SU's annual Winter Carnival presents Cozy Cappella

After a typically cold and snowy Syracuse day, students were treated to an evening of hot chocolate, desserts, and a cappella in honor of Syracuse University's annual Winter Carnival on Thursday night. Presented by the SU A Cappella Council. Cozy Cappella -- hosted by Ghufran Salih and Kristen Unangst -- featured an hour of performances by Orange Appeal, Oy Cappella, the Mandarins, Groove Stand, Main Squeeze, and the Otto Tunes.

Photo: Emily J. Magnifico

Ottotunes performs at Syracuse University's Cozy Cappella.

Students were seated at tables dressed in blue tablecloths, decorated with balloons. Onlookers were swathed in the glow from the tea lights, but the room was soon awash with the techno, neon-colored stage lights. Much like the performers themselves, many audience members were likewise clothed in pajamas-even the hosts themselves were appropriated attired in blue and orange Syracuse onesies.

Orange Appeal kicked the evening off with an up-tempo version of Khalid's "Young Dumb & Broke," and feel-good hit "One Foot" by Walk The Moon. After the group sprinted off the stage, Salih jogged back into the spotlight and let loose the first of many puns that would dominate the duo's humor: "I was almost killed by Orange Appeal, but aren't they appealing." Between acts, Salih and Unangst threw beanies to the crowd, breaking out their inner Oprah chanting, "You get a beanie, and you get a beanie, everyone gets a beanie." Alexandra Cook, a senior sports management student at SU, was struck by the community support throughout the course of the night. "It's wonderful to attend a university with such a supportive campus community, where even students like myself who don't really attend these sorts of events often can feel comfortable and just enjoy the performance," she said.

Highlights from the evening included Groove Stand's powerful rendition of "Outlaws" by Alessia Cara, and Main Squeeze's soulful version of Ella Eyre's "If I Go." Both groups commanded the audience's attention and demonstrated their vocal prowess with equally impressive efforts by both the soloists and the supporting chorus. The final performance was some risky business by the Otto Tunes, who slid onto the stage in white Oxfords, boxers, and white mid-calf socks. The boys serenaded the audience to an equally risky rendition of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream." the boys' combined charm and charisma, and entertaining dance moves wooed the audience who cheered with enthusiasm. When they finished, the other performers joined them on stage and, at the encouragement of Salih, joined arms for a collective singing of The Alma Mater. The audience followed suit, joining arms with their respective friends and tablemates, and sang along to send off an evening of cozy vibes with enough warm-and-fuzzies to combat the cold walk home.

If you missed Cozy Capella but can't get enough of SU's a cappella groups, you can check out their invitationals later this semester on the following dates:

Orange Appeal: March 30th

Oy Capella: April 5th

Mandarins: March 24th

Main Squeeze: March 31st

Otto Tunes: March 23rd

*** The evening included the performances in the following order:

Orange Appeal, "Young Dumb & Broke," by Khalid

Orange Appeal, "One Foot," by Walk the Moon

Oy Capella, "Stay," by Rihanna

Oy Capella, "Radioactive," by Imagine Dragons

Mandarins, "Halo," by Beyoncé

Mandarins, "See You Again," by Miley Cyrus

Groove Stand, "Outlaws," by Alessia Cara

Groove Stand, "Dusk till Dawn," by ZAYN feat. Sia

Main Squeeze, "Nightmare," by Miley Cyrus

Main Squeeze, "If I Go," by Ella Eyre

Otto Tunes, "How Long," by Charlie Puth

Otto Tunes, "Teenage Dream," by Katy Perry