A Cappella On the Rise

NMH Groups Set Their Sights on Competitions 

By George Ning ‘26

The Nellies, photo by Grace Cummiskey ‘25

A cappella groups have been a cherished tradition at NMH, bringing harmony and talent to our campus for years. However, Hogappella, the all-boys acapella group on campus, disbanded this fall due to a lack of participants. “It seems like there are fewer students interested in joining the a cappella group in general,” noted Alex Tse’24, one of the leaders of Northfield Mount Harmony. 

Looking ahead, choral teacher Alexandra Ludwig has unveiled exciting news for two a cappella groups in NMH — Nellies and Northfield Mount Harmony. They are exploring the possibility of competing in acapella competitions with other schools later in the school year. Still, the a capella group members look forward to competing with singers from other schools.

“Nellies and Northfield Mount Harmony were often pitted against each other in friendly rivalry,” shared Chiara Pinci’24, one of the leaders of Northfield Mount Harmony. Northfield Mount Harmony boldly claims to be “better than Nellies” on their Instagram profile bio, while Nellies says that they are the “best acapella group on campus'' on theirs.

In the past few years, NMH’s acapella groups have not participated in any competitions due to COVID-19 restrictions. Alexandra Lugwig, the choral director, explained, “We simply were not adeptly prepared.” Now, with the foray into the world of competitive acapella, the talented Nellies and Northfield Mount Harmony are on a journey to explore new dimensions of harmony and excellence.