specific students to get into Vocal Rush, don't expect yourself not to get in, etc. Having expectations is a common mistake everyone makes that causes a lot of stress and chaos during the process. If you just focus on yourself and making sure you are prepared for your audition, then it will run smoothly." Says Clitt
After OSA
As you know, Vocal Rush is super talented. But do the Vocal Rush kids still want to pursue a music career?
“I am in 12th grade, I think that I will always sing, but maybe not a record deal.” says Chambers “I personally want to continually singing but maybe not professional.” says Tucciarone. “I want music to be apart of my life, like maybe in college.” Says Smith-Honohoe. “I do, I want big enough platform *Snap Snap made by Juli* to inspire new people” *Snap Snap* said Watson
Monday Night at Yoshi's
Ok, just saying Vocal Rush knows how to turn a sucky Monday into a really good one. Their singing is amazing. I want to Yoshi’s on a Monday night at 8 o'clock to watch them perform and… WOW… Everyone was so good.
My favorite moments where when they improvised and when they song how many times, or I know a place, wait actually all of it was my favorite time! They where the best band I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot. I recommend them to you. It was worth 30 dollars.
Did you know that Cliett can write a song? It was so good, it was called Numb. She not only sung it but arranged it.
Each one of the members was so freaking good. You should go to their next one. Don’t forget to follow them on Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, and twitter at OSAvocalrush “that is OSA vocal rush” says Washington-Purry. And that's vocal rush for you, an amazing band of twelve teenage singers.
