The Vernaculars - Catawba College's Popular Music Ensemble


Catawba Rocks!

The flagship ensemble of the Catawba College music business/popular music degree concentration, the Vernaculars are dedicated to the performance of contemporary popular (aka vernacular) music — alternative, rock, pop, R&B, and more. A for-credit rock band is extremely rare at a college or university and is a clear sign of Catawba's commitment to providing students of popular music with the type of educational opportunities they need.

Beginning with the 2008-9 school year, the fast growth of popular music at Catawba brings with it not just one but three Vernculars ensembles: PRiME, Colloquials and Demotics. As the flagship ensemble of the Catawba music buisness program, the Vernaculars PRiME features the college's most talented popular music students and enjoys an enhance performance schedule each semester.

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Instrumentation The Vernaculars' basic instrumentation includes: lead and background vocals guitar (electric and acoustic) bass keyboards horns (trumpet, trombone, saxophone) drums

Repertoire

Each semester's playlist comes from three primary sources:

• Recent songs of artistic influence and inspiration. Artists performed in recent years, include:
  Incubus, Motion City Soundtrack, Mat Kearney, Sara Bareilles, Matchbox Twenty, LeAnn Rimes, Muse, James Morrison, Jimmy Eat World, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, AFI, OK Go, Coldplay, the Almost, Red Jumpsuit Appartus, Tally Hall, Paramore, Mewithoutyou, Switchfoot, Foo Fighters, Death Cab For Cutie, My Chemical Romance, Goo Goo Dolls, Snow Patrol, Gavin DeGraw, the Violent Femmes, John Mayer, Regina Spektor, Jack's Mannequin, Dave Matthews, the Black Crowes, Nirvana, Live, the Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Mary J. Blige Christina Aguilera, Carrie Underwood, Corrine Bailey Rae, and Eminem.
  
  
• Legacy works that have established the foundation of contemporary popular music, including:
  Stevie Ray Vaughn, the Beatles, James Brown, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, Wilson Pickett, Queen, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin...
  
  
• Original pieces by members of the ensemble.

The Vernaculars also provide music business students with opportunities to gain experience as managers, publicists, and the like.

sample past PERFORMANCES
Stay up-to-date with upcoming performances on the Music Calendar or on Facebook!

Abbey Road Double Encore 2011 Last November, the Vernaculars performed Beatles Abbey Road Live! to mark the fortieth anniversary of this monumental rock opus. The Vernaculars will stage repeat performances of the entire Beatles album this year. Read more »
Legacy 2010 On May 2, the Vernaculars PRiME performed "Queen for a Night," a tribute to Queen, while the new Urban Sol Vernaculars took to the stage with "Detroit: A Motown Revue." Read more »
Singular Voices 2008 Concert of original songs by Catawba students, featuring the works of Melissa Alesi, Katie Bragg, Meri Cartmill, Derek Diasey, Eric Finland, and more.
State of the Music Address 2008 The Vernaculars' annual review of current popular music. Songs by Incubus, Motion City Soundtrack, Mat Kearney, Sara Bareilles, Matchbox Twenty, LeAnn Rimes, Muse, James Morrison, Jimmy Eat World, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, AFI, OK Go, Coldplay, the Almost, Red Jumpsuit Appartus, Tally Hall, Paramore, and Mewithoutyou.
Back to Jack 2008 An all Michael Jackson concert, served up Vernaculars style — heavy on the rock, hold the disco. Read Full Story »  PHOTOS
Fall Collection 2007 Debut of the 2007-8 Vernaculars. Recent songs by Lifehouse, Paramore, Feist, Pink, and Amy Winehouse. Legacy works by the Beatles, the Rollings Stones, Prince, James Brown, Sly Stone, Nirvana, and Stevie Wonder.

To Learn More

To learn more about the Vernaculars, including information about service award scholarships for membership in the Vernaculars, contact Dr. David Lee Fish at dlfish@catawba.edu.

Endorsement

The Vernaculars proudly use the award-winning Hear Back in-ear monitoring system by Hear Technologies and thank the company for its generous support.