Williamsville Courier/ Friday, February 20, 2015
3
The Sing-Off Live Tour heads to Town Ballroom By Amy Robb STAFF REPORTER
The hit NBC series The Sing-Off is going live, touring 55 cities across the U.S. starting Feb. 17. Originally scheduled for UB’s Center for the Arts, the WNY chapter of the tour moved to the heart of Buffalo, playing Town Ballroom, 681 Main St., 7 p.m. Mon., Feb. 23. At each city, local a capella groups will open for the tour and get the chance to work with Deke Sharon, the musical director for the tour, show and hit films like Pitch Perfect and the upcoming Pitch Perfect 2. The Rochester Yellowjackets have this privilege Monday, having actually competed on the show in Season 3. The University of Rochester group has been around since 1956, sporting sharp yellow blazers to go with the yellowjacket theme. A lot of the performers in the group attend the prestigious Eastmond School of Music, bringing classical
training to the mainstream pop music primarily performed on the show. They will be joining Season 5 winners Vanderbilt University’s Melodores, Season 5 finalists The Exchange, Season 2 winners Street Corner Symphony and Season 4 winners VoicePlay on stage. Group performances will be longer and more specialized, since tunes won’t have to be cut short for television. Two of the performers that competed in Season 3 as Yellowjackets came back Season 5 with other individuals they met while on the show, forming The Exchange, an eclectic mix of voices and backgrounds. Classical, R&B and gospel, among other genres, are combined to make something unique and familiar all at once. In addition to outstanding musical talent, the group draws the audience in with its energetic stage presence. When The Exchange performs, they give and take. There’s a back and forth energy with people
in the crowd. It makes sense, with the name. “It’s the energy. It’s intense, it’s a party -- it’s swagger. Almost like one of those things you have to experience…extremely interactive. You’re a part of it, it’s not just about watching,” says Alfredo Austin, member of The Exchange. With the help of catchy pop tunes, stellar performers, and people that are just as into it as you are, it’s easy to see why this is such an immersive experience. The groups fool you in the best way possible. It’s an a capella concert dressed up in a party atmosphere. While on tour the past couple years, the group had the chance to teach music in schools on an international level. These experiences proved the value of music in the classroom, especially when considering the language barrier: “In Hong Kong, we taught kids for an hour and a half and with the language barrier they didn’t really understand us until we started CPOWNY
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to perform. It’s a potent reminder of how music is a language that everyone can speak,” says Richard Steighner, another member of The Exchange. Since The Sing-Off, the guys have been touring like crazy and created three original albums, starting with “Get Ready,” then “The Good Fight” and most recently “Pursuit,” which came out the first day of tour, Feb. 17. The third album describes where they are right now in their lives: “The third album is all about the pursuit of happiness, and life as a band, and small business owners, five guys trying to find their way in the world,” says Austin. Visit their website, exchangevocal.com for more. Purchase your tickets at townballroom.com or at the door, general admission only, $35. Please be advised: all tickets purchased through UB will be honored and refunds are available through point of purchase, or by calling UB’s box office, 645-6915, for a limited
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Williamsville Courier /Friday, February 20, 2015
6
Local sports Williamsville East captains put team first, set their goals high
East’s Finley places first at sectionals
By Melissa Brawdy SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
Much of Williamsville East’s success has come because of the team-first attitude its players have. While every school tries to focus on that, East seems to have it all figured out. And the team’s three captains Dylan Cicero, Max Battistoni, and Matt Steffan are largely responsible for that. “It’s great for a team to be close on the ice, but it’s even better for a team to be close off the ice, and that’s what I think we are at East,” Steffan said. “We like to hang out; do team bonding.” “You don’t really make any better friends than playing with your teammates, especially seeing them in school, doing fun things and winning championships,” Battistoni added. “There’s nothing better.” “It’s been a great time playing for Williamsville East,” Cicero said. “We made great friends and got really close with all the team bondings and stuff.” Steffan says that the coaches are also a big part of what has made playing for East so enjoyable. “The program here is awesome,” he said. “The coaches are nice, and they’ll work with us on anything.” Steffan and Battistoni have been playing hockey together
By Melissa Brawdy SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
FILE PHOTO
Some doubted whether the Flames were a playoff contender, and they enjoyed proving everyone wrong. since they were 5, and although they attended separate middle schools, they remained friends and grew even closer while playing for East. “Not going to the same middle school, we didn’t really hang out that much, but
then when he came to East, we became best friends right away,” Battistoni said. “And then going through varsity with him and now being a captain is just a great experience. I love the guy.” Battistoni quickly added,
“We became closer in “Dylan’s nice too.” Cicero has been playing high school,” Cicero said. hockey with Steffan and Bat- “And it’s been a great expetistoni since travel hockey rience, especially play in middle school, and the game has strengthened their See “East” friendships over the years, but on page 7 especially at East.
Timmy Finley is only in his second year of diving, but the Williamsville East sophomore is on his way to states for the second year in a row after placing first in this year’s Section VI meet. He has worked hard to get to where he is, and experience in gymnastics has also helped him to be as successful as he is. “I had a small background doing gymnastics, and that helped me because it gave me a head start to other divers because I had already learned how to jump and flip from gymnastics,” Finley said. Finley says that the biggest reason for his success is a program called Wings, run by Karla Helder at the University at Buffalo. He normally goes twice a week to work with Helder. “The biggest reason for my success as a diver is because of my practicing with (her),” he said. “She runs this amazing program called Wings, and it is definitely the biggest reason for
See “Dive” on page 7