The Gold Vibrations (GV), Oakland University’s own a capella group, will hold its 10th anniversary concert Saturday, Dec. 7. The GV members are excited to finally perform after months of rehearsing and anticipation. 

The GV, made up of people with different majors and backgrounds, put together a performance that people of all ages can enjoy. Every year in September, auditions are held, where dozens of people hope for a call back. Within the group, there are sometimes graduates of OU that are called back to perform with the group.

The GV perform multiple times a year and get a nice turnout every year. They perform all over Michigan, from East Lansing to the University of Michigan. 

The GV members usually expect anywhere from 30-100 people at their performances, their average is 50, according to GV member Joseph Waldrup.

For this upcoming performance, the GV will be performing 12 songs, and usually they perform 8-12 songs. The line up is chosen by everyone within the group, according to GV President Ivy Holland. 

“We wait until we have new people, we’ll make a post,” Holland said. “We have a closed Facebook group, and you comment any idea that you have then we’ll have a whole rehearsal dedicated to choosing the music for that concert.” 

Holland said the group decided the best songs for its winter concert. Songs from Maroon 5, Lizzo and Michael Jackson will be performed.

The GV tries to include a variety of genres when choosing what music to perform. Some songs are chosen by all the members within the Facebook group and during the rehearsal, while others are brought back from previous performances. 

“We have a full day of deciding what songs to do and we have an archive of old songs that we’ve done in the past that we could bring back,” Waldrup said. “For the concert we’re doing this year we brought back ‘Pretty Young Thing.’”

Preparing for a concert, or for the International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), in which they compete yearly, is probably the toughest part of being a part of GV, according to Holland. The ICCA is an intense competition, in which 10 selected groups compete in the quarter finals, semi final and final. Each group has a 12-minute set, and months of preparation go into the performance.

“It’s just so awesome to be up there with your group, and the best moment is when you all stand there holding hands backstage and you’re like, ‘Oh, my god,’ and then you go out there and it’s just so fun — winning or not,” Holland said.

The week before a performance, there’s rehearsal everyday ranging from 3-4 hours. Waldrup called this week “Hell Week.” 

With the 10th anniversary performance, GV will be announcing something special. Only the attendees of the concert on Dec. 7 will know what that surprise is, then everyone who wasn’t able to make it will know when GV releases it on its Facebook page.

The 10th anniversary concert is Saturday, Dec. 7 at The Habitat from 7-9 p.m.. OU students get in for free and general admission is $8.