Students Hear Award-Winning A Cappella Group

On Monday, March 17, the students at Turner Public School boarded busses bound for Dodson. The purpose of their travel was to join students in that neighboring town for Backtrack Vocals, the final installment of the Northeastern Arts Network (NEAN) performances.

A vocal band from New York City, Backtrack Vocals is a five-person professional a cappella singing group that transforms familiar songs with all-new vocal and beatbox arrangements. Their versatile repertoire spans Motown, classical, show tunes, Top 40 hits, and original music-essentially catering to everyone's music tastes.

Their ensemble features five members: Dan Satter, bass; Mason Van Gieson, soprano; Stefanie Sambrano, alto; Mike Hinkle, tenor; and Aldon Knolls, a vocal percussionist who has seventeen years of experience as a beatboxer.

Hinkle, who also doubles as the group's tour manager, told the audience gathered: "We are our own backtrack since we do not rely on instrumentation [beyond our own voices], hence our name."

Passionate about promoting the arts and helping students find and nurture their unique voices, Backtrack Vocals infuses heart and humor into their shows. The group not only assists students in discovering and nurturing their unique voices but also fosters inclusivity and teaches about a cappella music in an engaging and interactive setting.

Guided by that spirit, Van Gieson explained, "Our work depends on a solid foundation/bass line provided by Dan, background performed primarily by Stefani, harmony added by Mike, lyrics carried by the soprano, and drums and electronic sounds played by Aldon-our human drum kit. Then we ramp things up with variation: a different vowel hummed on background, a soprano solo, electronic sounds, and other improvisation. Our whole purpose is to tell a story; that's why we sing."

In additional teaching moments, Knolls delivered a mini-workshop on the three main sounds in beat boxing. He demonstrated the bass drum (b as in boots), high hat drum (t as in tick), and snare drum (k as in cats). After each introduced sound, Knolls invited the students to practice as a group. Then, he called for individual volunteers. Isley Welsh, a fifth grader from Turner stepped out to imitate Knolls, who "played" a series of sounds that she repeated back.

As Backtrack Vocals entertained, they performed a variety of songs, including a Mary Poppins medley, "Dynamite" by BTS, "Can't Stop This Feeling" by Justin Timberlake, and "I'm Still Standing" by Elton John.

The quintet's musical journey began after launching a YouTube channel in 2013, where their unique music videos feature new arrangements of songs by multiple artists. Since then and after several changes in membership, the Backtrack Vocals won season 6 of New York's Got Talent in 2019, and they were honored at the A Cappella Video Awards for Outstanding Collaborative Video in 2024.

From Dodson, the group travelled on to play in Malta, Sidney, and Glasgow as part of the Northeastern Arts Network's (NEAN) Big Sky Series Tour.

NEAN is a non-profit organization dedicated to the cultural enrichment of Montana's communities. Their Big Sky Series is made possible in part by the Montana Performing Arts Consortium Presenter Development Program. That program is supported not only by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Montana Arts Council but by a legislative grant from Montana's Cultural Trust and Western States Arts Federation.