The Algorhythms from development to production
My experience with new beginnings, technical internships, and bringing a cappella into a technical workspace
During my high school years, I was enrolled in a specialized fine arts program where I spent 5 years playing in the band and singing in large choirs of 30 or more. Naturally, I was immersed in all sorts of art — improvising bass lines at 7 in the morning, sweating out at the dance studio on the weekends, and singing Broadway tunes in the shower late at night. Although I was involved with so many artistic groups, I never imagined that I could ever lead my own music group, much less pursue a career in tech.
Today, I am a 5th year computer science student at the University of British Columbia. In January 2018, I joined Copperleaf Technologies for my first 8 month technical internship as a DevOps Engineer. In this article I will talk about my experience starting an a cappella group at Copperleaf and what it taught me about leadership, resilience, and making the most out of my co-op experience.
New friendships and beginnings
I was a new intern at Copperleaf and didn’t know anyone at the the company besides Janet Chen, whom I had met at nwHacks the year before. We quickly bonded over our mutual love for a cappella, where she proposed to start an a cappella group with the full time coworkers she had befriended earlier. One thing led to another, and we sent out an open invite to join our new group in the form of a company-wide email.
Once we had selected two songs and a “concert” date for the end of Janet’s work term (4 months later), the Algorhythms was born.
Development
Stepping out of comfort zones
There were no words that could describe the first rehearsal other than awkward. Judging from the hour of nervous (or complete lack of) eye contact and fidgeting hands, it was clear that nobody had heard each other’s singing voices before and felt extremely uncomfortable doing so, despite working together for months already.
For me, I had never led or conducted a music group before, and directing a group of experienced employees as a new intern was a frightening task. Despite all of this, people kept coming back to rehearsals and slowly learned to open up to each other — them as singers, and me as a director.
Embracing Diversity
The group’s music experience and skills ranged across the entire spectrum, from exclusive shower singers to a member of a competitive international barbershop group. Half of the members in the 8 person group had never sang in a choir before, and another half couldn’t read music.
To make the learning as accessible and inclusive as possible, I made recordings of each of the parts using a piano and metronome so my group members could learn their parts by ear if they couldn’t read music.
There weren’t any free arrangements online that were suitable for my group’s varied skill levels. To accommodate for this, I took a stab at arranging my own version of “Over the Rainbow” for 4-part harmony so I could write according to each person’s skill level and range while also being able to feature each of the parts at some point in the song (most arrangements only feature 1–2 voice parts).
Always iterating
Just as in Agile software development, each rehearsal week is like a sprint, and with each sprint we aim to improve. This meant tackling new features of the song every rehearsal, from learning the notes to mastering dynamics and staggered breathing. As a director, I would continually try different teaching techniques to see which ones were most effective, and to assign tasks that I knew the group would be capable of finishing by the next rehearsal.
What worked well with our team was to simply listen and learn from each other — fostering a collaborative environment helped members suggest and try out each other’s ideas until we found what worked best for us. I gave more responsibilities to the people who learned their parts quickly, allowing me to focus on one section at a time while also giving other members the opportunity to lead a section.
Staging
Once we had memorized our songs and started counting down the weeks before our performance, we began practicing at various public places to get a feel of singing away from the comfort of our practice room and in front of people. We sang to strangers in front of Starbucks and in various areas around the Broadway Tech Centre complex where our office was located. After being overheard by British Columbia Lottery Corporation employees in the neighbouring office, we were invited to sing in their lottery winner announcement video that week!
My most memorable moment was when we rehearsed “Over the Rainbow” for the first time in a corridor leading to the building’s underground parking lot. Most of our members had never experienced singing in a hall or a church before, and the acoustics shocked us when we heard our voices projecting back at us with so much power. It was moments like these (not the concerts!) that made all of the after work rehearsals worth it.
Production
It was the day of the concert, and everyone was nervous but excited to showcase what they had spent the past 4 months working on. We congregated at the lunch meeting area in our matching black tops, where we were welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd. Developers, accountants, VP’s, and the CEO herself came to hear us sing our two pieces, while IT set up a camera so it could be streamed to our colleagues working from home.
As most performances go, the two songs went by in a blur. Although it was not a perfect performance, we were all overjoyed with the fact that we managed to put this together and grow from a group of coworkers into a family of confident singers dedicated to improving together.
Moreover, our audience was more than delighted about our performance, and this was shown when 4 new members joined our group the following term. Our CEO also invited us to reprise our performance for clients at the company’s annual summit: 2018 Copperleaf AIPM Summit, which was later covered in the Company blog’s employee feature that summer.
After the Algorhythms and what it taught me
Unfortunately, as the last round of interns departed and people’s busy schedules got in the way, the Algorhythms lost its traction as a regularly practicing group and only gathered occasionally to sing together. However, remnants of it still appear here and there.
I formed friendships with coworkers outside of my team who I wouldn’t have interacted with otherwise. When meeting up with previous members outside of work, unintentionally speaking a song lyric (“I haven’t eaten… For the longest time”) or a vocal warm up (“I love to sing”) would ignite memories that make us want to break into 4 part harmony on the spot.
Even though the Algorhythms may not be around anymore, they hold a special place in my heart as a fond memory of my first internship. The Algorhythms taught me to step out of my comfort zone, to embrace diversity, and to always iterate to be better than before. I’d like to thank Copperleaf Technologies for giving me the opportunity to take chances and make this group a reality, and the Algorhythms for their dedication and always believing in me during this 8 month journey. 💗
