For years now, “Off the Chain” has been Bearden’s only a cappella group, but now there is a new program at Bearden that offers students another chance to participate in this musical style.

This new program is a female only, junior and senior, a cappella group.

Ms. Mary Sexton, the choral director, came upon the idea of a female a cappella group because she had an open slot for the fall semester because of the absence of another musical group, and she had to think of a new musical group to fill the empty place.

The new female a cappella group and the female chorus are getting ready to have an ice cream social Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Bearden Cafeteria. Tickets will be five dollars. Later in the year, they will also have a holiday concert combined with the orchestra and female chorus.

So far, all is well for the females in this a cappella new group and according to Ms. Sexton, they are having “an absolute blast.”

Some may wonder why female a cappella is now a group, considering the fact that there already is an a cappella group at Bearden. Sexton said that this new group gives girls another chance to be in an a cappella group because this group has 12 slots, unlike the mixed a cappella group that has only nine slots for girls. This is only one advantage of having a female a cappella.

“I think we get more stuff done because there aren’t as many people talking and we have more self-control,” junior Laura Seale said.

Another advantage this new female a cappella has is that girls will tend to be less awkward around each other, unlike when they are interacting with guys.

“I think girls tend to be more comfortable around each other than they would with males in the room, and no one’s really afraid to try out or be their self,” senior Kaylee Himes said.

The group also forces some girls to try something new.

“I really think that girls end up pushing themselves when they’re in an all-girls group,” Ms. Sexton said. “For example, we have to have female beat boxers, and normally they would just let the males do that, but now they have to step up and learn how to beat box.”

This new a cappella group is a great opportunity, but the class that was replaced, Bearden Singers, had an issue arise, resulting in its cancellation for the fall semester.

“It’s becoming more and more difficult for students to take Bearden Singers all year because of added requirements, year round courses, and dual enrollment,” Ms. Sexton said. “For the first time, I didn’t have enough males to have Bearden Singers all year.”

All the Bearden Singer members and fans do not need to worry, though, because the group will be together for the spring semester.