Year: Sophomore
Major: Political Science
Hometown: Chesapeake City, MD
There are many a capella groups at Penn State but Michael Grasso found Blue in the FACE to be his musical outlet of choice. Blue in the FACE came together in the fall of 2008, according to their website. The group was formed on an idea that, “there was still an untapped reservoir of musical ability beyond those who were already singing.” This group focuses on their unity as a group when they put together their musical numbers and, instead of the ritzy choreography that some a capella groups follow, Blue in the FACE focuses on the raw talent of their singers, said Grasso.
We got the chance to speak with Michael and find out more about his experience as Blue in the FACE’s tenor singer:
HC: What made you want to audition for a capella when you came to Penn State?
MG: I started singing when I was in middle school and high school. I went to all-state and county competitions and I scored perfectly within my vocal groups. I knew I wanted to continue singing when I went to college. It was a good outlet for me.
HC: There are tons of a capella groups on campus, what made you choose Blue in the FACE?
MG: Blue in the FACE is the first group that came up to me and they were super friendly and outgoing. At the involvement fair, some of the other groups seemed cliquey and weren’t super outgoing or friendly. When I found Blue in the FACE, I found exactly what I was looking for. Through Blue in the FACE, I have found a family. Everyone wants to be there and it’s not too much about pushing yourself to do better. Rather the focus is to better yourself to make the group better as a whole.
HC: What was it like going through the audition process? Is the process any different now that you are on the opposing side?
MG: For the audition you sing a couple bars of a song and there is also some sight-reading. We also require a picture of someone, which I like because I feel that they are getting to know you a bit. I feel that we’re a community and the personalities have to work together. Blue in The FACE takes time to get to know who people are so that we can pick the best people to work together. This year, over 50 people auditioned and 20 were called back. We only ended up taking one this year. The nice thing about Blue in the FACE is that no one has seniority over the decisions in auditions; everyone has an equal say.
HC: Describe your performances that you do during the year.
MG: Usually we have two road concerts each year at churches or schools. We also performed backstage at THON last year. We also perform at Alumni Hall. A lot of gigs are paid for through the University. We perform for alumni, cultural groups, and we’ve also performed for a teacher association event. The typical length of a performance is about three to five songs. We also have a concert in the Forum building each semester. At the gigs we also talk about some of our fundraising. We are involved in THON, of course, and are also trying to set up our first EP (extended play), so at our performances we will talk a bit about our EP to our audience to try to raise money for it. ICCA (International Championship of Collegiate) is an a capella competition each year that we participate in as well. For this event, we use some choreography but we try not to use too much because Blue In The FACE is more about quality than anything else.
Michael also mentioned that if you want to support THON through Blue in the Face, you can donate here!