Emily Tucker Ryan Tucker Kelsey Wagner Austa Walton Alexander Warzecha Shane Weare Shenoa Weeks Natalie White • .!!J..... ~~ .I at kA\'MO~ with each oth r When junior Chris Brown came up with the idea to form a pop a capella group during his semester at the HULA program in the spring of 2011, he had no idea it would follow him back to the U.S. with great success. A music and pre-physician assistant major who sang in both chorus and Chamber Singers, Brown wanted to start a group that focused on more contemporary music. The group, entitled "Tuned In," boasted a repertoire including music by Ingrid Michelson, Sara Barellis, Michael Jackson, Tom Petty, Florence and the Machine and BillyJoel. "I wanted to have some sort of music in the band's name somehow," Brown said. "I didn't want to say 'In Tune,' because if we ever sang and weren't in tune there would be a lot of insults. 'Tuned In' shows that we're a contemporary pop group because we're tuned into the culture and tuned into what people are listening to." After Brown's return from HULA, "Tuned In" remained a unique musical group at Harding, completely student led and sponsored. The 13-member group included five juniors, four sophomores and four freshmen, only six of which were music majors. While their studies ranged from computer science to communication sciences and disorders to exercise sciences, they were all united by their common love for music. 25~ Junior Junior Casey Miller, who also sang in Good News Singers and chorus, loved the change of pace Tuned In offered her. "I'm enjoying the different experience Tuned In provides," Miller said. "It is fun being able to sing music that is currently on the radio." At first, forming the band and getting it up and running was a challenge for Brown. He chose the group's first songs and had to purchase the music and arrangements, which was not an easy task. "I was trying to buy a particular song, but the woman did not want to use an Internet payment method, such as PayPal," Brown said. "I did not have a check book, so my parents had to mail her a check, but she was changing addresses at the time, so the transaction was complicated. I realized then just how much work goes into leading a group." Despite the hard work, or perhaps because of it, Tuned In successfully completed their first performance on Oct. 28 in Little Rock, Ark., opening for singer Michael Cooper. Their future plans included producing a recording, performing at weddings and competing in the International Competition of Collegiate A Capella competition. With so many options up in the air, their fans wondered just how far the group would go. They stayed tuned in to find out. Jessica Boyd
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