About ASA
Our mission is to grow and cultivate the South-Asian A cappella genre across the US and beyond. We strive to be the foundation on which the community is built by developing resources and providing a platform for the art form.
Our Vision
Our vision is to provide a way for every musician interested in South-Asian a cappella to pursue this interest. We hope to see the genre reach greater heights and recognition around the world.
History
The South-Asian a cappella circuit today is comprised of over 70 groups, 8 competitions, and a national championship. But to trace the story of this genre, we must go back over two decades.
The South-Asian a cappella genre was pioneered by Penn Masala, an all-male group founded in 1996 at the University of Pennsylvania. Over time, enthusiastic musicians across the country formed South-Asian a cappella groups at their own universities, carrying forward the torch that Penn Masala lit. The genre itself continued to develop and grow, incorporating more and more influences from classical South Asian music to hip hop and everything in between. A few notable names have risen to the uppermost echelon of South-Asian a cappella in popularity, such as Chai Town at UIUC and Maize Mirchi at UMich, and competitive glory, such as Swaram A Cappella at Texas A&M and Dhamakapella at Case Western.
In 2005, Indus at the University of California, Berkeley, hosted Anahat, the first ever South-Asian a cappella competition. Since then, competitions have cropped up across the country, providing more and more opportunities for the best teams to prove their mettle.
Our Story
By 2016, the South-Asian a cappella community had matured to a point where the need for a national entity to drive the development of the genre was too great to go unnoticed. And that’s where ASA came in.
Founded in 2016 by Arjun Aggarwal and Sahaana Sridhar, the Association of South-Asian A Cappella (ASA) aimed to provide a unifying force for the growth of South-Asian a cappella. Since 2016, ASA has worked tirelessly to foster the collegiate South-Asian A Cappella community and build a nationwide network to unite the members and alumni of groups and strengthen the bonds not only between teams from universities across the nation, but also between the South-Asian and Contemporary a cappella communities.
The South-Asian a cappella community continues to grow and reach greater heights, and ASA is committed to helping this process in any and every way possible!
Our Team
