SoCal VoCals perform at White House over the holidays

The SoCal VoCals, USC’s oldest a cappella group, performed at the White House for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at a holiday reception for members of the White House staff and their families over winter break.

According to SoCal VoCals President Jonathan von Mering, one of the main reasons the group was selected was their excellent track record in collegiate a cappella competition.

“We compete in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella,” von Mering said. “We’ve won it four times since 2008, and then we were invited this fall by the White House Social Office to sing at a holiday reception.”

In order to afford to travel to Washington, D.C., the SoCal VoCals presented to USG to see if they would be able to fund their trip. Professional Funding Board Director Christian Edwards noted that the determination and strong communication of the SoCal VoCals was crucial to figuring out the logistics of getting them to the White House.

“They made it very clear that they were very determined and passionate about what they were doing and you can’t pass up a unique opportunity like this,” Edwards said.

Myles Nuzzi, the president of the SoCal VoCals last semester, was the one who presented to USG about what the SoCal VoCals’ plans were to make this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity into reality.

“Their presentation was absolutely stellar, unique and outstanding,” Edwards said. “When Myles initially contacted me his initial enthusiasm was great for what he saw this would be for the SoCal VoCals and what this could do for their future in terms of the unique opportunity it offered.”

Nuzzi elaborated that he felt that the SoCal VoCals performing at the White House validated them as professional musicians instead of just a group of college students.

“I think that performing at the White House shows that we are not just a college group but a professional vocal group,” Nuzzi said. “While we are a collegiate group, we treat ourselves as a professional business of musicians and once someone sees that we performed at the White House people will understand”

The audience aided the set itself, which consisted of Christmas carols and other holiday songs. The White House staff and their families managed to keep a professional performance lighthearted and fun.

“It’s a professional setting but it was also really fun because it was a party for the staff and their families,” Nuzzi said. “So there were little kids dancing and singing along with us. We were able to have a good time while treating it like a professional performance.”

According to Becky Yim, a freshman majoring in philosophy who just joined the SoCal VoCals last fall, getting the chance to perform for the Obamas set a high bar for the rest of her USC experience.

“Definitely as a new student, I did not expect to look back on my first semester and be like ‘Wow I met the president of the United States.’ That’s pretty cool.”

And even on the other side of the country the SoCal VoCals were able to see members of the Trojan Family making an impact in the White House.

“The person basically running the whole show was a USC grad, and [the White House staffer] had told [President Obama], ‘You should tell them to ‘Fight On.’ They’ll love that’,’ Nuzzi said. “So he comes in and says ‘Looks like there’s a couple of Trojans in here!’ And we thought ‘He knows!’ Then at the end [Obama] told us to ‘Fight On’ and gave us the ‘Fight On’ sign. It was kind of cool that we go across the country and a USC grad is running the show and interacting with Obama.”