Compulsive Lyres
Encyclopedia
The Compulsive Lyres is an a cappella
group at the University of Michigan
students. The group comprises both music and non-music majors and sings various arrangements of rock
, jazz
, pop
, and R&B songs.
The Compulsive Lyres won the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella
(ICCA) in 2002, the first and only Michigan
group win that honor. Following their win, the Lyres were invited to perform on The Today Show
with Matt Lauer
, and were featured on the Best of College A Cappella album.
Fraternity and Alpha Phi
Sorority became the first sing team in the history of Greek Week to receive a perfect score. That following summer students decided that the experience was so much fun and the result so successful that it would be worth a try to keep the group going as an a cappella
group. In the fall of 1997, the a cappella group of the University of Michigan Greek System met for the first time under the name Greek to Mi.
In its first year, the group had many hurdles to overcome. The initial group was un-auditioned - any member of the 1997 sing team was welcome. It was quickly discovered that both the level of commitment and musical ability needed for an a cappella group was substantially different than the level needed for Greek Week. In January 1998, the group was reorganized and auditions were held. By the end of the auditions, the group had 14 members from 10 different fraternities and sororities and had changed its name to "Compulsive Lyres". Although the level of dedication and overall musical ability was increased after the reorganization, the group's purpose remained primarily social in nature - music was a clear second. Those who came looking for friendship and camaraderie found plenty - the early group resulted in great friendships and even one marriage(!), but those who came seeking a serious devotion to a cappella music were often disappointed.
In January 2001, the group decided that they were going to take the Lyres in a new direction. The Lyres severed their formal association with the Greek system, opening the audition process to the entire campus. With musical excellence as the primary goal, Lyres searched out new members. Through the summer, the group prepared for what was to be the ultimate test - if the group actually dedicated a year to musical excellence, would they be able to succeed?
The answer was a resounding yes. In the fall of 2001, Lyres worked hard and reaped the benefits. Auditions resulted in an extremely strong collection of musicians, and a fall retreat brought the group closer than it had ever been, so close, in fact, that retreats are still an integral part of the Lyres experience today. Their fall concert, the 1st Annual Michigan A Cappella Festival, was a huge success, featuring 9 of the 12 active groups on campus over two nights. In its first year, MAC-Fest, as it came to be called, became the largest a cappella show of the year at The University of Michigan. As noted earlier, the Lyres largest success came in 2002, with their victory at the International Finals of the ICCAs, establishing the Lyres as a new power in the Michigan A Cappella community.
Melissa Nestor (-'11)
Kyle Ogunbase ('10-'11)
Ryan Deleon (-'11)
Alexa Lord (-'11)
Derek Kauserud ('08-'10)
Benny Lee ('07-'10)
Karol Kobylecki ('08-'10)
Josh Strazanac ('10)
Kat Weber (-'11)
Rob DeLeon
Jesse Nager
Krista Luli
James Lee
John David Carson
Rob Ungar
Brianna Sarr
Trisha Alberts
Susan Dailey
Daniel Confer
Christine DeLeon
Mary Sabin
Dan Hartley
John McLaughlin
Kevin Morgan
Stuart Naylor
Lincoln Gillett
Aaron Suh
Nathan Suh
Mark Surprenant
Melissa Swain
Kristin Cibik
List Incomplete
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
students. The group comprises both music and non-music majors and sings various arrangements of rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, and R&B songs.
The Compulsive Lyres won the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella
International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella
The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, originally the National Championship of Collegiate A Cappella , is an international competition that attracts hundreds of college a cappella groups each year...
(ICCA) in 2002, the first and only Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
group win that honor. Following their win, the Lyres were invited to perform on The Today Show
The Today Show
Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
with Matt Lauer
Matt Lauer
Matthew Todd "Matt" Lauer . is an American television journalist best known as the host of NBC's The Today Show since 1997. He was previously a news anchor in New York and a local talk-show host in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence and Richmond...
, and were featured on the Best of College A Cappella album.
The Early Lyres
The Compulsive Lyres began as an outgrowth of a Greek Week sing team. In the Spring of 1997, the Pi Kappa AlphaPi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
Fraternity and Alpha Phi
Alpha Phi
Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity was founded at Syracuse University on September 18, 1872. Alpha Phi currently has 152 active chapters and over 200,000 initiated members. Its celebrated Founders' Day is October 10. It was the third Greek-letter organization founded for women. In Alpha...
Sorority became the first sing team in the history of Greek Week to receive a perfect score. That following summer students decided that the experience was so much fun and the result so successful that it would be worth a try to keep the group going as an a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group. In the fall of 1997, the a cappella group of the University of Michigan Greek System met for the first time under the name Greek to Mi.
In its first year, the group had many hurdles to overcome. The initial group was un-auditioned - any member of the 1997 sing team was welcome. It was quickly discovered that both the level of commitment and musical ability needed for an a cappella group was substantially different than the level needed for Greek Week. In January 1998, the group was reorganized and auditions were held. By the end of the auditions, the group had 14 members from 10 different fraternities and sororities and had changed its name to "Compulsive Lyres". Although the level of dedication and overall musical ability was increased after the reorganization, the group's purpose remained primarily social in nature - music was a clear second. Those who came looking for friendship and camaraderie found plenty - the early group resulted in great friendships and even one marriage(!), but those who came seeking a serious devotion to a cappella music were often disappointed.
In January 2001, the group decided that they were going to take the Lyres in a new direction. The Lyres severed their formal association with the Greek system, opening the audition process to the entire campus. With musical excellence as the primary goal, Lyres searched out new members. Through the summer, the group prepared for what was to be the ultimate test - if the group actually dedicated a year to musical excellence, would they be able to succeed?
The answer was a resounding yes. In the fall of 2001, Lyres worked hard and reaped the benefits. Auditions resulted in an extremely strong collection of musicians, and a fall retreat brought the group closer than it had ever been, so close, in fact, that retreats are still an integral part of the Lyres experience today. Their fall concert, the 1st Annual Michigan A Cappella Festival, was a huge success, featuring 9 of the 12 active groups on campus over two nights. In its first year, MAC-Fest, as it came to be called, became the largest a cappella show of the year at The University of Michigan. As noted earlier, the Lyres largest success came in 2002, with their victory at the International Finals of the ICCAs, establishing the Lyres as a new power in the Michigan A Cappella community.
Executive Committee
| Office | Current Officer |
|---|---|
| Music Director | Emily Byl |
| President | Lauren Rink |
| Business Manager | Josh Buoy |
| Secretary | Meredith Finch |
| Publicity Manager | Christian Keil |
Associate Committee
| Office | Current Officer |
|---|---|
| Social Chair | Lisa Elder |
| Webmaster | Christian Keil |
Current Repertoire
| Song | Original Artist | Arranged By | Soloist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joy To The World | Three Dog Night Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One... |
Emily Byl | Christian Keil, Josh Buoy, Lee Gunderson |
| Sweet Disposition | Temper Trap | Josh Buoy | Megan Blouin, Emily Byl, Logan White |
| Stay With You | John Legend John Legend John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career... |
Christian Keil | Jon Cameau |
| Wonderful World | Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana.... |
Emily Byl | N/A |
| Behind Blue Eyes | The Who The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction... |
Emily Byl | Charlie Frank |
| If I Die Young | The Band Perry The Band Perry The Band Perry, an American country music group, is composed of siblings Kimberly Perry , Reid Perry and Neil Perry... |
Christian Keil | Lauren Rink |
| Superstition | Stevie Wonder Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist... |
Kyle Ogunbase | Logan White |
| Accidentally In Love | Counting Crows Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"... |
Lisa Elder | Charlie Frank |
| Jar Of Hearts | Christina Perri Christina Perri Christina Judith Perri is an American singer and songwriter from Philadelphia. Her song "Jar of Hearts" charted in the United States after it was featured on the Fox television show So You Think You Can Dance in 2010. Rolling Stone named her the "Band of the Week" on October 26, 2010... |
Emily Byl | Meredith Finch |
| The Other Side | Bruno Mars Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age... |
Ryan DeLeon | Lauren Rink & Megan Blouin |
| Mad World | Tears for Fears Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into... |
Josh Buoy | Charlie Frank |
Reserve Repertoire
| Song | Original Artist |
|---|---|
| Sweet Caroline | Neil Diamond Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present.... |
| Let It Be | The Beatles The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr... |
| Chariot | Gavin DeGraw Gavin DeGraw Gavin Shane DeGraw is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is known for his songs "Chariot", "Follow Through", "I Don't Want to Be" , "In Love with a Girl", and "Not Over You".-Early life:DeGraw grew up in the Catskills in South Fallsburg,... |
| Yellow and Blue | Michael W. Balfe |
| The Star Spangled Banner | Francis Scott Key Francis Scott Key Francis Scott Key was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet, from Georgetown, who wrote the lyrics to the United States' national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner".-Life:... |
Complete Repertoire
"Song Title" - Original Artist (Year Retired)- "Grenade" - Bruno Mars ('11)
- "Billionaire/Santeria" - Travie McCoyTravie McCoyTravie Lazarus McCoy is an American singer and rapper. He is the lead vocalist of the alternative hip-hop band Gym Class Heroes. He released his debut solo album Lazarus on June 8, 2010....
/SublimeSublime (band)Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...
('11) - "Animal" - Neon TreesNeon TreesNeon Trees is an American alternative rock band from Provo, Utah, with origins in Murrieta, California. The band received nationwide exposure in late 2008 when they opened several North American tour dates for the rock band The Killers. Not long after, the band was signed by Mercury Records and...
('11) - "Haven't Met You Yet" - Michael BubléMichael BubléMichael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...
('11) - "Last Dance" - Donna Summers ('11)
- "In The Sun" - She & HimShe & HimShe & Him is an American indie pop duo consisting of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward . The band's first album, Volume One, was released on Merge Records in March 2008...
('11) - "The Bleeding Heart Show" - The New PornographersThe New PornographersThe New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a...
('10) - "Fireflies" - Owl CityOwl CityOwl City is an American electronica musical project by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young formed in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. Young created the project while experimenting with music in his parents' basement...
('10) - "Locked Up" - Ingrid MichaelsonIngrid MichaelsonIngrid Ellen Egbert Michaelson is a New York-based indie-pop singer-songwriter. Her music has been featured in episodes of several popular television shows, including Scrubs, Bones, Grey's Anatomy The Big C and One Tree Hill, as well as in Old Navy's Fall 2007 Fair Isle and Opel's/Vauxhall's...
('10) - "Smack Dab" - Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
('10) - "You Know I'm No Good" - Amy WinehouseAmy WinehouseAmy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
('10) - "Wine Red" - The Hush SoundThe Hush SoundThe Hush Sound was an indie quartet originating in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. Initially named "The Hush," the band later changed their name to "The Hush Sound" due to the discovery of a rapper with the same name...
('10) - "Only The Good Die Young" - Billy JoelBilly JoelWilliam Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
('10) - "Die Alone" - Ingrid MichaelsonIngrid MichaelsonIngrid Ellen Egbert Michaelson is a New York-based indie-pop singer-songwriter. Her music has been featured in episodes of several popular television shows, including Scrubs, Bones, Grey's Anatomy The Big C and One Tree Hill, as well as in Old Navy's Fall 2007 Fair Isle and Opel's/Vauxhall's...
('10) - "You Make My Dreams" - Hall & OatesHall & OatesHall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
('10) - "Hip Hop Medley" - Keri HilsonKeri HilsonKeri Lynn Hilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch...
, Jay Sean & Lady GagaLady GaGaStefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
('10) - "Heart of the Matter" - India Arie ('10)
- "I'm Yours" - Jason MrazJason MrazJason Thomas Mraz , also known as Mr. AZ and Mr. Raz, is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy ", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, "Mr. A-Z", in 2005, that Mraz achieved...
('09) - "Make You Feel My Love" - AdeleAdele (singer)Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
('09) - "Go Your Own Way" - Fleetwood MacFleetwood MacFleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
('09) - "Losing Lisa" - Ben FoldsBen FoldsBenjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...
('09)
Alumni
- '11 Graduating Seniors
Melissa Nestor (-'11)
Kyle Ogunbase ('10-'11)
Ryan Deleon (-'11)
Alexa Lord (-'11)
Derek Kauserud ('08-'10)
- '10 Graduating Seniors
Benny Lee ('07-'10)
Karol Kobylecki ('08-'10)
Josh Strazanac ('10)
- '09 Graduating Seniors
Kat Weber (-'11)
- Earlier Alumni
Rob DeLeon
Jesse Nager
Krista Luli
James Lee
John David Carson
Rob Ungar
Brianna Sarr
Trisha Alberts
Susan Dailey
Daniel Confer
Christine DeLeon
Mary Sabin
Dan Hartley
John McLaughlin
Kevin Morgan
Stuart Naylor
Lincoln Gillett
Aaron Suh
Nathan Suh
Mark Surprenant
Melissa Swain
Kristin Cibik
List Incomplete