As the official acapella group of Bryn Mawr, the Night Owls regularly record and release music, go on tour, and perform at college events including May Day, alumni gatherings, and Lantern Night. Currently, the group is on their Washington D.C. tour that began Friday, March 3.
Olivia Flores ’26 joined the group during her first year and said the club welcomes students of any year to audition. Now, she is the President of the 14-person club and runs the business aspect of it which includes planning concerts, tour, recording, and more. Pitches Emma Gross and Elana Spector manage the musical component by leading rehearsals and arranging songs into a capella. This year, other group members have started to write and arrange music also. “Arranging music is a tedious—but super fun and rewarding—process,” said Night Owl Evan Pineo ’28. “I usually spend time over college breaks arranging, and then once we come back from break, the Night Owls host a meeting called ‘Song Pick’ where we give comments and feedback on the new arrangements.”
The Night Owls host performances throughout the semester, including joint concerts and their recent open-mic night. “We’ve hosted open-mic nights in the past, but I feel like our [current] group is very connected within the Bryn Mawr community, and people were able to spread the word well [this year],” Flores said. “It was really, really successful. It wasn’t just the Night Owls performing. It was so many other members of the community and it was lovely because we had different representation from other a capella groups on campus and people who aren’t in any groups at all.”
The club allows all of its members to audition for solos and guarantees one for each senior Night Owl. Then, they can record their senior solo for that year’s album release in addition to the other songs in the group’s repertoire. According to Flores, singing in the recording studio is different than in practice or for an audience. “One of the beautiful things about a capella is that you can riff off of each other and create your own harmonies,” Flores said. “But it’s a lot harder to do that in the recording booth, so we do a lot of phrasing and prepping beforehand to make sure each part of the song is being sung true to the sheet music.” Usually, each vocal part takes a turn recording their component individually which gradually builds the music up, and, finally, the soloist’s part is added on top.
The Night Owls sing popular music that they get to choose, which is one of the components Flores said is unique about it in comparison to her vocal work in high school. Despite recording covers, they don’t face copyright issues because of their distribution service and the fact that they arrange the songs themselves. Their latest album is currently on Spotify, and, according to Flores, having their music available to the public is a way for them to distinguish their group, attract new members, and consistently share their music with friends and family.
However, the recent changes in the SGA budget has halted the Night Owls’ recording for the semester. They were able to record a few songs in the fall, including one senior solo, with their previous budget but are now unable to finish the album, leaving the other senior solo unrecorded. “We’re very grateful that we don’t have to completely reevaluate the structure of our club,” said Flores, who believes the Night Owls will still be able to finish the semester relatively normally, unlike other clubs with much harsher budget cuts and higher monetary needs. “[But] we’ve had our fair share of scary exec meetings where everyone’s talking about how we can come up with solutions for the budget.”
Another component affected by the changes is their annual tour, which started the Friday before spring break and ends this Sunday. “In my freshman year, members didn’t have to pay for anything, and ideally that’s what we would always like it to be,” Flores said. “But because of budget cuts, it’s harder. We don’t have the money for meals, so our biggest concern is making sure our members aren’t paying more than they should have to.” This year’s D.C. trip will cost relatively little because the members drove themselves and are staying in the homes of family and friends, but last year’s New York City tour was more expensive. “We somehow had the foresight to know this year that that wasn’t going to be possible [this year], so we planned pretty well in advance of the budget announcement,” Flores said. “We would’ve had more issues if we had tried to go somewhere farther that cost more money for tickets and accommodations.”
On tour, the Night Owls are performing at a Bryn Mawr alumni luncheon, the Union Market, and the Georgetown Flea Market. “I absolutely cannot wait for tour and […] performing throughout the weekend,” said Night Owl Grace Abernathy ’28. “I’m so excited to share our hard work and to spend so much time with the group I love.”
The Night Owls will be tabling during Fall Frolic this fall to recruit new members for next year. According to Flores, what sets them apart from the other groups is their love for performing and the fun atmosphere. “We’re becoming even more close knit,” Flores said. “We have ‘fowl names’ and do a lot of bonding activities, whether it’s karaoke nights, movie nights, things like that. [We’re] more than a stiff a capella group, we’re a group of friends.”
