And now, let’s hear from Grandpa

A new generation of whiners has entered the acarena. (Aca-arena?)

On Sunday, March 29 at 8:16 pm, Norman wrote:

Dear Amanda,

Saturday morning a friend and I flew to LAX from northern California to the Semifinals held at The Wilshire Theater.  For the past two years I have been taking a group of 12 to the same production at the Marin Civic Auditorium. Most of us are singers in one form or another. We are all senior citizens. I sing bass in the Marin Men’s chorus. Our Gold Standard is Chanticleer, of course. The group was disappointed at the change in venue, two of us decided the trip was worth it. We were glad we went but disagreed with the first place decision.

There are several improvements that I think would broaden your audience but I’m only going to mention one.  I have encountered this at all Varsity Vocals including those at Wheeler.  Your program is a disaster !! Example:as I read last night’s program for Naked Voices I have NO CLUE what school they come from.  I realize there is an attempt at cleverness but if you want a broader audience at least inform A) The school B) location C) # members D) other basic information.  Cleverness has gotten in the way of letting the paying customer know basics. Frankly they read about 5th grade level !

My friends and I have talked of a trip to Lincoln Center for the finals. But frankly, as much as we love the music, the production needs a big up grading.

Sincerely,

 

Norman

He has copied his friend to the email. I “reply to all”:

Dear Norman,

Thank you for taking the time to write in with your feedback. I am sorry to hear you are disappointed in our program booklets. They aren’t the fanciest, as we are working on a limited budget, but I know you understand that.

As for the bios themselves, I generally encourage groups to be creative. In my mind, the more creative group bios more adequately represent the spirit of college a cappella. Otherwise, every single group bio reads exactly the same. In my seven years with this organization, I have been astounded to learn that each and every group that participates in the ICCA:

A) is the premier/premiere all-male/all-female/co-ed a cappella group on campus

B) sings a wide variety of genres, including (and then listing them here, in case reader forgot what “genre” means: contemporary, barbershop, rock-and-roll, jazz, hip-hop, R&B, and even a little country!)

C) is entirely student-led, -directed, -managed, -populated, etc.

D) performs both on and off campus for public and private events

E) takes an annual tour of the East Coast states, including (listing them all here, to remind reader of names of states)

I have a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in journalism, I have worked in the magazine industry, and I continue to freelance to this day. I share your distaste for poor grammar and usage, and I assure you, to the best of my ability, all our published materials, including the program booklets, meet the style and usage guidelines of the Associated Press.

I agree that the group’s full name and university should be included in the bio. I go to great pains to ensure that they both appear in every bio. You are right — I missed it on this one. This was our last concert of the season (apart from finals), and at this point, my brain is mush. I apologize.

I appreciate that you and your friends have been attending our events for so long, and I hope you will continue to do so. If you are so inclined to come out to New York this April, I would like to offer you two complimentary tickets to our finals, in the best seats in the house. Please let me know if you would like to join us!

Thank you again for your feedback. We always appreciate hearing from longtime fans, and without your constructive criticism, we would not be able to continue to grow.

Kind regards,

The Aca Queen of the World

 

His friend’s email bounced.