De Novo
A FRESH START FOR XAVERIAN A CAPELLA By Jaden Lim (G11) In the vast sea of songs artificially enhanced with today’s technologies, the natural and organic human voice finds its place in the art of a cappella.
T
o revive its craft, people have formed ensembles composed of talented singers who have honed their abilities enough to create the entire structure of songs solely with the voice. The world famous quintet Pentatonix is a testament to the capabilities of the voice, but so is De Novo, the homegrown Xaverian a cappella group that has displayed the musical potential of young Xaverian student-singers.
The Founding of De Novo The Xavier School Glee Club closed its doors in 2015 after the unfortunate passing of Mr. San Gabriel, the club moderator. Choirs for school events and Voice of the Youth Concert (VOYC), a committee that organizes a singing ensemble to perform for the school fair variety show, then became the only opportunities for studentsingers to exhibit their vocal talent. Mr. Odoemene, the 2015 VOYC Moderator, took on the challenge of creating a new, full-time singing ensemble at the start of 2016. Having gathered three students from VOYC, he held auditions right away in February to help the small group grow. From three students and a teacher, a family of nine came to be. Forming a new group meant an eager start, with their first practice session taking place in May in preparation for the XS60 faculty lunch in June.
Legato: De Novo’s First Concert Although De Novo may have seemed like an amateur ensemble due to its sudden emergence, it was able to perform 30 times from June 2016 to July 2017. To celebrate its success in gaining support in and out of the Xavier School community, it held Legato, the very first concert organized by De Novo alone. It underwent a tight schedule, foreseeing the success of the event through advertising, selling tickets, searching for an excellent sound system, and, of course, perfecting many songs and medleys that the members arranged by themselves.
DE NOVO MEMBERS PERFORMING ONSTAGE
Come show night, the fruits of their labor showed itself through the full house and their applause throughout the 18 song numbers. Justin Lim (XS ‘18), one of the performers, felt very satisfied with how the concert transpired; “I’d say our performance went surprisingly well. The concert ran as well as we hoped it would, and there weren’t many problems with our vocals. The sound system we found was also really good. It amplified our voices really well, so I think that really helped our audience enjoy the show.” Legato ended as a successful chapter for De Novo, but something in 10 days caused them to remain focused. They, for the first time, would see themselves in Singapore for an international competition.
The 2017 Asia-Pacific Arts Festival Another avenue to showcase De Novo’s talents was laid out by the Student Activity Programs (SAP) Office through an invitation to the 2017 Asia-Pacific Arts Festival. Not wishing to waste the opportunity to join a formal competition, De Novo applied as
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