Many students are part of and participate in after-school activities, sports, clubs or other groups. Senior Charley Carlisle is a part of the KC A Cappella music group. The group rehearses weekly and consists of high school students from across the KC Metro area. Charley has been in the group for two years and said she heard about it through a friend.

“[During my] sophomore year, I had a friend who had a friend in the group, and he was like ‘oh, you should audition for this group,’” Charley said. “I [thought] this seemed like a really cool opportunity to meet other people with a similar interest, so I decided to audition.”

Charley, who is an alto two, said she loves being a part of the group and enjoys working with other singers and musicians.

“Everyone in the group is just so kind and supportive,” Charley said. “It’s just genuinely so fun to get to work with really talented musicians, and learn new music and perform it.”

Charley’s mom, Jennifer Carlisle, described Charley as musical and creative, and said this has been a great opportunity for Charley to recognize and expand on her talent, and connect with other high school students in the area.

“It’s been an incredible [opportunity]. She’s made a lot of friends from other schools and [has had] opportunities to travel and perform, and stretch her musical talent,” Jennifer said. “I think she’s also recognized the talent that she has. We’ve always seen it, and I think she’s become a lot more confident too, as a result of all the positive feedback she’s gotten.”

On Thanksgiving, the group performed their cover of “Sleigh Ride” at the Kansas City plaza lighting ceremony. Charley was the soloist in the song, and said she was nervous, but excited.

“It was nerve-racking at first because that was the first time I’d had a major solo, so it was kind of like a new role to step into — and especially for the plaza lighting [ceremony], you have to kind of lead the rest of the group atmosphere,” Charley said. “But it was really exciting [because] this group is just such a unique opportunity and it’s just so fun to be a part of the plaza lighting. Everyone in the group is so talented and they do so well on their parts [and] that just makes it easier for me.”

Junior Sailor Buller is also in the KC A Cappella group. Buller is in her first year with the group but said she had been wanting to do something musical outside of school for a while prior to auditioning.

“I actually learned about the group from my mom, and my piano teacher has a son who was in it, so she helped me find out more about the group,” Buller said. “I had been wanting to do something in the performing arts and with vocal music outside of school for a long time, and I thought this would be a really fun opportunity, especially with other people my age who love music.”

Buller, who is an alto one, meaning she sings higher notes than alto twos, said she met Charley through KC A Cappella, and first heard about Charley’s solo at one of their rehearsals.

“Our parts practice singing a lot together because in some songs, the altos are combined. I’m so glad I got to meet [Charley] through this group because she’s so talented and she’s such an incredibly kind and sweet person to be around,” Buller said. “Our director announced [the solo] at one of our rehearsals. I was really excited that she had this opportunity, and I was excited to hear her sing [it]; she is so talented.” 

Jennifer said their family was happy for Charley when she got the solo, and looked forward to the group’s performance at the plaza lighting ceremony. Jennifer said she was excited to see it all come together and that Charley had worked hard to prepare.

“I thought it was incredible, we were so excited, especially because it is her senior year. The plaza lighting is a really unique Kansas City experience, so that was extra cool, and it was televised, which was great too because then more people were able to see it,” Jennifer said. “[Charley] does a lot of practicing and rehearsing on her own, and she does a lot behind the scenes.”

Charley said the group worked on the song for a few months prior to the plaza lighting ceremony; learning the lyrics and choreography, rehearsing and recording in the studio with sound engineers. Charley and Buller both said everyone in the group put a lot of time and effort into the song and performance.

“Everyone works really, really hard to learn the song, to perform to the best of our abilities, [and] to make sure we all sound good and are blending together,” Charley said.

Charley said she looked forward to the plaza lighting ceremony and performing at it, and hearing the full song and performance come together was rewarding.

“The plaza lighting is honestly one of my favorite parts of the year [with] KC A Cappella. [There are] a bunch of different groups [there], and I have a lot of friends in those other groups that I get to hang out with on that day, so that’s really fun. It’s really fun to be on the stage and perform with friends,” Charley said. “[Hearing the song] was such a cool moment. [When the director] played it, I was just like, ‘that’s me, that’s my voice.’ And everyone was so supportive and so kind.”

Jennifer said having the song on Spotify and seeing the entire process come together is really cool. She said their family is proud of all of the work Charley and the group have put into the song and performance.

“To have the [the song] drop on a platform like [Spotify] is pretty amazing. They work really hard and put a ton of effort into being prepared. It’s amazing what goes into it beyond just singing,” Jennifer said. “My husband and I were so proud of [Charley] and in awe of her confidence in the tone and power of her voice. She was very captivating, and the group was amazing, they all blended together so well. It was really cool to see her get to have that attention, but it’s also a real team dynamic; [seeing] everybody perform was really special.”

Buller also said the entire group worked really hard on the song, and hearing the full song was rewarding. Buller said she loves being a part of the group and recommends it to those wanting to get involved with music.

“I can really tell that everyone put a lot of effort [into learning] this song and choreography, especially Charley — she was very confident when we performed at the plaza lighting [ceremony]. I think singing with this group and hearing our full songs is really cool because everyone is just so talented and they all care about the group so much, which helps us be successful,” Buller said. “It is so much fun to be a part of, everyone is so nice, and it’s really cool to be able to share this opportunity and get involved in something like this, especially with people from other schools in the area.”

Charley said the song being on Spotify is really cool. She said she has really enjoyed being in the KC A Cappella group, and also recommends it to others.

“It’s honestly baffling, I would have never expected this. You get so many cool opportunities in this group, and I’m proud of myself for putting myself out there and going for it,” Charley said. “This has honestly been one of my favorite parts of high school, and I’ve met some of my best friends through it. It’s just an incredible group, and I feel like I’ve grown a lot from it. So for sure, I absolutely [recommend it].”