On Saturday in the W.R. Collier Auditorium at LCU, the school’s a cappella ensemble group Best Friends hosted a concert to celebrate a first-ever event: a best-album award from an international a cappella music industry association.
The Contemporary A Cappella Society honored Best Friends for its 2018 album “Risen,” which featured songs such as “Never Been a Moment,” “Even If” and “Come Thou Fount.” The Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards, or CARAs, are given annually to recognize outstanding contemporary a cappella music.
Respect and honor
Several students and alumni attended the concert, and the current members of Best Friends performed several favorites. Before each song, a member would introduce the song with an encouraging piece of insight to get the audience involved.
Toward the middle of the concert, Dr. Camp recognized the Best Friends alumni in audience. He then introduced each of last year’s members who participated in creating the award-winning album, presenting them congratulatory plaques.
Dr. Camp holds nothing short of the highest respect for this talented a cappella group.
“The students that make up Best Friends are not only strong musicians,” he said, “but also outstanding individuals, serving as leaders on campus in social clubs, service and professional organizations, and in other music ensembles at LCU.”
Nathan Anderson, a Best Friends alumnus and its current technical support director, is proud of Best Friends’ accomplishments.
“It was honestly a pipe dream that we would even get a nomination the first year we submitted an album in 2013,” he said.
Past, present, future
Best Friends was founded in 1957 by Dr. Wayne Hinds, and in the past several years the group’s music has received several recognitions and awards.
Saturday’s ceremony also recognized the contribution of Dr. Wayne and Yvonne Hinds to the LCU music program. In honor of the Hinds, the current music building on campus will be remolded and dedicated as a thank you for their contribution to the university.
At the close of the concert, the 2018 members sang the album title song, “He is Risen,” and were joined on stage by the current members for the last chorus. The LCU Caf provided a reception after the event.
If you have not listened to Best Friends’ new album Risen, go check it out on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Play music.
To learn more about the Best Friends CARA honor, visithttps://lcu.edu/about-lcu/news/article/detail/News/best-friends-album-risen-wins-cara-award-for-best-album/hash/dcbd941554012b503b6d15c2676ad4d3/.
