By Marilyn Delk |
When a capella sextet Six Appeal appears in concert at Henry St. Clair Memorial Hall on Saturday, March 22 as the next-to-last presentation of Darke County Center for the Arts’ 2024-2025 Artists Series season, you can count on the audience being amazed at what the group can do with their voices. But you can also depend on the equally amazing good time that will be had by all in attendance—a fitting result for a performance by a group that began “just for fun” almost twenty years ago.
Six Appeal got its start on December 10, 2006 at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota when, after everyone else had gone home, six freshman choir nerds formed an ensemble singing music they wrote themselves. They soon began performing at talent shows and open mic nights, then opening for various artists performing on campus, and eventually earning notice that the talent gap between the collegians and the professional groups with whom they shared the stage was non-existent. When the founding members graduated, some of the group decided that, rather than getting a “real job,” they would prefer a career continuing to do what they loved—performing a capella music before audiences around the world.
Hitting the road non-stop, the group performed at proposals, weddings, funerals high schools, colleges, performing arts centers, theaters, corporate functions, and festivals. Since then, Six Appeal has appeared across the globe–as featured entertainment on Disney and Cunard cruise lines and as frequent performers at the Vanity Fair Oscars party in Hollywood; in 2013 the group sang the National Anthem at the Sugar Bowl. After winning several awards at a capella festivals in the U.S., Six Appeal has gone on to become the only group that has twice won the Grand Prix at the prestigious Spring A Capella Festival in Moscow.
Although a capella translates to “in the style of the chapel,” that definition does not accurately define the music of Six Appeal; defining a capella as “unaccompanied vocal music” isn’t exactly accurate either. The group’s singers’ voices serve as the accompanying instruments as well as providing melodies and harmonies. This sextet can and does sing anything, fully accompanied by only their own voices.
Founding members of the group Michael Brookens and Jordan Roll are currently joined by Reuben Hushagen, Virginia Cavaliere, and Mel Daneke. Incorporating the two female members into the group in 2019 offered Six Appeal the opportunity to remodel and expand their repertoire, leaving a trail of harmony in their wake while broadening the scope and scale of their performances which continue to charm and entertain audiences of all ages. The group has become known for their vivid musical style, unmatched energy, and playful charm with a songlist spanning decades and genres that include pop, country, classic rock, jazz, rhythm and blues, and more.
Tickets for the show by a capella superstars Six Appeal cost $30, and can be obtained by contacting DCCA at dcca@centerforarts.net or by calling 937-547-0908; tickets may also be purchased at DCCA’s office located within Greenville Public Library. If any remain by showtime, tickets will also be available at the door prior to the performance which begins at 7 p.m. Six Appeal will also present their educational outreach program for junior high students in four performances at Henry St. Clair Memorial Hall on March 20 and 21; contact DCCA for more information regarding specific show times which are scheduled in coordination with local schools.