By Chelsea Reil

Boasting troupes like Distilled Harmony, the Downbeats, Bassix, the Nor’easters and Treble on Huntington, Northeastern has a fairly extensive list of a cappella groups on campus. Soon, one more may be added: the Inversions.

The Inversions’ business manager and founding member, Sophie Shrand, said she was originally a member of the Downbeats but wanted to form a smaller a cappella group that had a new approach to rehearsing.

“I learned a lot from being in the Downbeats since freshman year, and essentially I wanted to try something different using my own skills and what I had learned from them,” said Shrand, a middler behavioral neuroscience and theatre major. “This new group is smaller, with differently-styled arrangements … It’s really exciting to work on my own project with a tight group of people, figuring out what techniques work and what don’t.”

Shrand said the Inversions are taking this semester to focus on learning music and working out the kinks of the group. They are also looking into becoming an official Northeastern group, but are considering staying unaffiliated, she said.

“The process of becoming officially Northeastern-affiliated is certainly a challenge,” Shrand said. “To be honest, we still we haven’t decided whether or not we want or need to be NU-affiliated. The pros of that status would be the ability to compete in the ICCAs [an annual international a cappella competition] and to perform at official school functions. However, if we were not NU-affiliated, we could include members who do not necessarily attend our school. So we’re still deciding what we want to do about that.”

Paul Sipio, a sophomore music industry and music technology major, is the group’s music director. Although Sipio said he has no formal a cappella training, he has a strong musical background.

“I met Sophie and Zac [Connor] last year and they approached me in … April about starting a new group that would raise the bar a little bit in difficulty and talent,” he said. “Now, we’re just trying to do our own thing and our own arrangements.”

The group has eight members, although they said they are looking to expand to nine (two sopranos, altos, tenors, bass and one vocal percussionist). The group also includes a few musicians, so they sing a cappella music and incorporate some accompanied pieces. For their past two shows, they performed some original pieces written by Sipio and covers ranging from The Weepies and Joni Mitchell to Carole King and the Indigo Girls.

“My goal as musical director is to cover as many decades as I can because I think that music is changing, not drastically per say, but changing,” Sipio said. “There is a distinction between each decade, and I try to make that distinction in this group.”

Shrand said most of the group’s songs divide into eight parts, so each person is singing his or her own unique line of music.

“It is vital for us to work closely together so as to blend and listen to each other, maintaining a unified sound while exploring with complicated, colorful harmonies,” she said.

Sara Draper, a middler history major and a member of the Inversions, said she joined the a cappella group because she could not resist the chance to sing on campus. She said having a small group makes for a great sound, but can also be difficult.

“Finding time to practice [is hard],” she said. “We’re all so busy, and with a small group one person missing creates a big hole in the sound.”

Shrand said that the group gives a little something extra to the Northeastern community.

“I think our music is impressively challenging to perform, and thus compelling to hear,” she said. “We’ve got an exuberant mix of kids from all different majors, and we have a lot of fun together. I think it’s just lovely to watch people who really enjoy making music together, and that’s what we do.”

Shrand described the group’s music as contemporary; they have some Norah Jones, some Billy Joel, some Annie Lenox and more.

Shrand said students should keep their eyes open for upcoming performances. Students who are interested in being a part of the group can audition on Dec. 7 in 235 Ryder Hall.