September performs at Music From the Heart.
The motto of September, an all-male a capella group, has always been and always will be: “A group of guys who just love to sing.” September was founded in 2009 by Aragon alumnus Jeffrey Taylor, and the group continues to thrive. The name “September” came from the Latin root, “sept,” for seven, and so there are seven members in the group.
Although September is not directly affiliated with Aragon, the members are all Aragon students.
September member and junior John Graham says, “It definitely gives you a sense of entitlement … being in the only male a capella group. It brings some kind of prestige.”
Senior and September leader Scott Bell says, “I absolutely love being the leader of this group. September is what I look forward to most during the whole week at school. My goal at the beginning of the year was to create and lead the best September that I possibly could, and I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to do it with.”
This is Bell’s third year as a member of the group but his first as the leader. He adds, “They all contribute so much that it doesn’t feel like I’m the leader. They put in all the hard work and I’m just there to coordinate rehearsals and guide them in some ways. All the credit goes to them.”
Most of the work required for September is done on the members’ own time.
Junior and September member Wesley Lee says, “We try to learn as much of the music outside of rehearsals. Practices are generally for putting the parts together and for polishing our repertoire.”
September rehearses on Wednesdays at lunch, Thursdays after school, and on the occasional weekend, sometimes with Taylor.
Senior and September member Nat Blood says, “We sometimes start off by singing a short barbershop tag … in order to warm up. Then we work on whatever songs we’re working on at the time.”
Senior and September member Brendan Stanton says, “Scott leads us this year, so he chooses the songs we perform, though we can all make suggestions … But oftentimes Scott’s able to transcribe music basically by just listening to the song. We don’t limit ourselves to one genre. We’ve done songs from a multitude of groups and genres, and it’s always a fun time”
To name a few, September has performed “Silent Night,” Billy Joel’s “For The Longest Time,” and the Bee Gees’ “How Deep is Your Love.”
Bell says, “We’re doing a lot of new music this year that I’m transcribing for the group. We don’t choose repetitive pop music, but rather anything that’s fun, meaningful, and has nice, intricate harmonies.”
This year has been the biggest for September performance-wise, and they have gained considerable popularity throughout the Aragon community. This year, they have performed the national anthem at Aragon football games and at the First Lego League Championship. They also performed at a wedding anniversary.
Bell says, “Any chance we get to perform, we’ll take it. We just love to perform for people.”
To describe the auditioning process, Bell says, “We test [their] range to determine their voice part and flexibility. We then give them a piece of music to look over and sight read in quartets to check their reading skills, blend, and voice quality.”
Concludes senior and September member Alex Garcialuna, “I love to sing, and September gives me a chance to sing with my friends even when class isn’t in session.”
