Singing fills the air throughout the third floor of the Fine Arts Center as new and returning WKU students audition a cappella style for WKU’s two main a cappella groups, the WKU Redshirts and the WKU TrebleMakers.

The Redshirts, WKU’s all-male a cappella group, is predominantly made up of students from the department of music. The Redshirts specialize in multiple music genres, including doo-wop, contemporary, pop and more. The Redshirts currently have eight members, and are looking to expand the group with two auditions planned for Aug. 30 and Sept. 1.

WKU is also home to an all-female a cappella group, the TrebleMakers. Like the Redshirts, the TrebleMakers sing and perform multiple music genres, including musical theater, pop and jazz. The TrebleMakers currently have 10 members, and held auditions last week in FAC.

A short musical excerpt must be sung to audition for both groups. The vocalist will also need to sight-read and sing with the current members. Both groups require those who audition to participate in a WKU ensemble or chorus outside of the a cappella group for an additional opportunity to improve their vocal performance.

The Redshirts have a variety of songs to choose from due to the amount of composers in their group, according to Honolulu senior Brandon Goodwin, a Redshirt member and resident beatboxer. Goodwin said the team works together to choose and create music that is entertaining for the group as a whole.

The Redshirts currently practice every Tuesday and Thursday at 5 p.m. in FAC. They also perform on and off-campus at various concerts and performances throughout the year.

The Redshirts travel around to nearby high schools, where they perform and recruit future WKU students to join their a cappella team. Though they do not yet have a completed schedule, the Redshirts plan to continue recruiting by doing a tour of different high schools in and around the Bowling Green area this year.

Both groups have previously performed together in Van Meter Hall. Their most recent concert was held on April 10, which showcased multiple music genres performed by both groups and their alumni.

The TrebleMakers recently participated in a small tour in Kentucky, during which they were able to sing and recruit possible members to choose WKU as their college of choice.

“From this opportunity, we bonded more as a group and came back to the Hill with wonderful memories,” Danville junior Cathryn Ellis, a previous member of TrebleMakers, said. “My absolute favorite part of the group was having the opportunity to make music with such genuine and fun people.”

Reporter Elisabeth Moore can be reached at 270-745-6011 and [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @emoore938.