From soloists to full bands to a cappella ensembles, there are incredibly talented student musicians who call ASU home. In the spirit of NPR Tiny Desk Concerts, The State Press invited some of these students to perform their music in our basement newsroom on the Tempe campus.
The first group to be featured is the TEMPEtations. Formed in 2010, the TEMPEtations was the first co-ed a cappella group at ASU, and the group has been arranging all its own music since.
Read More: A ca-believe ASU's four a cappella groups will blow you away with their voices
Uniquely, none of the students in TEMPEtations are music majors with the exception of one student who added a musical theater double major after being involved with the group.
The ensemble has won various awards and honors through the annual International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, which the group calls the "Pitch Perfect competition," with a humorous nod to the a cappella-centered movie of the same name.
Most recently, the group made it to the semifinals for the 2018 ICCA for the Southwest region, where senior Jacob Browning, a mathematics and computer systems engineering double major, won the Outstanding Arrangement award for his composition of “Pure Imagination."
The TEMPEtations' name is rumored by previous members to be a play on the group the Temptations, whose music they were performing at the time. However, none of the current members actually know how the name came about.
"This was the ironic thing, this group has been around for a while so none of us know," the members said.
The TEMPEtations are currently working on releasing their first ever album on April 27, the same day as their last concert of the spring 2018 semester. Additionally, two of the members are recording a solo album that they plan to release soon as well.
Check out statepress.com for upcoming SP Sessions videos coming soon.
Reach the reporter at abpotter@asu.edu and follow @lexipotter04 on Twitter.
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