Hawkapella, St. Joe’s a cappella choir, held its annual Winter Concert at 8 p.m. on Dec. 7 in The Perch.

As friends and family arrived, they were greeted by the singers and a place to donate to  the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Philadelphia, a local mental health awareness group. The back wall was lined with affirmation bags where people could leave letters of inspiration for the group. The Perch was completed with the wonderful smell of Crumbl cookies, which the guests could indulge in. 

The lights soon dimmed, and the 18 Hawkapellas walked out on stage. The audience’s round of applause after every song was a testament to the group’s talent.

The night’s setlist included a beautiful duet of “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers, performed by Michael Gural ’24 and Hawkapella music director Paige Martin ’25, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love, performed by Jacqueline Ward ’23, and a jaw-dropping performance by Martin when she sang her heart out to “Erase Me” by Lizzy McAlpine. Each performance was backed by the vocals of the rest of the choir.  

In the days before the concert, Ian Rowe-Nicholls ’24, Hawkapella president, was hoping for as big of a turnout as last semester, which he measured in terms of how many cookies were distributed to audience members as they arrived at the concert.

“We ordered 150 Crumbl cookies last semester,” Rowe-Nicholls said. “We definitely ran out of them, not very fast, but I’d say pretty fast.”

This year, over 100 people attended the concert and devoured the cookies. This year’s Winter Concert is the first since the covid-19 pandemic without a mask requirement, allowing the audience and the singers to truly embrace the live performance. 

“There is a real passion because a lot of us started our college careers or were in the midst of high school leadership positions, and that got changed by covid,” Rowe-Nicholls said. “It lights a fire under us to want to really take advantage of the experience we have now.”

For many Hawkapella performers, their favorite part of performing is feeding off the crowd’s energy. Ward said she loves singing songs people recognize. 

“There’s the energy of the crowd, and they get excited,” Ward said. “Then we get excited and sing better and that’s really fun.”

Ward said the group practiced twice a week throughout the semester, plus on their own time outside of official rehearsals. 

“This is really all we get ready for. It’s definitely stressful having to memorize everything and it gets a little hectic, but it’s still enjoyable,” Ward said.

One reason the work is worthwhile is the camaraderie the singers share with each other, said Susana Hresko ’24. 

“Everyone in Hawkapella truly cares about each other,” Hresko said. “I fully consider it another family, and I’m very happy to be in Hawkapella and to know each and every one of these individuals. If I’m ever having a bad day and I go to rehearsal, I know my day is going to get better no matter what. I always come out of it smiling and enjoying myself.”

This idea of family was on display in the final rehearsal before the recital. Singers smiled at one another when they realized they were in harmony or gave words of encouragement when one of the group members was struggling to nail their part. 

Rowe-Nicholls said that “cohesion” is one of the best feelings about participating in a group like Hawkapella. 

“My high school choir teacher always told me, one of the coolest things about these groups is that you really get to be part of a team, and when you’re in that exact moment, the moment that you’ve trained for, you can get really lost in that moment,” Rowe-Nicholls said.