Have you ever wished your college experience was as thrilling and invigorating as a movie? Well, for the B’Naturals, Ursinus’s very own collegiate A cappella Club, every time they band together to sing a beautiful power ballad, or one of Hozier’s greatest hits, they are one step closer to reaching the stardom achieved in the Pitch Perfect trilogy.
After gaining quite a few new members from mid-September auditions, the B’Naturals consists of 14 students, one of them being the Music Director, Madison Neiman. In addition to her role with the B’Naturals, Neiman is a Class of ‘25 health science major on the Allied Health track, as well as a psychology, biology, and neuroscience minor. When asked about her favorite part of the club, Neiman notes, “I have always loved singing in harmony with very nice people. And I love singing in Bomberger auditorium, especially because it’s super cool, it bounces off-it just- it sounds really nice, yeah. And I like being able to teach that and I’m kind of very proud of it, because I don’t know, I feel like I kind of curate that a little bit. I’m very proud of everyone in this group. And that’s the best part.”
The B’Nats’ range of songs from all different genres is pleasing to the ear, but no doubt hard to manage. So how does it get done? Neiman weighs in, saying, “So I love being able to teach this, and I’m very proud of it. It is definitely a struggle, because I’m not a music major or minor, and I don’t do education, so I kind of just wing it as I go. And that’s definitely a struggle. If something I had planned to do doesn’t work, and I really don’t have a backup plan, I just kind of have to be creative and come up with a solution on the spot so that our group can still sound good.” When asked how she was able to learn so much about music, as well as piano playing, Neiman highlighted the fact that she grew up being classically trained in piano since the age of seven. In addition, her knack for sight reading stemmed from being involved in choirs in elementary, middle, and high school that sang in churches, as well as a cappella music. Neiman says with a smile, “I just kind of took stuff from whatever other people have done that have taught me, and I just try to pawn that off as my own, which seems to work sometimes, but yeah, that’s where I kind of get it.”
The club meets twice a week, once all together on Sundays from 6:30-8:00 pm, and once in vocal parts (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) at varying times. These rehearsals are in preparation for the two concerts they will have this year in the spring and fall semesters. More information will be posted around campus about these concerts as they approach, so keep a keen eye out. You certainly do not want to miss an awesome performance by the B’Naturals. Neiman adds, “The B’Nats are amazing, and I love every single one of them, and it’s my pride and joy at the school.”