Agnes A Cappella swept the audience off their feet with an exhilarating performance on Nov. 10 in the Pause, featuring a plethora of tunes ranging in tone from Adele to Chappell Roan. Composed of upperclassmen soprano and alto singers, the all-female a capella group drew in and engaged the audience with every song — whether that meant clapping along to familiar tunes or cheering in awe of the unforgettable singing they had just witnessed. To learn more about Agnes A Cappella, The Olaf Messenger sat down with members Mallory Winfrey ’25, Gracia Larsen-Schmidt ’25, and Jenna York ’27 for an interview.
The group arranges all of their own songs, and have a soloist featured at the forefront of each arrangement. They practice for three hours a week, which does not include the time spent arranging each piece and practicing on their own. The group typically performs on campus, and has a few concerts a year, including some informal, casual performances. This spring, they are planning on having a joint performance with all of the a cappella groups.
The group is made up of members with all different majors, music involvement levels and experience with a cappella. While it varies from semester to semester, Jenna notes that most of the time, the majority of members aren’t music majors as Agnes’ flexible schedule leaves room for people of all majors to participate. While some members are music majors and a part of other ensembles, there are also other members who use Agnes as an outlet to express themselves and their passion for music without the large time commitment a larger ensemble would demand. The members also note how the atmosphere is more laid back than a larger ensemble.
The lineup changes on a semester basis and membership is determined by audition, which the members also note is a very chill and laid back process. While they aren’t auditioning for the spring semester, auditions for the 2025-2026 year will be towards the end of the academic year.
