With the purity of their close vocal harmony in ‘Cool Yule’ songs from their Christmas album and contagiously joyous beatboxing by nationally acclaimed “Dr. Brick”, New York City’s award winning 5-person a cappella vocal quintet, BACKTRACK VOCALS, enthralled students from K to 12 in the Allegheny-Clarion Valley Schools on Monday, December 16, 2024.
The ArtReach program followed Backtrack Vocals’ phenomenal performance for their enthusiastic audience on Sunday night in Foxburg’s Lincoln Hall for Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts (ARCA), which gave them a standing ovation, demanding an encore!
In the sixteenth year of ARCA’s Educational ArtReach partnership program with the A-C Valley schools, this residency fulfills its mission as a non-profit organization to contribute to the quality of life in the greater Allegheny-Clarion valley community – bringing superb, professional-quality and sequential educational resources to inspire and educate students in the region.
The young, energetic and enormously talented professionals in Backtrack Vocals brought beautiful voices, polished choreography, and their signature heart and humor to engage students in vocal warmups and participation exercises in three small classroom workshops for grades K to 6.
In two assembly concerts for K to 12 in the high school auditorium, the performers entertained and engaged students with holiday and popular songs that had them singing along and moving to the music.
Extending a demonstration done in the morning elementary workshops, for both the elementary and high school assembly concerts Chrissy Aloisio of Backtrack Vocals led their demonstration of how the group explores musical options in building their original, vocal arrangements, utilizing the song “STAND BY ME”.
Most impressive were the fabulous beat boxing skills of group member Michael Crisol (aka Dr. Brick) that he demonstrated in the afternoon assembly concerts for elementary and high school students. In both assemblies, student volunteers and some teachers joined the performers on stage to try their hand at beat boxing after a short how-to crowd lesson.
Here is Dr. Brick’s beatbox demonstration for the Lincoln Hall audience on Sunday night, December 15, 2024.
Many A-C V choral students took advantage of the opportunity to stay after school and work closely with the artists on improvisatory exercises that built mutual musical-listening skills and responsiveness in choral singing.
Outreach programs for students, music students and young aspiring artists are an important part of Backtrack’s mission. They have conducted educational programs at over 250 schools worldwide, from elementary assemblies to college workshops and a cappella camps in the US and abroad.
With extensive touring history in every mainland state in the United States, as well as performances in Vietnam and Kazakhstan, Backtrack Vocals began their musical journey with their fresh sound and unique repertoire by launching a YouTube channel in 2013 – having had 13 million views and over 115,000 subscribers since then. The group creates two videos every month and this is their latest release, “Christmas Don’t Be Late”, on December 20, 2024.
Backtrack Vocals won New York’s Got Talent Season 6, and other high-profile appearances include television spots on NBC, FOX, PBS, Steve Harvey’s daytime show “STEVE!”, Broadway’s “Kinky Boots,” and HBO’s “PAUSE with Sam Jay”. They made their movie debut in “A Ring for Christmas” in December 2020, and their international presence was highlighted by a performance and interview on Kazakhstan’s national morning show “ОЯН!” in June 2023.
ARCA is grateful to its Members, major donors and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts for their financial support of its Educational ArtReach program – as well as the support of the A-C Valley School administration and teachers in facilitating this residency: Elementary Principal Lori Marron Sherman for coordinating the K-6 full day schedule during the very busy holiday season; Superintendent Dr. David McDeavitt, Dr. Bill Jordan and the A-C Valley School Board for their support of music and the arts in the curriculum; and the dedicated music and classroom teachers who lovingly prepared students for ARCA’s music-educational experiences, especially choral director, Jennifer Powell Lowrey.
Jennifer Powell Lowrey said, “Backtrack Vocals not only gave amazing performances, but also are brilliant educators. They managed to captivate students’ attention from kindergarten to senior high the week before Christmas! That is nothing short of a miracle and speaks volumes about the talent, personality and energy of this group. Students were inspired by their beautiful voices, lush harmonies and fun beat boxing, and the high school chorus students loved working with them in the afterschool workshop. We are so grateful that ARCA brought this wonderful musical experience to our students.”
Elementary Principal Lori Marron Sherman expressed her appreciation for the program: “The students and staff at A-C Valley are so appreciative of the programs that ARCA has brought to us over the years. Not only are they entertaining, but they provide an “outside the box” interactive music education experience that consistently inspires our students to pursue musical interests. Of these, Backtrack Vocals was the best! Their energy was contagious, and the students were enthralled by their performances and Dr. Brick’s beatboxing at the elementary school and the high school. We are so fortunate to have this collaborative opportunity in our community!
Superintendent Dr. David McDeavitt shared about the importance of the ARCA-A-C Valley partnership to students: “The relationship that A-C Valley School District has with the ARCA and the Educational ArtReach Services is very valuable for our school district and student learning. These types of learning activities tie nicely into the STEAM centered learning philosophy, and via hands on learning with the arts escapes the traditional model of engagement.”
Anyone wishing to enjoy Backtrack Vocals online may follow them on YouTube, Spotify, Apple music and their website: https://www.backtrackvocals.com
And don’t miss their return by popular demand to ARCA’s audience in Lincoln Hall in 2025!
