From Motown to musicals: Campus groups belt it out at All College Sing

This was the 60th year for the All College Sing at Simpson. While there have been some years where the even didn’t take place, it still has been a long-running tradition since 1948. This year’s event took place on Thursday, March 27, at 8:15 p.m. in Great Hall.

The event consisted of seven groups singing songs inlcuding musical, classic rock and pop songs.

While groups Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Mu Phi Epsilon were the exhibitions for the show and didn’t compete, groups like Kappa Kappa Gamma, Lambda Chi Alpha, Delta, Delta, Delta and Sigma Alpha Epsilon did.

The men’s honorary music society sang songs including “Brothers Sing On,” “Philosophy of Logic” and “My Girl.” They also sang “I Can Tell the World” with the women’s honorary society.

Other songs included “Sisters” and “We are family” by KKG. LXA sang “Come on Eileen,” “Take on Me” and “All Night Long.”

Mu Phi Epsilon sang “Mu Phi Epsilon Creed” and “Getting’ in the Mood.” Pi Phi/SAE sang “Walking on Sunshine,” “Somebody to Love” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat.” Tri Delta sang “We go together,””Grease Lightning,” “Beauty School Dropout” and “Summer Nights” performing as a coed combined group.

Groups were all under the direction of one of their members and some even dressed up to help play the part.

“After a long winter, it’s healthy to have fun in a unified event where everyone can take part and enjoy fun performances,” Sophomore Zach Rohlwing, music major and president of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, said.

Groups were put into categories for women, men and mixed, with winners in each group. Groups were composed of at least eight members with a time limit of eight minutes per group.

There were three judges of the event, President John Byrd, Rich Ramos, assistant dean for student activities and Amy Hall, director of choirs at Waukee high school and Simpson alum. Judging was based on performance, style and musicianship.

KKG won the women’s division, while LXA took home the prize for the men’s. The mixed group winner was Pi Phi and SAE. The overall best performance winner was LXA and they received $200 and a trophy that has been circulating for many years.

“The songs ranged from many different ages,” Rohlwing said. “There were some songs from the early 60’s Motown to contemporary musicals.”

Sophomore Sonya Nielsen, who was a member of the Pi Phi/SAE group, enjoyed participating in the event.

“The All College Sing is fun and it’s nice knowing that all the hard work will pay off,” Nielsen said. “I look forward to it every year.”

While this year the groups were composed from their housing units, that isn’t always the case. There is no rule that housing units can’t go together with other housing units. Last year some of the apartments created a group.

“All College Sing is a great way for the campus community to come together in friendly competition at the end of the year,” Junior Carl Rowles, music major and member of phi mu alpha sinfonia, said. “Everyone enjoys having fun in it.”