Back to the Beginning...

Featuring UPenn's A Capella Group "PennSori" singing a Disney Medley!

Last Sunday at Rhythm of Faith, we had an hour of practice and then spent the 2nd hour talking. (RoF seems to be doing a lot of "talking" lately...)
We went around the room sharing our reasons for why we joined RoF. As we went around the room sharing our reasons, I reflected a lot about myself and my motives for being in RoF.
As a girl with an older brother who is 8 years her senior, I grew up being exposed to the music and culture he enjoyed. When my brother was in college, he purchase a lot of college group A Capella CDs, and more specifically, a lot of Christian A Capella CDs. As he would drive me to my orchestra rehearsal or art lesson, we'd sit in the car and listen to the amazing voices of college A Capella groups. By being exposed to my brother's tastes in music, I began to form my own interest in A Capella.
It became my turn, and I began to explain my story about how I became interested in A Capella and how I had found out about Rhythm of Faith. However, as my story continued, I found myself explaining why I stayed instead of why I joined.
I joined RoF because of my initial love for A Cappella music and my desire to be a part of an A Capella group. However, now I realize that RoF is so much more than just an A Cappella group to me. RoF is my stress relief. RoF is my excitement. RoF is my favorite pastime. RoF is my offering to God. RoF is my way of singing to the world about my love for Jesus. RoF is my second family. And I could go on and on. The reason I joined was because I was given an choice. The reason I stayed was because my own self would not have given me a different option.
I write this because I realize that it is so easy to forget one's motivations for doing something. Especially when working in a group. As the end of the semester nears with a number of performances, RoF has been pressured to keep up with the demand. Rehearsals have gone by without proper breaks and with many moments of frustration. However, as we get busier, it becomes more important to take a step back, think back to where we started, and fall in love all over again with what we do.
I'm so thankful for having been able to join Rhythm of Faith and for having been given such a wonderful group to lift up my voice with. And as my RoF career continues, I just pray that I will always remember to pause and take a step "back to the beginning"...

Announcement!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150099991526534
The link above is a link to the facebook video of RoF's last performance of "Yesterday." The FB video is "public" so you should have no problem accessing it. Enjoy! =)

The past couple of weeks have been very busy for RoF. The 2nd half of the spring semester is performance season, and we've been very busy!
But in the midst of this busy, chaotic schedule, RoF has a big announcement! Rhythm of Faith and Penn State University will be hosting the Fall 2011 Gospel Jam! Gospel Jam is an annual event that brings together various Christian A Capella groups from the east coast for a weekend of music, fun, and fellowship! Last semester, RoF was blessed to go to Johns Hopkins University for the 2010 Gospel Jam, which they named "Jam More in Baltimore". We, along with 10+ other groups, met together at JHU and attended music workshops, did street singing, and ended the weekend with an evening concert that showcased every group in attendance. It was a lot of fun, and RoF is so excited to be hosting the next one!
We've sent out invitations to about 20 groups across the east coast, including some of the groups that I have featured in my blogs here. We are planning on hosting about 12 groups, so it'll be a first-come, first-serve basis. We've heard back from two universities, and we're happy to announce that Carnegie Mellon University's "Joyful Noise" and Johns Hopkins University's "Adoremus" will be attending.
Rof is currently planning many exciting things for next semester's Gospel Jam. Our group's officers are currently in the planning stages for creating icebreakers to housing 120+ college students. Please cheer us on and give us your best wishes in completing this giant task successfully! ^^
Also, last year's Gospel Jam was creatively called "Jam More in Baltimore" as I mentioned above. We're trying to think of some creative names that we could incorporate with "Penn State," "Happy Valley," "PSU," and etc. Any suggestions?
And lastly, I'd like to say hello to the blogging world as Rhythm of Faith's new music director for the next academic year. I'm in the process of being passed down the RoF wisdom from the current music director, and I'm so excited! I can't honestly say that I'm not nervous... I'm worried that I won't be able to handle the time and work committments that being an officer of a club requires... But I'm willing to try my best!
Until next time,
Joy

P.S.
Gospel Jam will be held on November 5th, so save the date if you're interested in listening to some fine A Capella!