We all know Pentatonix and "Pitch Perfect." We've all seen collegiate a cappella groups, and most of us have seen spectacular high school groups as well. Have you ever seen a phenomenal middle school group?

Watching the White Station Middle School Spartones, I saw the future.

-Deke Sharon

White Station Middle School's Spartones are better than a lot of the collegiate groups out there today. They are rhythmically tight, tonally sound, and exhibit a joy and passion sadly lacking from a lot of more "mature" groups still stuck in the rut of performing "moody pop song covers."

Spartones sing "Bright" at NACC 2016

The Spartones were started in January 2015 under the direction of Emily Frizzell.

"I'd been interested in a cappella for awhile but had almost zero experience with it, so I was nervous to start a group," Frizzell said. "I started working with my husband's group, OneVoice, regularly, and it built my confidence.

"I realized I knew enough to start a group and we could learn together. I was still concerned my students weren't ready. Then one day, I heard a few students in my classroom after school. There were four of them. They were singing four parts, and it was actually in tune and musical! I thought, 'It's time.' I talked to my choir classes about the audition process and told them my vision for the group. I held auditions and we started working!"

The group has received national recognition through its masterclass performance at the 2015 National A Cappella Convention held in Memphis, TN, and its live stage performance at the 2016 NACC.

Spartones sing for Deke Sharon at NACC 2015

"With the exception of an amazing young choir like you'd find at a choir school (such as the Vienna Boys' Choir), I had never heard nor heard of a middle school choir singing complex contemporary a cappella... until Emily's group, the Spartones," a cappella guru Deke Sharon said.

A whole world of opportunity opened before my eyes as I realized that young voices in a traditional scholastic setting were indeed able to sing at a much higher level.

Frizzell on the Spartones' practice regimen:

"We started in January, so we were limited in options for rehearsals. We ended up with one to two hours of after school rehearsal time each week. I explained to them that the reason groups like OneVoice were so good was individual practice time outside of rehearsal. So they were very excited to learn their music on their own (like OV) and do touch up work in our limited time together.

"It usually worked out that way, but there were times I had to plunk out parts on the piano and send the students to sectionals. By April, they were performing for Deke Sharon in a masterclass at NACC. A parent posted a video of the masterclass on Facebook, and it now has close to 42,000 views. I felt a lot of positivity about that whole experience, and it was extremely educational for those kids and for me! The next year, the Spartones got to perform on the NACC main stage and it was a BLAST -- they loved every second of it and made a huge impact on the a cappella community in their 15 minutes on stage."

Current director Samantha Powell added: "For our harder pieces I (and my husband) make practice tracks for them to rehearse on their own.

Spartones sing "Wake Me Up" at NACC 2016

"I think that many middle school directors are either not familiar enough with a cappella and/or may think that at this age, they are not capable enough. Or they're just not sure how or where to start. But I do think with outreach and education it could become a great new section of the a cappella world."

Frizzell on the success of the Spartones:

"I think the secret to their success is that they come from a successful choir program. They learn how to sing in tune and with good tone from day one. I spend a lot of time on the basics at the beginning of the school year. I know their current director focuses a lot on those things as well. If your kids sing in tune and with good tone, you can do the rest pretty easily. They were always really good at stagger breathing and microdynamics (what may translate as musicality) as long as I told them specifically where to apply certain techniques.

I'm so glad I started this group and I am thrilled to see them thrive under the direction of the incredibly talented Sam Powell this year -- what an honor to be able to watch them grow as musicians!

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