Behrend’s newest vocal group, Dissonance, made its debut performance at the International Student Organization’s theme night on Wednesday.

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As theme night, which focused primarily on Japanese culture, drew to a close, the music group wrapped up the event with their rendition of Khalid’s, “Location,” featuring soloist sophomore Finance major, Ben Lowery.

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Dissonance is the newest of only a handful of musical clubs on campus, a fact that heavily influenced its creation. The group began when its founding members recognized that the presence of art at Behrend, and music in particular, could be stronger.

Dissonance president Srini Charyulu, a junior Mechanical Engineering major, set out to make a change in Behrend’s musical culture.  “The musical arts are pretty limited here,” he said.  “We wanted to create another outlet for students to express musicality and creativity.”

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Among the students looking for the possibility to perform on campus is Dissonance Vice President, senior Political Science major Anthony Ventura.  Ventura transferred to Behrend last year, looking for a way to express himself musically.

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“I was excited to see what opportunities there were for performance at Behrend, and there was almost nothing,” said Ventura,  “So, we want to do something new that involves music and signing, and, hopefully expand into something versatile, diverse, and fun to give students more of these opportunities down the line.”

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However, the creation of this club was not without challenge.  In order to become their own club, Dissonance first had to differentiate itself from other groups on campus, including the Musician’s Club and Behrend’s a capella group, Toneacious.  Though beginning as primarily a vocal group, Charyulu stresses that there are a number of qualities that set the musical group apart.

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“We’re going to incorporate instruments into our sound, as well as featuring a wide diversity of genre that caters to all interests on campus,” he said.  “Our group provides us with the artistic freedom to take it in a number of directions.”

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Ventura also commented on the unique qualities of Dissonance.  “It’s a hybrid--the Best of Both Worlds,” he said. “We stress vocals as our primary instrument but we want to incorporate instruments without overpowering the vocals, and without becoming a band.  So, we’re somewhere between an a capella group and a multi-piece band.”

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”Other challenges that the group faced, at first, included recruiting students who would be interested in pursuing a stronger musical presence on campus. Now capped at ten members, the club’s primary challenge is getting its name popularized on campus.

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Despite these challenges, Charyulu and Ventura recognize the capability of the group to provide students with more opportunity to express themselves through music.  Said Charyulu, “Anytime that I am part of any musical platform, it becomes a stress reliever, and I feel like many students can relate to that.”

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“What excites me about Dissonance is its potential,” Charyulu went on to say. “It’s exciting to think about what this club could grow into, even three years in the future.”