Straight No Chaser seniors leaving

Straight No Chaser will say hello and goodbye during their spring concert at 8 p.m. tonight at the IU Auditorium.\nSaying goodbye to five seniors and hello to five new members, the a cappella group promises tonight's performance will be the best concert in its six-year history. \nStraight No Chaser will perform a mix of music that has been worked on all year and will bring in a new repertoire. \n"It's a good chance for people to see us in a bigger setting and a more exciting venue," senior Michael Seidenstein said. "We'll do a lot of fan favorites and debut many of our new songs as well, while under the enhanced lighting and sound atmosphere of the IU Auditorium."\nFor the first time, the concert also will have an opening act -- The Leonards. Straight No Chaser members said they look forward to The Leonards bringing their engaging and energetic acoustic musical abilities to the stage before they perform, allowing fans to hear both "rockappella" and rock. \nStraight No Chaser fans also will have the opportunity to see an entertaining video made by an alumnus of the group, allowing attendees to get to know the members better on a more humorous level. Fans will be able to purchase Straight No Chaser's fifth CD, "Thank You," which recently won runner-up for the Best Male Collegiate Album from the Contemporary A Cappella Society. \nStraight No Chaser has been finalizing the plans and practicing for tonight's concert since January. After taking a trip to Florida and performing for smaller audiences, senior member Jon Mulholland said he anticipates the group's presence at the IU Auditorium will be "glorious."\n"It is the type of music anyone -- your grandparents, frat brother, girlfriend, anyone -- will enjoy," Mulholland said. "I've never met someone who hasn't come to a concert like this and hasn't left wowed, never thinking that they could enjoy it as much as they did."\nThe group plans to sing fan favorites such as "Africa," "Insomnia" and "Dry Campus" and will debut its new members: junior Nick Jaenicke, sophomore Sargon Isho and three incoming freshmen from Iowa -- Chris Ryan, Adam Rich and Tyler Trepp. \nThe new members will take part in six new songs at the concert so fans can get a taste of what will come from Straight No Chaser in the future. \nJaenicke said he is looking forward to his first Straight No Chaser appearance, which will allow his family and friends to see him perform on stage.\n"I find it such a privilege to be a part of this group, and I don't take it for granted," Jaenicke said. \nWhile the audience will welcome the new members, seniors Seidenstein, Ryan Ahlwardt, Todd Gallet, Michael Luginbill and Patrick Schuette will be saluted. \nAhlwardt, music director for Straight No Chaser, has been a part of the group for four and a half years. He joined the group with his friend Luginbill while they were still seniors at Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Ind.\n"It's great to think that Straight No Chaser has come this far, but at the same time it's kind of sad that it's coming to an end," Ahlwardt said. "We're all, the seniors especially, really proud of the hard work we have put in."\nSeidenstein said he wanted tonight's performance to "go out with a bang."\n"It will be a sentimental show- bittersweet in that it will be sad to leave the guys, but it will be fun to get up there together as a group one last time," he said.\nAfter graduation, the men might say goodbye to IU, but not to music. \nAhlwardt, Luginbill, Mulholland and Seidenstein have formed a "barbershop quartet" that has landed a spot singing on a cruise ship for seven months. Calling themselves "The Coverdales," after IU basketball player Tom Coverdale, the group will perform oldies and other doo-wop pieces as it travels near Alaska, the Caribbean and South America. \nAlthough members of Straight No Chaser will carry their a cappella abilities away from IU, Ahlwardt said he feels as if the group has come full circle since he has joined. He said he is confident about the talent that Straight No Chaser will bring to the auditorium tonight and in the future. \n"It seems like yesterday I got into the group," he said. "But I know that we will all go out on a good note"