Alex Esparza, Rhapsody Blue’s current president, is this week’s Campus Celebrity!
Could you give us a little background about Rhapsody?
Rhapsody Blue started in 2004 by a group of guys who wanted to have fun and sing. From The Underground to Dolan Science Center and even Progressive Field, Rhapsody Blue has been making an impression all throughout the University Heights community. We have also been featured at Northwestern University and Loyola University of Chicago, and plan to expand and delight as many students, professors and citizens as we can. This year is especially important to us because this is our 10 year anniversary!
What is your favorite song to perform as a group?
My favorite song to perform with Rhapsody Blue is Let it Be by the Beatles. When we first arranged it, it was just a song that could be low key and a classic song that all of our fans would enjoy. However, it turned into a very emotional and sentimental song for the group since one of our members was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer. We sing it at every concert as a way to show support and love to our acapella brother who is not able to perform with us, but we make sure he knows that he will always be a part of us.
How do you go about arranging songs?
We usually arrange our music by selecting a song on YouTube or any other song that the group wants to do, and then we listen to the song and listen for our parts so that we can make an arrangement for the piano. For the past 3 years I have been here, we have had some very talented music directors who have arranged songs themselves, and we have been able to use sheet music which shows that we have some very talented musicians in the group.
What has been the group’s biggest challenge this semester/year?
The biggest challenge for the group this semester has been trying to get everyone there for practices. We are all involved in other groups, clubs, or fraternities on campus so it is hard to find a schedule that can work for everyone.
Any future songs you would love to perform as a group?
I would love to be able to sing Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. I think it would be a fun song for us to learn and perform since it is an all-time classic. It is a very hard song to learn and it would take a lot of work, but I would love to do it.