Artists in Resonance, casually known on campus as AiR!, is the premiere independent co-ed a cappella group based out of the University of California, Berkeley. From our humble beginnings in 1987, We now have fourteen amazing performers, performing every Monday at noon underneath Sather Gate on campus. Our repertoire includes self-arranged pieces, everything from alternative rock and hip-hop to traditional fight songs and Top 40 hits.

During the school year, you can find us singing on Sproul Plaza, but don’t be surprised if you also see us at the Telegraph Street Fair, Jack London Square, or even Santa Cruz! We also perform all over California at numerous events. We have made appearances at the Annual Big Sing-Off (UC Berkeley/Stanford), the California A Cappella Festival (UC Los Angeles), the West Coast A Cappella Showcase (UC Berkeley), and the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella.

Each semester, we hold several concerts on campus at UC Berkeley. You can subscribe to AiRMail (our newsletter) on our main page to stay updated with concert dates and much more.

History

From the perspective of Tako Oda, co-founder:
When Artists in Resonance was first conceived in the Fall of ‘87, there were no mixed acapella groups at the University of California, Berkeley.

We decided early on to register as an independent student group instead of with the umbrella group Student Musical Activities (now UC Choral Ensembles), a decision that meant no access to large rehearsal spaces, but on the flip side great artistic freedom. Forced to rehearse in music department practice rooms, we ended up attracting more than our fair share of music majors, giving the group an infusion of talented arrangers and vocalists, not to mention a certain avant garde flavor for which Berkeley’s music department is famous.

The early years were painful but fun. Cramped practice rooms, an immature group sound and high turnover were balanced by a sense of adventure, friendship and regular hot tub parties. We slowly developed a unique coed sound. Our strength was not in trying to blend all voices as single-sex groups do, but to organize voices more like instrumental sections, celebrating the unique timbre of each voice type. This strategy lent itself to complex pop arrangements more than doo-wop and other traditional acapella genres. An unexpected non-musical benefit of a mixed ensemble was the social crucible of women and men working closely in an egalitarian framework. To me, AiR will always carry the subtle subversive message that men and women in collaboration are greater than the sum of their genders.

Fast forward to the next millenium… Artists in Resonance has raised its musical bar significantly and their choreography has gone from non-existent to almost athletic. Fortunately, some things have stayed the same — AiR concerts are still quirky and lots of fun. Now as an audience member I get the distinct sense the group is *always* quirky and fun and I’ve simply been invited over to share in their joy of singing and being together. I invite you to join me in the audience next time!