To start things off, Partial Credit sang “Collide,” by Howie Day, a song that would see more performances before the day was over. The scholarly singers also borrowed “Take Me or Leave Me,” from the Rent soundtrack; they did a good job, but failed overall to impart the level of energy necessary for a really great a cappella performance.

By contrast, the Percussion Ensemble started things off with a bang with their “Celebration,” while “Normandy” chillingly told the tale of the D-Day beach invasion. “La Polka de Mamba” rounded the set out with a jaunty international mix of musical styles—thoroughly weird and thoroughly enjoyable.

The Campus Serenaders started off with the always foot-tapping “In the Mood,” then continued with other well-known jazz, swing, and big-band pieces. The Serenaders livened the air and jazzed up the crowd.

The Concert Choir continued in a more mellow tone with selections from “Gloria,” by Vivaldi, and various pop love songs from the 1500s, before moving on to a 1500s-style version of the Beatles’ “Can’t Buy Me Love,” which was pure hilarity. They saved their best for last with “Wade in the Water,” a spiritual featuring the remarkable solo of Tiffany Dzembo. Overall, the choir was extremely harmonious, a milkshake of voices blended to just the right texture and flavor.

There was a break in the concerts until 4 pm, at which point the Rensselyrics began to sing, starting with a lively rendition of “Sugar, Sugar.” By this point the crowd had more than doubled from its size during the earlier portion of the concert, filling nearly every seat as RPI’s oldest a cappella group continued with Howie Day’s “Collide” and finished up with the delightfully gothic “Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence.

The Clarinet Choir then took the stage, serenely showcasing “Sarabanda and Gavotta,” as well as the more traditional holiday songs “O Holy Night,” and “Joy to the World.”

The Symphony Orchestra started off on an epic note with “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” which was beautifully played and evoked the grand drama of the films. The explosive fourth movement of Shostakovich’s fifth symphony followed, a piece written during World War II to capture the spirit of Soviet resistance to the Nazi invasion, which it remarkably succeeded at. Finally, the orchestra finished their set with “A Christmas Festival” and “Sleigh Ride” to celebrate the holiday season.

The brass quintet followed and made the McNeil Room resonate with “Canzona con Sonare No. 4,” an energetic piece, as well as “Two Pieces” and “Symphony for Brass Choir.”

To finish up the second portion of the concert, the symphonic band bounded through its selections, including “First Suite in Eb for Military Band,” “Danse Bacchanale” from “Samson and Delilah,” and an exquisitely performed version of the overture to Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro.”

After an hour and a half break, the Rusty Pipes continued with their portion of the concert. Dressed in a striking red, they belted out “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to a still almost-full house. They followed that with the bouncy “Cool,” by Gwen Stefani, and the angst-ridden Linkin Park hit “Crawling,” all performed with impressive passion and intensity.

The Ghanaian Drumming class added a healthy dose of rhythm to complement the harmonies of the Rusty Pipes. They began with an undulating contemporary piece called “Osibi,” then a faster a cappella-inspired love song, “Kele Kele Keto.” “The King Walks,” used to accompany the movements of the king of the Ga tribe (in Ghana), closed the performance. It was a rare treat to see the result of the Ghanaian Drumming class, so often taken by upperclassmen, but almost never showcased. The skill and coordination displayed was quite impressive.

The Jazz Ensemble immediately filed in to the front of the room, sat down, tuned up, and proceeded to jam like nobody’s business. The trumpets sang, the guitars strummed, the trombones warbled, the clarinets crooned, the saxophones cantillated, and the cymbals crashed in a big, frothy melting pot of sound that had the entire room resonating.

A small spinoff of the jazz ensemble, known as the Dinner Band, continued playing to a slightly thinned crowd. A drum set, a cello, a trumpet, a clarinet, a piano, and two saxophones played a selection of more relaxed jazz tunes to wind down the RMA performances for winter 2005.

Even by the end of the concert at 9:30 pm, the McNeil Room was mostly full, as it had been throughout the marathon musical manifestation. While not a major event, the show did attract quite a bit of attention.

Although under construction, the new RMA website, located at http://rma.union.rpi.edu/, has contact information for the officers and each of the member groups; don’t miss the next concert!