Talented students from around the Taylor campus will hit the stage for a night of music and fun at MyGen.
MyGen is an annual concert put on by Taylor’s Student Activities Council and features 12-14 student musical performances, including both solo acts and bands. It will take place in Rediger Auditorium on Oct. 25.
The one rule for all music played is that it was released during or after this year’s seniors’ birth year of 2003. This rule is the root of MyGen, which is short for “My Generation.”
SAC seeks to feature a variety of students from different dorms and social circles, Damaris Hernandez, member of SAC and sophomore exercise science and sport management double major, said. They want to give people who may not be part of a chapel band the chance to share their talent.
“It's so fun to see all the different talents on campus that you wouldn't normally expect of people you may know or just not know at all,” Taylor Dickey, member of SAC and junior elementary education major, said. “Each band brings something new. And it's fun to see the people you go to school with in that environment.”
Since there are often more than 40 bands that audition, selecting the acts is a difficult process, Dickey said.
During the two nights of auditions, SAC will evaluate and score their vocals, instrumentation, stage presence, audience appeal and uniqueness, Emmaline Farley, SAC president and senior management and marketing double major, said. After the second night, they pick 12-14 acts to put in the show.
They try to select songs that students would be familiar with and vary the musical genres, Dickey said.
“You could try out with the same song two years in a row and not make it one year, but make it the next year,” Hernandez said. “It kind of depends who else is auditioning because we try to keep a wide variety of genres, duos, solos … while also making sure that there's inclusion of all dorms on campus and not just people that are involved in chapel bands.”
The auditions are a highlight as Sac prepares for MyGen, Dickey said. She loves watching the bands showcasing their talents, even when they do not make it into the show.
Auditions are an opportunity for the SAC team to bond, Farley said. They eat snacks, post videos on SAC’s Instagram and watch talented people perform. It gets her excited to see how good the final show will be.
“I wish that everyone else could just sit in on auditions because it's so much fun,” Hernandez said. “Because, as a person on SAC, I get to see everyone who auditions, and I think everyone's amazing.”
As the date approaches, SAC has much preparation ahead of them. They will put hours into decorating Rediger Auditorium, as well as both floors of the Student Center, Farley said. The theme is not public yet, but will be announced closer to the event.
Farley looks forward to seeing the show come together and how the students respond, she said.
“My favorite part is always the first 10 minutes of the show,” Farley said. “SAC’s promo commercial plays, and then energy spikes when the MCs do their intro and the first band comes on stage. I love standing in the back and watching all of the students cheer their friends on. It is so fun to see all of SAC’s work come together into one amazing night.”
