Join The Latest A Cappella Events in San Francisco
DROP-IN A CAPPELLA & A CAPPELLA SALON
A 2 hour workshop to learn and sing a new song from scratch, no experience or preparation required. A great way to experience a cappella for the first time, and a place to meet fellow singers who could potentially become groupmates.
Happening right after Drop-In A Cappella, The A Cappella Salon is an intimate gathering of 4 diverse a cappella groups and their supporters. Capped at around 80 attendees, the groups (who often do not know each other) sing for each other, and are encouraged to share about their process and engage in open dialogue.
Learn more on acahub.co
A CAPPELLA RETREATS
3 days: professionally led rehearsals, custom arrangement, individual track recording, spontaneous Hamilton singalongs…
We start with a placement process, where we put you in a cohort of singers who are at your level. Then, we retreat to a Spanish Villa in the Northern California woods for a long weekend of singing (and more!). Under professional direction, you experience the full lifecycle of learning, polishing, and performing an a cappella song from scratch. Leave with a music video, new tools in your toolkit, and relationships that can only be created by singing together.
Learn more on acahub.co
“As teased in the previous post, last week I got to spend a few days with this wonderful group of people and work on an a cappella song that Robert - who also thoughtfully planned the whole retreat - arranged for us.”
Nenad Božidarević
“I have to say this is probably one of the best decisions I’ve made this year. First, none of them are serial killers. And we spent so much time learning, singing and having fun together. We all know it’s hard to make new friends after college, but by the end of the retreat, I feel like I’ve know these lovely folks for a very long time through music. The retreat happened two weeks ago, but my mind still flies back to that weekend from time to time. Thanks Robert again for hosting this amazing experience.”
Kangni Wang
“I had the most amazing 3 days singing (a cappella), singing (karaoke), and singing (shenanigans) with these lovely people. Robert, thank you for creating something special last weekend”
Catheryn Li
“Robert's acapella retreat was a great experience and I would recommend it to singers of all levels. Not only is it fun and you will get to meet supportive friends, you will also learn a lot and push your musical boundaries.”
Jackie Xu
“I really loved my experience at the retreat. Robert is not only a wonderful music director with deep expertise who custom-created an arrangement for us, but he also fostered an intentional environment of joy and community.”
Naomi Jing
“I met so many amazing people, friends I hope I can stay in contact with. Music rejuvenates the soul.”
Jameela Huq
FAQs
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While it varies by location, duration, and cohort size, we design our programs with cost in mind. Expect cost per person to be around $250-350 (USD) per day, which includes housing and 4-5 hours of professionally-led a cappella per day, among further curated programming. Certain preferences for accommodations, such as private rooms, may come at an extra charge as well. Please note that food and transportation are not included - we will calculate and split costs for food afterwards.
Ultimately, a cappella should be accessible to all. A limited number of discounted spots are available each session on a case by case basis. Please send us an email to learn more.
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To ensure that the pace and difficulty is appropriate for everyone, all participants should be at a similar musical ability.
Singers of all levels are encouraged to apply, although some ability to match pitch and hold a melody are helpful skills to singing multi-part a cappella arrangements.
Other factors include balance across voice parts, preferences from the sign-up survey, and availability.
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Arrangements will be curated to match the abilities, voice makeup, and interests of the cohort. We will also accommodate different learning styles, providing both sheet music and sung learning tracks for those who prefer to learn by ear.
You may be encouraged to step outside your comfort zone, such as demonstrating something solo for the rest of the group, but no one will be forced to do anything they don’t want to do.
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We will be staying at a new retreat space 2 hours north-east of San Francisco. Our host has asked us to keep the venue private for now, but details will be sent through the sign-up process.
Once we settle on a final cohort, we will ask for participants to volunteer as head-chefs or assistants for specific meals which we will enjoy family-style. Few things build friendships like cooking together and sharing food. We will also help to coordinate carpools. Food and transportation costs will be calculated and split fairly at the end of the retreat.
There will be space in the sign-up process to let us know about specific dietary or lodging requirements or concerns, and we will do our best to accommodate. You are also welcome to email us at retreat@acahub.co to inquire.
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This is a possibility, space permitting. As the cohorts are carefully curated to maximize the musical experience, keep in mind that some of the weekend will be closed to additional attendees. There is room in the sign-in process to let us know if this is important to you.
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Each person will require a negative at-home COVID test within 24 hours of the retreat start date.