Many people were introduced to the world of collegiate a cappella from the 2012 film “Pitch Perfect.”
But here in Arizona, decades before the Bellas took the stage, ASU created the state’s first a cappella group — the Pitchforks. Get it? The “Pitch” forks. This year marks the group’s 30th year. We caught up with them rehearsing for an anniversary concert.
“The pitchforks were formed in 1992,” said Haley Swenson, ASU senior and co-presidtne of the group. “Our founder's names are Tammy and Rayn — they're lovely. We recently reconnected with them. They've come to our rehearsals a few times, and so they're actually inviting the original group of pitchforks to perform at this 30 year anniversary concert.”
That’s Tammy Watson and Rayn Hookala. The friends grew up in Arizona and both attended ASU in the early 1990s.
“So we're actually the oldest group in the state of Arizona,” Swenson said.
Natalie Murphy, the Pitchforks’ other co-president, is also a senior and a fourth-year Pitchfork.
“At the time of the founding of the group, there were no other acapella groups in the state, so they literally drove up to Colorado to go hang out with other acapella people, which is super cool,” Murphy said.
Since 1992, the Pitchforks have had more than 300 members. This year there are 14.
“When I got to ASU, I was from out of state and I like didn't really know anybody, but I went to this club fair they have every year and found the a cappella tables,” said Swenson. “And I was just drawn to Pitchforks immediately.”
“I think a lot of the people in this group, we encourage the spirit of working really hard and everyone has a really great work ethic. So we get to kind of leave our studies but like aside for two and a half hours twice a week and just work really hard on music, I think that blends itself really well to us all becoming really tight,” Murphy added.
You can hear the Pitchforks 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 13, at their 30th Anniversary concert in the Memorial Union at ASU.
