Wootton Groups Entertain at Hometown Holidays

Rockville’s Hometown Holidays got a little bit "Glee"-ful this year with a concert from three  a cappella groups. The all-male Supertonics, all-female Acabellas and mixed Chaos entertained fellow students and family members and happy Hometown Holidays attendees who found some shade on the walls in front of the Red Brick Courthouse on a hot Saturday afternoon.

Talking before the concert, the groups’ managers were quick to correct comparisons to the hit Fox television show  "Glee."

"We’re not a show choir. We’re an a cappella group," said Acabellas manager Stephanie Wasser.

Though, the other two managers said they felt a kinship to one of the groups on the show.

“We identify more with the Warblers,” said Chaos manager Lauren Fagan, referring to the prep school a cappella group on the show.

“A cappella music is much harder than [the fictional McKinley High kids] do in 'Glee,'" said Supertonics manager Jeffrey Popkin. "But the Warblers are top notch.”  

Each of the Wootton groups has different strengths and a different sound.

Popkin describes the Supertonics' sound as a “a pretty even mix of popular and more classic songs ... including our signature ‘50s songs and barbershop.”

Chaos also plays a mix of older popular music.

"We try to arrange our own music,” Fagan said. He said the group also gets special musical arrangements from college groups.

Acabellas has a popular sound and does a lot of doo-wop, Wasser said.

For Wasser, a graduating Wootton High senior coming to the end of her Acabellas career, the concert was bittersweet. Wasser has been a part of the group, which practices six hours ever week, for two years.

“I love these girls and I’m so proud of them. I hope the group stays strong and who they are,” Wasser said. She is going to college for musical theater, but said she doesn’t think she will have time to be part of an a cappella group.

Fagan said she hopes to contiue with musical performance in college. "I think music will always be a big part of my life," she said. "I’ll probably still try out for shows, but I don’t know beyond that.”

Popkin, who is heading to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall, said he plans to try out for an a cappella group in college.

Supertonics started their set Saturday with an innovative combination of barbershop and rap, followed by the crowd-pleasing Jason Mraz song “I’m Yours,” with Anthony Woo as soloist. They really came into their own with Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” and with a rousing rendition of Backstreet Boys’ “Larger than Life” with Supertonics alumni they’d invited up to the stage.

Acabellas’ best included KT Tunstall’s “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” and a toe-tapping rendition of The Beatles' “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Chaos member Divya Mouli again proved she has a great set of pipes in her lead on the Jill Scott tune “Hate on Me.”  

All three groups recently competed in the Maryland A Cappella Invitational. Popkin won Best Male Solo with “Danny Boy” and Acabellas’ Samhita Tankala won Best Female Solo with “Stand by Me.” (Both reprised these Saturday.)

As if three award-winning groups weren’t enough, another group has tried to get into the a cappella act at Wootton this year. A group of athletes performed during the school’s "Thursday Night Live" talent show earlier this year—as Jockafellas.