A cappella is a form of vocal music that is performed without instrumental accompaniment, and it has taken off in popularity in the past decade, thanks to media such as Pitch Perfect and the skyrocketing popularity of the a cappella group Pentatonix.

Central Catholic has been alongside this trend. In 2016, Tucker Helms created Free Verse, a group of Oakland Catholic and Central Catholic students who perform a cappella songs. Tucker’s vision of an a cappella group is still going strong, and Free Verse is on its tenth year of performing.

Free Verse has continued its tradition of auditioning for ICHSA, the International Championship of High School A Cappella. Last year, the group made it to the first round of competition, singing the hit songs Bohemian Rhapsody, Ocean Eyes, and Out of My League.

This year, Free Verse is under the leadership of Theodor Mertz, CC ‘26 (Director of Logistics), Vincent Jackson, CC ‘27 (Music Leader), and Niko Miyaki, OC ‘26 (Choreography Leader), and they plan on seeing more competition and wins in the future. Some songs that the group is working on right now are Viva La Vida by Coldplay, Ribs by Lorde, Cherry by Harry Styles, and Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac.

Music leader Vincent Jackson explained the vision of the group in a text. Vincent stated, “Free Verse is named after the type of poetry without rhyme or regular meter, producing an authentic style of speech or song, along with a meaningful message. This year marks Free Verse’s 10th year of sharing music and community. This year, we hope to bring new songs to our repertoire while also highlighting the music of past generations.”

On November 1st, the group will be at the PMEA festival, hosted by Deke Sharon, known as “the godfather of a cappella” and “the father of contemporary a cappella.” Free Verse will be auditioning for a performance at the concert that evening.

With everyone in the group, there is passion this art. Toan Le, a returning member of Free Verse, has expressed his gratitude for the group in a text. Toan stated, “Free Verse has opened a lot of opportunities and it is partly because of the strides we take in order to turn them into realities… We are Fun, Friendship, Free Verse.”

Everyone in Free Verse is excited for the year to come, with new arrangements of more songs and lots of performing and singing.