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A capella weekly spotlight: The Girls Next Door


Leading up to Muhlenberg’s best a cappella event of the semester, A Cappella Fest, The Weekly will be printing a feature article on a different performance group each week.

The Girls Next Door is Muhlenberg’s all-female a cappella group. These ladies hit the high notes, performing songs from many different genres, covering pop classics like Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Some- body,” and more recent hits such as Justin Timberlake’s “Pusher Love Girl.” The president, Jessica Afflerbach ‘19, describes what being the president of an all-female group is like: “I love being a part of a group of really talented and independent women, and so simply get- ting to introduce the group at gigs is something that feels really special. It’s pretty cool that the girls in the group feel confident enough in me to be their president, so I take it seriously, but it’s still fun.”

A cappella is a great community, and strong friend- ships are easily cultivated within and across all of the different groups. Hanah Gershkowitz ‘20 talked about how being a part of GND has shaped her freshman year and helped her adjust to going to school so far away from home. “Freshman year is a big transition and the upperclassmen have taken us under their wings and helped us get through that really tough first semester. I know that without this group of girls I would not have been this happy in my first year!”

It is not surprising that since a cappella helps members develop friendships and a sense of community, it is one of the things seniors say they will miss most about Muhlenberg. For many seniors being a part of an a cappella group is one of the only constants found in college. Jessica Jones, a senior who will graduate this spring, speaks about GND’s importance to her college career. “This group taught me patience, diligence, collaboration, focus, and what it truly means to put my heart and soul into a product that is created with my peers. GND has provided me over four years with a sisterhood of lifelong companions who remind me every week that music is a way to communicate, a way to share, and a way to feel.”

GND is a group of strong and talented women that put out great music throughout the semester. Before A Capella Fest, you can catch GND at their annual Valentine’s Day Cabaret on Feb. 18. Make sure to check them—and all the other a cappella Groups—out on Apr. 1 at A Capella Fest! For more information and up- dates on GND, follow their social media accounts:

Instagram: gnd_official

Facebook: The Girls Next Door

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