Issue Date: Nov 9, 2001

By Douglas Frank

Imagine you are standing before a 17-voice choir in Lucy Stone Hall listening to the sounds of voices, instruments and percussion performing the music of Billy Joel, Tori Amos and Guns N' Roses, among others.

When you realize that all the sounds are being made by human voices -- sopranos, altos, tenors and basses -- you will have been introduced to one of Rutgers' newest vocal groups, Deep Treble, a student-run a cappella choir.

A latecomer to the collegiate a cappella ranks, Deep Treble is beginning its fourth season. It has already attracted international attention, however, by placing in the top six in the finals of the International Championship of Collegiate A cappella (ICCA) in April, the first time the group entered competition.

Deep Treble advanced to the finals through a field of 175 other collegiate groups and won awards for best vocal percussionist and best soloist.

There are more than 800 such collegiate ensembles, which sing all kinds of music -- classical, jazz, rock and pop or various mixtures. Sophomore Daniel Mintz, the current president, said Deep Treble is "sort of known as the weird group in the a cappella world because of our mix of repertoire. We do an eclectic mix from Beatles and Pink Floyd to what you hear on the radio right now."

The group's first CD, "All Kinds of Treble," is being mixed and should be released before the end of the year. In the meantime, Deep Treble has a performance set for Dec. 1 in Voorhees Chapel on the Douglass campus. The 8 p.m. concert will include guest appearances from various other collegiate groups.

This article was published in the Nov 9, 2001 edition of the Rutgers Focus and is available online at http://urwebsrv.rutgers.edu/focus/article/link/849/