For Awaken A Cappella, vocal magic is about much more than just singing.

Founded in 1992 as the first co-ed a cappella group in Southern California, Awaken competes annually and performs at both on-campus and off-campus events throughout the academic year. Robyn Morales, a fourth-year theater student and the group’s music director, said the group being co-ed allows Awaken to incorporate diverse voice types. She said she has felt the group’s tone change as members came and went during her three years of involvement, adding that because Awaken is also an older group, its sound has evolved throughout years of different members and leaders.

“I can feel the way we sound changing with each passing year and how we keep our previous influences but bring a nuance depending on who is in leadership at a given time or who’s in the group in general at a given time,” Morales said. “It’s really cool to see it morph and change, and I’m sure that’s happened so many times throughout the group’s entire existence.”

Morales said Awaken typically rehearses twice a week during fall and spring quarters, ramping up to three or four times a week during winter quarter, which is competition season. She added that rehearsals take place in various rooms across campus, with new song arrangements usually taking at least a month or two to perfect. Conceptualizing songs depends on how quick the turnaround needs to be for a given event, she added.

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Naomi Young, a fourth-year English and psychology student and the group’s president, said Awaken performs its own shows, occasionally collaborates with other on-campus groups for performances and does bookings with outside companies or organizations. Young recalled a retreat to Davis during her first year in the group, when members spontaneously sang one of their arrangements after a request by a gallery owner in the town they were exploring. The song gathered a crowd and moved some audience members to tears, she said, before the gallery owner approached the group.

“I’ll never forget this – he was like, ‘Never forget your music, and never forget your love,’” Young said. “I just thought it was so sweet. That was really cool. I think that moment for me solidified (that) this doesn’t just have to be an incredible thing we share with each other. It can sometimes be something special for the people who come and watch or sing with us too.”

Comprised of 11 members, Awaken competes annually at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), the same a cappella competition featured in the hit “Pitch Perfect” film franchise, said Jarod Houston, a third-year computer science student and the group’s business manager. ICCA is divided by region, with Awaken competing in its West subcategory, he said.

For a large competition like the ICCA, the group puts together a 10-minute set that typically includes three songs with accompanying choreography, Houston said. The first round – the quarterfinals – includes 10 or 11 groups competing for two spots, he said. Awaken has come very close to moving on in the past, he added, and members aim to give it their all in order to advance further this year.

“Awaken, for me, … truly feels like a family,” Houston said. “Being in Awaken has provided me that community where I feel like I do belong. … I always see Awaken as just a fun time away from classes and other more academic clubs.”

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Houston, who auditioned for the group during his first year at UCLA, said the audition process consists of three parts – scales to check range, a 60-second performance of a self-chosen song and a tonal memory exercise in which notes are played and the auditionee sings them back. He added that the initial audition lasts five to seven minutes, and a smaller number of auditionees are later invited for a callback, after which a final roster is selected. Houston said new members are assigned a voice part upon joining Awaken, but this role may fluctuate depending on the song being performed.

Morales said song arrangements for the group come from a myriad of influences. The group’s alumni song is George Michael’s “Freedom! ‘90,” with Awaken’s arrangement titled “Freedom! ‘92” after its founding year, she said. The group also often performs the 2007 song “Gravity” by singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles – a UCLA Awaken alumnus – and sings the original arrangement that Bareilles wrote when she was a student, Morales said. Any Awaken member can offer a song choice at any time, and final arrangement decisions are agreed upon by all members, Morales added.

Each campus a cappella group brings its own sense of pride, Morales said, and the community is supportive of members across the board. UCLA is home to over a dozen a cappella groups in total, and Awaken is one of its seven competitive groups. Morales said she enjoys being a part of a community with members who are there for each other under any circumstance. Awaken represents an assortment of students across different years, majors and professional interests, which fosters a diverse set of people, she added.

“When you join an a cappella group, you’re a part of this family immediately,” Morales said. “And they never let you go.”