The Meladies, Marquette’s first and only all-female acapella group, performed their fall concert “Linger” on Nov. 19 in the Weasler Auditorium.
The line-up consisted of eight songs with “Linger” by The Cranberries being the main inspiration for the overall theme of the concert.
Maddie Carroll, a senior in the College of Business Administration and visual director, oversaw the planning of the visual aesthetic of the concert.
“We wanted to make it the fall theme of dark tones, if you looked at our photoshoot pictures that are on our Instagram for our promo, it’s a lot of moody dark aesthetic. We really wanted to keep bringing the color because the version of “Linger” that we are doing is the Lake Street Dive Version and so it’s a little bit more upbeat and jazzy and fun,” Carroll said.
Carroll and Molly Buzzelli, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and president of the Meladies, said the line-up was a wide variety of genres that still fit under the fall vibes. Some pieces were arranged by members and one of the songs is a “Senior Song” performed by Alex Merkel who is leaving The Meladies a semester early.
In addition to planning outfits, set lights and overall energy, Carroll also choreographed the pieces for the concert.
“It’s something that’s really fun to do with other people especially along with the arranging. Fall concerts are a great opportunity for people that maybe did dance in the past or had never done anything with choreography before but are wanting to try it. This is a great opportunity for them to give it a shot because it’s so low stakes,” Carroll said.
Carroll also mentioned the choreography for the concert really depended on the song. For some, she said she wanted to highlight the vocal aspects of it but for other pieces, there is more intricate choreography.
Buzzelli said the fall concert is the time of year for The Meladies when they give members the complete creative freedom to make the concert whatever they want it to be. Members can also submit their own arrangements to perform during the concert.
Three of the eight songs performed were originally shown at Acatoberfest, an event hosted during Marquette’s Family Weekend. Acatoberfest showcases Marquette’s acapella groups alongside UW Madison’s Tangled Up In Blue and Fundamentally Sound. For “Linger”, they brought five new songs to the stage.
The club rehearsed every night for “Linger” which was more than their regular two-hour practice a few times a week. During each practice, the girls worked with Buzzelli and Anna Gorrill, a senior in the College of Engineering and club music director, to learn new music and rehearse sections.
The club is full with 16 members of all different grades and Carroll said she loves seeing the club continue to grow and welcome in new first-year talent.
“People join the group and bring in such a diverse group of people but somehow everyone seems to match vibes so well and that’s not even planned it just works out that way. It’s so fun to see across a semester how people are super alike in ways that you would never have expected and make friends across grades that you could not in other groups,” Carroll said.
The Meladies will perform their next seasonal concert in time for the holidays Dec. 8 in Marquette Hall to fundraise for Marquette Mardi Gras, a student-run club that focuses on disaster relief.
This story was written by Mimi Sinotte. She can be reached at [email protected].
