Music jazzes up the Waco Hippodrome

Virtuoso will perform at 6 p.m. on Sunday at the Waco Hippodrome Theater. Tickets are $5 each. Photo credit: Courtesy Art

VirtuOso Good

On Sunday evening, Baylor Jazz Ensemble and VirtuOso will host a concert at the Waco Hippodrome Theater to prepare for the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA).

VirtuOso performs a variety of different songs and genres of music. Ranging from popular pop songs to holiday carols and everything in between. As an A Cappella group, there are no instruments allowed – only voices.

“VirtuOso is Baylor’s premier A Cappella group consisting of 11 members, but the number of members we have is always changing,” Rowlett Sophomore Andrea Mach, VirtuOso social media chair.

VirtuOso performs at Baylor events, community events and local, regional and nationwide competitions. It is an audition-based group, with multiple auditions held throughout the year.

“[VirtuOso] is an extracurricular activity, so you do not have to be a certain major to participate. That’s one of the cool things about us, each person is different, but has the same passion,” Mach said.

According to the School of Music website, the Baylor Jazz Ensemble studies, “The unique performance of American form of Jazz. The ensemble is make up of students from many different disciplines from around campus.”

VirtuOso and Baylor Jazz Ensemble are two organizations that students and citizens of Waco enjoy. Both groups have a diverse audience and fan base.

“The Hippodrome always has great shows and VirtuOso and the Jazz Ensemble are some of the best local groups in Waco,” said native Wacoan Laschell Apel. “It is incredible to see students doing what you see in movies like Pitch Perfect. You get to see so much raw talent and my entire family will be there on Sunday.”

On Saturday, VirtuOso competed in the ICCA Southwest Quarterfinal at Texas A&M University. VirtuOso won the competition and advanced to Semi-Finals in Los Angeles in March. They also won outstanding vocal percussionist and best arrangement.

Baylor University student Andrew Ginty, Houston graduate student, said, “The Jazz Ensemble is a great concert to listen to, and partnering with VirtuOso is a great idea. It’s different than the ‘typical’ type of music in Waco.”

The Waco Hippodrome Theater not only hosts concerts and events, it hosts in-theater bar and a restaurant looking over Austin Avenue. With multiple events a week, the Waco Hippodrome Theater always has something going on.

The concert requires tickets that can be purchased at the door or beforehand on the Hippodromes website. The concert begins at 6:00 p.m. and lasts until 7:30 p.m. For more information regarding the concert, visit the Waco Hippodrome Theater’s website or call the theater below:

https://wacohippodrometheatre.com/

Phone: (254) 296-9000