ABOUT US: We are Ravaani, UCSB's premier, award-winning South Asian fusion a cappella team! We travel all over the country to perform South Asian/Western fusion arrangements at competitions and showcases. This past competitive season, we competed at Dhwani at UC Davis and Mehfil at USC, winning category awards at both! Previously, we won 1st place at UCLA Sahana in 2020 and were one of the top 7 teams in the nation, as well as placing 3rd at UC Berkeley Anahat in 2023! We hold concerts twice a year, usually during the Winter and Spring quarters.
AUDITION INFO: Auditions will be held in-person on Thursday, October 2nd from 6-8 PM, and on Friday, October 3rd, from 6-9 PM (room TBA) with members on our executive board. Individual auditions will be between 5-7 minutes long. We will email you the time slot and the location a day or two before auditions. If you list a preferred day, we will do our best to accommodate you; until then, please plan on being available on both days.
Callbacks will be held by invite only on Sunday, October 5th from 11 AM -- 3 PM (room TBA). We will assign you a timeslot with 1-3 other auditionees. We will teach you some warmups and a short excerpt from one of our arrangements, and give you an opportunity to sing with the team!
WHAT TO PREPARE: Please practice 1-2 minutes of a piece in any genre, language, or style that shows off your vocal abilities! If interested in beatboxing, please prepare a 1 minute set. Feel free to audition as both a singer and beatboxer! We will also introduce ourselves and get to know you and your voice through some vocal exercises.
SICKNESS POLICY: If you find yourself feeling ill in any way or are exposed to or test positive for Covid-19, we ask that you DO NOT attend the audition and email us at ucsbravaani@gmail.com ASAP. We are happy to schedule an alternate audition, and we will not penalize you in any way. We thank you for being socially responsible!
CONTACT US: If you have any questions or concerns please email us at ucsbravaani@gmail.com, DM us on Instagram (@ucsbravaani). We are happy to clear any questions or doubts you may have.
We look forward to seeing you at auditions!
FAQ:
What is acapella? Acapella is a way of singing which involves absolutely no use of musical accompaniment. On Ravaani, you will either be singing or beatboxing (if you choose to audition as a beatboxer).
Do I need to have previous choir experience to audition? No! You do not need to have any previous music experience to audition.
Do I need to be of South Asian descent to audition? No! We invite anyone and everyone to audition.
Am I allowed to sing with a background track during auditions? We ask you to not use a background track while singing. This includes using an e-tambura for Carnatic and Hindustani pieces. You are allowed to listen to the first 10-20 seconds of your piece/tambura to familiarize yourself with key before you sing.
Am I required to have my audition piece memorized? You are allowed to reference lyrics during your audition. However, please come prepared enough such that you aren't looking at your lyrics the entire time while singing your piece.
