Dhamakapella, Case Western Reserve University’s South Asian fusion a cappella group, won second place at the national championship All-American Awaaz: Voices of Champions. The group competed against teams from Saint Louis University; University of California, Berkeley; Texas A&M University; University of California, Los Angeles; Georgia Institute of Technology; University of California, San Diego; and Boston University.
Dhamakapella also received the award for Outstanding Visual Performance and junior Vasu Kuram won the award for Outstanding Male Soloist.
This season, Dhamakapella also placed first in two competitions, receiving six individual awards and more than $2,500 in prize money in total.
The team’s winning arrangement “Man Madira” was featured in a video for “Meher Dance Company,” a professional company based out of Chicago, Illinois. The piece was arranged by senior Shaunak Roy and features solos from Roy, Kuram and an alum Madhav Nandan. The arrangement is on Dhamakapella’s EP Riyaaz, which can be found on the group’s Spotify page.