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PandemoniUM is a co-ed a cappella group at the University of Maryland, College Park. Founded by an undergraduate student in 1993, PandemoniUM is a diverse group of between twelve and eighteen students of various majors and backgrounds whose set list changes regularly.

PandemoniUM mostly performs in the College Park and D.C. metropolitan area, such as at the International Monetary Fund/World Bank, fundraisers, weddings, etc, but travels to sing with a cappella groups at other universities as well.

Founding Of
PandemoniUM, established in 1993 by Amie Hsu while an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park and formally called the PandemoniUM A Cappella Singers Association by University of Maryland Student Government Association records, was (according to its constitution) founded with the purpose of providing the opportunity for members of the community to enjoy more diverse forms of entertainment on the university campus. The group was also meant to provide an environment conducive to social interaction among peers, as well as to give them the opportunity to learn about a cappella music and musical performance, which was a quickly growing scene on college campuses in the 1990s.

PandemoniUM has four original and two new officer positions, a total of six. The original officer positions were those of President, Musical Director, Business Director, and Treasurer.

Rather than being limited only to students with music related majors, PandemoniUM is open to all undergraduate students. As is characteristic of collegiate student groups, the membership of PandemoniUM changes every semester as members move on and/or graduate, and new members are selected with semesterly auditions.

Recent History
On September 7th 2004 PandemoniUM’s official website went online for the first time. Also in 2004, PandemoniUM released its first CD, "Syncopated".

In 2008 the group released its second CD, the self-named "PandemoniUM". Two years later the group released a third, "Momentum", from which the song “Breathe Me” was chosen to be featured on the 2008 release of Varsity Vocals’ nationally reputable compilation "Best of Collegiate A Cappella" (BOCA). "Momentum" is also PandemoniUM’s first CD to be put on sale on iTunes.

In fall 2010 PandemoniUM added the officer position of Webmaster, and the official group website was redesigned to its current layout by the first member to hold this position, then sophomore Ankeet Presswala.

In spring 2011 PandemoniUM added the officer position of Marketing Coordinator, who would be given the responsibility of on-campus advertising for auditions and events, and be in charge of both designing PandemoniUM t-shirts and selling private ad space for businesses on the back of those t-shirts.

From August-October 2011 PandemoniUM recorded music for a new and yet unnamed CD, comprised of twelve songs arranged and sung by PandemoniUM in 2010 and 2011. This CD will be released in the summer of 2012.

Arranging Music
PandemoniUM, like many collegiate A cappella groups, arranges its own music, using popular songs chosen by the group with musicality potential, A cappella translatability, and audience interest in mind.

In recent years PandemoniUM has arranged its music using the composition program Finale Notepad, the free version of Finale. One or more members of the group will listen to the chosen song, vocalize parts that they hear or imagine, and then write voice parts in Finale Notepad. Again similar to many collegiate A cappella groups, PandemoniUM utilizes vocal percussion to accent songs.

PandemoniUM has sung songs from a wide variety of artists, including (but not limited to) Gavin Degraw, Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Adele, the Fray, and John Legend.

Awards

 * 3rd Place - International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella 2009 South Regional Quarterfinals
 * 1st Place – International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella 2010 South Regional Quarterfinals
 * Outstanding Arrangement – Alex Brown and Suzanne Destio for “Chicago/Clocks” – International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella 2010 South Regional

Quarterfinals

Discography

 * Syncopated, 2004
 * PandemoniUM, 2008
 * Momentum, 2010