Two Somerville undergraduates and choral scholars Jamie Powe (Music, 2015) and Aidan Quinlan (Classics, 2015) will be singing with University a capella group The Oxford Alternotives on BBC One’s new Saturday night singing competition, Pitch Battle, this Saturday (15th July) at 7:30pm.
‘It doesn’t get much bigger than Saturday night TV, so we are naturally hugely excited for our performance,’ say Jamie and Aidan. ‘The whole experience has been so much fun and we truly have loved every minute. All the other groups are amazing, and we’ve all got along so well! All that remains for us to do is enjoy the moment, show everyone what we’ve got and see what happens.’
It was a lengthy process for the team to get to this stage, involving lots of preparation, rehearsals and auditions. ‘The auditions were nerve-wracking because we were aware of all the talent we were up against,’ says Jamie. ‘Thankfully we had a great time, learnt a huge amount and became even closer as a group. We feel very lucky to have been given the chance to put all of this together on national TV.’
The Oxford Alternotives like to cover a range of different musical genres and styles, including covers of songs from Earth, Wind and Fire, Disclosure, Rihanna and Elvis Presley. They take inspiration from the complex harmonies and arrangements of classical chapel music and apply it to modern pop songs. They will have an opportunity to showcase their range of musical styles on Saturday night.
To find out more about the Oxford Alternotives, you can visit their Facebook or twitter page.