This Saturday and the following, the Georgetown GraceNotes and the Phantoms will be co-hosting their 11th annual D.C. A Cappella Festival (DCAF), which will feature performances from various a cappella groups from universities located up and down the East coast.

The DCAF tradition was started by the Phantoms, Georgetown’s first co-ed a cappella group, and was later expanded to include the GraceNotes, a relatively new all-girls group. Unlike the Georgetown Chimes, the GraceNotes and the Phantoms are branches of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which funds DCAF, as well as other concerts and even a biennial CD for each group. This spring, the GraceNotes will be releasing an album, which they do on a five-semester basis with the help of the performing arts department.

The a cappella music of the GraceNotes and the Phantoms, while incorporating the same classic instrumental-imitation used by the Chimes, tends towards a more modern pop/rock style. Groups invited to perform at DCAF have a similar repertoire, and this year will include the New York University’s N’Harmonics, Princeton’s Old NasSoul and the University of Maryland’s Generics, among others. Eva Trust (COL ’11), musical director of the GraceNotes, explained that the groups invited to perform at DCAF were carefully selected from performances recorded by Best of College A Cappella (BOCA), an a cappella recording organization. Those with the most impressive recordings are invited by Georgetown to perform at DCAF.

Trust, who has a background in classical and choral music, is primarily responsible for the musical arrangements and part assignments for the 13-member all-female group, and feels that the most difficult part of all-female a cappella is adjusting the music to an eight-part female harmony. Molly Scalise (COL ’10), another member of the group agreed, pointing out that the one of the most challenging aspects of being a GraceNote is singing the guy’s part.

“For example, I usually sing bass,” said Scalise, “although I am actually a soprano.”

Both Scalise and Trust agreed that the appeal of the GraceNotes’ repertoire, with such songs as Queen’s “Under Pressure” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence,” is its modernity.

“It’s fun to connect with kids on campus,” said Trust, referencing the greater connection between students and more modern music. “It’s fun to have your own take on a popular song and bring your own personality to it.”

Kiki Nolan (COL ’12), a new member of the co-ed Phantoms, who was tabling in Red Square earlier this week with Scalise and Trust, emphasized that, besides being a musical group, the a cappella groups are also like families.

“It’s a great opportunity to meet a lot of girls that I would not have met otherwise,” Scalise said. “Singing provides that [social] opportunity.”

Trust, however, emphasized the unique musical facet of a capella as being one of her favorite aspects of being a GraceNote. Also a member of the Georgetown University Chamber Singers, her a cappella role in the GraceNotes allows her to create a whole new genre of music.

“It’s very cool to use your voice as an instrument,” she said, “and not be just a singer but an instrumental part of the song.”

D.C. A Cappella Festival is Saturday Nov. 7, and Nov. 14, at 7:30 pm in Gaston Hall. $8 tickets for Students/ Faculty/ Staff. Tickets can also be purchased online at http://performingarts.georgetown.edu/boxoffice.