Sea Sharps Annual Acafest
Club & Greek

Sea Sharps Present Annual Acafest

On Sat. Mar. 25, Monmouth University’s a capella group, the Sea Sharps will be hosting their second annual Acafest, which will feature collegiate a capella groups from multiple schools across the tri-state area.

This year, a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Special Olympics, the philanthropy of fraternity, Sigma Tau Gamma.

Melanie Doe, senior social work student and president of the Sea Sharps, claims there is a lot of work that goes into each show. “We have been preparing for this performance all year and we cannot wait to show how much our group is grown,” Doe said.

Dr. Pedram Daneshgar, associate biology professor and advisor of the group, noticed the difference in the group from last year’s show to this one. “The group is a lot different from last year. They are a cohesive group that’s more in tune with each other. When they sing together, they seem like they are having more fun than before. They have improved chemistry which makes for better music,” he said.

The Sea Sharps were founded in 2013, and are the University’s only a capella group. They have been featured on MTV and have made Acafest an annual tradition.

This year, guest groups include The Orphan Sporks of Rutgers University, The Trentones of The College of New Jersey, Tonal Recall from Drexel University, and many more.

With these different groups, one can expect to see different styles of arrangements, singing, genres of music and certainly different group personalities.

With this performance, new and old members reflect on their time with the group, and this might be the last time performing in this setting.

Chioma Gabriel, a senior chemistry student and the musical director of the Sea Sharps, said that this performance is going to be bittersweet.

“I feel sad because it is my last time performing on stage in a school setting…every performance is an invitation to my friends and family to come see what I love to do, but I feel accomplished and happy to perform with my group.

I never thought I would be in an a cappella group in college, and this last performance will be the best and will showcase all of our growth and effort,” Gabriel continued.

Sara Todd, a freshman communication student and new Sea Sharp member is enthusiastic about her first Acafest with the group. “I’m very excited to see what we’ve been working towards to be put together on stage. Hopefully we’ll be able to share a night of fun, modern music with the audience as we showcase not only the Sea Sharps, but the other groups.”

Tickets for the event are $5. For more information about the event please reach out to a member of the Sea Sharps, or email the group at museasharps@gmail.com.

PHOTO TAKEN by Dally Matos