Betina Dalope, a software engineering major, is the Music Director of the TrebleMakers, Drexel’s all-female a cappella group. Betina took over after the position only one month after joining the TrebleMakers, and has helped the group grow and improve musically for the past three years.
Knowing that she wanted to keep being involved with music in college, Betina auditioned for TrebleMakers the second week of her freshman year. Her position as Music Director soon became a very important part of her life. “It’s my creative outlet, and Trebs [the group’s nickname for TrebleMakers] is my medium,” she said. She finds that the best part of her job is seeing the group work hard and truly believe in the music that they’re making. Since her freshman year, Betina has seen a lot of improvement in the group, saying that “it’s been so rewarding to see my group grow from its humble beginnings (very very humble!), to something I can really be proud of.”
The TrebleMakers accomplish quite a lot throughout the year, according to Betina. They perform at various venues in Philadelphia, sing at other colleges’ concerts, and participate in a cappella competitions, all in addition to hosting their own concerts every term. But that’s not their only purpose—“Trebs is also an outlet for our members to do what they love to do: sing,” she said. Everyone in the group is dedicated to singing and to music in general, meeting for at least two hours twice a week to learn and perform songs.
Betina’s job in all of this is to make sure that the group is actually prepared musically for their many performances. Her duties include composing arrangements, teaching those arrangements to the group, and making sure that the songs sound right as a whole. “Basically, I’m in charge of making TrebleMakers sound good,” she said.
With all of the TrebleMaker’s commitments to rehearsal and concerts, the position has its downsides. A lot of responsibility falls on Betina. “Arranging a song can take hours, every day, for weeks,” she said. She often puts TrebleMakers first in front of everything, including schoolwork, as the group counts on her to be Music Director every week. “Trebs is definitely the source of all my stress,” she said.
However, for Betina, the experience is all worth it. She loves being part of the group, both for the singing and the people. She loves everyone in the group, and notes that many of her highlights at Drexel have been because of TrebleMakers. Being in the group has also made her realize how strong her passion for music really is. She is now sure that she wants her career path to somehow involve music, saying, “I’m so self-motivated to create music, it doesn’t make any sense for me to not incorporate it into my career.” Her dream job would encompass both software engineering and music.
Betina encourages everyone to learn more about the Drexel Treblemakers and their performances through Facebook, as well as follow them on Twitter and Instagram at @dutreblemakers.