- Chad Sabin,
Junior theater major
NORMAL- A band made up of 14 members and zero instruments—that is Clef Hangers. Formed in 2008, Clef Hangers is the only a cappella group with males and females at ISU.
“The idea of creating Clef Hangers came from wanting to form a mixed a cappella group and having an outlet to continue performing,” Lauryn Motto, senior music vocal education major and president and founder of Clef Hangers, said.
Motto had help from friends, family and faculty to create Clef Hangers and get it approved to be an RSO (registered student organization), but this is her last year at ISU and as a member.
“Clef Hangers has been my baby, and I will miss it greatly when I leave,” Motto said. “Let’s put it this way: come May, I’ll be an emotional wreck.”
Motto may be leaving, but her heart will always be with Clef Hangers.
“I wish the group an enormous amount of success and positive energy. I wish that they maintain and better the reputation we have now as being one of the friendliest, most professional groups on campus,” Motto added.
Clef Hangers has seen many members come and go in its three years, but all have been a part of a special group.
“It feels like a family. There’s a closeness that I don’t know if any other group has,” Chad Sabin, junior theater major and a member since this past January, said. “Being a new member, you feel like you have to live up to past members, but it is not like that with this group. They really work with you and make you feel part of the family right away.”
Sabin has been performing and singing since high school where he was in show choir, concert choir and varsity choir. He hasn’t been a part of a group like Clef Hangers before.
“It’s not just going to another rehearsal—it’s like going to meet with family and practice what you all love,” Sabin said.
Sabin joined Clef Hangers after hearing from a friend that they were holding auditions at the beginning of the semester. He had tried out for A Cafellas, an all male group, before but did not make it. Being a theater major, he said that joining Clef Hangers lets him do both things he loves, act and sing.
“It’s my escape, a breath of fresh air going to rehearsals,” Sabin said. “It’s a way to get back in touch with my other love.”
Clef Hangers puts on a number of performances each semester. They have performed at banquets for the American Red Cross, and they also hold a fall and spring concert.
“I’d have to say my best memory is our High School tour where we traveled to high schools around the state, and we bond and grow even closer to each other,” Lauren Bernacki, senior vocal music education major, said.
Clef Hangers is not only open to music or performing majors. It is open to all. Jacob Lambert is a sophomore journalism major who just joined the group this past January after trying out his freshman year and not making the cut.
“I just went for it,” Lambert said. “In just these few weeks there I have gotten closer to them and would consider them my second family.”
Lambert was planning on going to Millikin to study vocal performance but decided that studying performance may take out the passion in it but is happy to have found a mixed a cappella group at ISU.
“There is nothing quite like being a part of a group that is dedicated to making great music,” Lambert said.
Clef Hangers is among other a cappella groups at ISU that have been around much longer but have not seemed to rise up to the same level of recognition as them.
“I think we have something to offer, and we don’t get the credit we deserve,” Sabin said. “We have great songs, and we add same dancing to it too.”
Clef Hangers is planning their spring concert right now and hopes to hold it sometime this April.
“For those unsure of what we are, you should definitely come see us,” Sabin said. “We are a group that loves to entertain.”