Encounter #12: Acapella with Neil, Michael, and Dan
Hello Encounters community and welcome back! After a relaxing summer vacation, Encounters has returned and is excited to share with you an amazing lineup of 9 to 5’er artists this year. Before we dive into our first Encounter of the Fall, I just want to take the time to say a most heartfelt thank you to all those who have participated in Encounters thus far, whether it be as a featured artist or a viewer. Your enthusiasm, curiosity, and passion are what drive this project and I look forward to us continuing to share our art and stories with one another this coming year.
Now that I have given my Academy Award speech, I think that is the cue for our next Encounter :)
This week’s Encounter is the first of its kind in that it is the first collaborative feature of the Encounters series. Our featured 9 to 5’er artists are Neil, Michael, and Dan – the pioneers of the first acapella group at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Engineers by training, their professions now range from structural engineer to med school student but their passion for acapella still remains. I have been a big fan of their beautiful acapella harmonies since our time in university together so, being the nice guys that they are, for their Encounter, Neil, Michael, and Dan collaborated with me on an acapella cover of the song, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. If you would like to learn more about this talented acapella group and their passion for music, I encourage you to check out their story on The Characters page of this website.
It turns out I had a lot to say about my Encounter with Neil, Michael, and Dan so for this week's post, I am including the story behind the Encounter after the video feature. For those of you who enjoy a good story, I encourage you to read on.
For this Encounter, I am including two videos. The first one is of my collaboration with Neil, Michael, and Dan on Hallelujah and the second one is the cover by just the trio. Although the first video isn’t a perfect finished product (due to me getting intimidated singing as a soprano), it embodies what I think being a 9 to 5’er artist is all about. The guys and I got together on a Friday after work, commuting from places ranging from Long Island to Harlem, to meet on the Upper East Side and, after not having seen each other in 5 years, spent 4 hours to arrange, practice, and record our cover of Hallelujah. That, to me, is the story of the 9 to 5’er artist. We may not have all the time in the world to dedicate to our art because of our jobs and other life matters but we find ways to make time and make the most of it because it is a part of who we are.
I hope you guys enjoy this week’s Encounter just as much as I enjoyed collaborating with Neil, Michael, and Dan on it. I want to give a big thank you to Michelle for being our cameraman and photographer for this feature - we could not have done it without you! I kept the first collaboration in its uncut version because I think the raw process that you see is what rings true to the beauty of 9 to 5’er artists. If you want to experience next level ethereal acapella beauty, then please make sure you check out the second video of the cover by the trio.
Now, without further ado, I introduce to you our Encounter with the acapella trio of Neil, Michael, and Dan (in order from left to right in the video). Enjoy!
P.S. Interested to hear more of Neil, Michael, and Dan's covers as the Sons of Pitches? Click on the link to their YouTube channel
Interested to learn more about the Coopertones? Click on the link to their YouTube channel
I first Encountered Neil, Michael, and Dan during undergrad at the Cooper Union through an acapella group called the Coopertones.
As a chemical engineer who always looked to the performing arts as my elixir to help me survive the grueling engineering curriculum, I was thrilled when, in my senior year, I saw a flyer on the announcement board for acapella tryouts at my university. I have always been a bit shy about singing so I was nervous to try out but it was my fascination with the beauty of acapella that drove me to take the chance.
When I walked into the study room that had been temporarily transformed into an audition space, I was greeted by 3 friendly faces sitting behind a white desk, arranged in American Idol judges fashion. They were Neil, Michael, and their friend, Nico. Freshmen at the time, these 3 roommates were the founders of what would become the Cooper Union’s first acapella group, the Coopertones. Neil, Michael, and Nico’s friendly smiles gave me confidence as I proceeded to sing but I could tell that these guys meant business. They immediately became immersed in the music, staring into space and listening intently as though nothing else mattered, picking up every nuance of the melody and letting it resonate throughout their entire body. After my audition, as I awaited call backs, I remember thinking that even if I didn’t get into the acapella group, I was just happy that these 3 guys were going to add some pizzazz and music to the hallways of Cooper Union, which, in my opinion, were too often filled with frantic shrieks of equations and theorems from exhausted overworked engineering students.
To my delight, I made it into the group and got to spend my senior year at the Cooper Union singing acapella with some of the nicest and most talented people I have ever met. Neil and Micheal brought together students from all disciplines at the Cooper Union – engineering, art, and architecture – to form the Coopertones and it was a testament to their immense musical talent how they were so easily able to unearth beautiful harmonies and a full cohesive sound from the diverse group of styles and voices that they assembled.
Dan was a freshman engineering student who made it into the group as well and was someone who stood out to me, despite his generally quiet demeanor. I was amazed to discover that Dan never sang before joining Coopertones. He was an experienced pianist who decided to give singing a shot and tried out for acapella. It was fascinating to see how Dan applied his experience in playing an instrument to singing – you could tell that the songs and lyrics translated into sheet music in his head. He had this uncanny ability to pinpoint the exact notes with his perfect pitch and what came out of his mouth was one of the most authentic and sweet voices I have ever heard, beautiful in its honesty and simplicity.
Neil and Micheal were a dynamic duo of the Mastermind and the Voice who inspired the group with their talent and their unwavering belief and appreciation of us as individual singers.
Neil was the mastermind arranger whose deep understanding of music was apparent in how easily he could craft together a new arrangement on the spot. He did not approach the music with preconceived notions but rather seemed to live in it in the present; he spent most of our practices listening intently more than singing. Neil's ability to capture the nuances of our individual voices and harness them in a way that was beautiful when woven together was awe-inspiring.
Michael was, who I considered, the Voice of the group. Ladies, I just have to say that this guy has the kind of voice that will make you swoon (I hope I am not embarrassing you too much, Michael!). He can tackle any complicated arrangement or riff that you throw at him with such ease. Like a musical acrobat, Michael's voice navigates through the jumps, twists, and turns of the melodies with such grace and precision. Despite his tremendous talent, Michael was always so humble and had more of an interest in helping the group improve singing together than in showing off in solos.
It was Neil and Michael’s passion for music and their ravenous appetite for beautiful sound that inspired us all. They taught us that the beauty of acapella can be discovered once we let go of our egos and insecurities as individual singers and instead, simply listen and respond to each other as a group.
Singing together with Neil, Michael, and Dan was definitely one of the major highlights of my last year at the Cooper Union.
After I graduated, I unfortunately did not keep in touch with the group as much as I would have liked to but I continued to follow the Coopertones on YouTube. In doing so, I came across a few videos of Neil, Michael, Dan, and Nico in a side group that they started called The Sons of Pitches. One of the songs that they covered was a rendition of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. I was so blown away by the beauty of their cover that two years ago, when Encounters was just a vague nebulous cloud of a concept forming in my brain, I reached out to them on Facebook in a message that was along the lines of “Hey, I know we haven’t been in touch since 2011 but I think you guys are really talented. Will you collaborate on a cover of Hallelujah with me for a project that isn’t real yet?” Fortunately for me, the Sons of Pitches were open-minded and agreed to participate when, and if, Encounters ever became real.
Two years later Encounters became real and so Neil, Michael, Dan, and I got together for the collaboration that I had dreamed about. This has been a wonderful Encounters collaboration experience for me and I hope that you guys enjoy it.
I look forward to many more collaborations with 9 to 5'er artists this year on Encounters!