Members of the a cappella group TechNotes are marking their 15th anniversary as a student organization this spring and celebrating what they say is a true sense of community within their musical family.

Phoenix Smith, president of TechNotes, has been a member of the a cappella group since 2022. During her three years with the organization, she has performed in six concerts — the 15th anniversary concert will be her seventh. The spring concert — 15 Years of TechNotes — will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 26, in Auditorium 100 of the Graduate Life Center on the Blacksburg campus.

During her first year at Virginia Tech, Smith was inspired to join TechNotes after seeing the group perform in the Virginia Tech Relay for Life riff-off. She auditioned in spring 2022 and was accepted into the a cappella group.

Through TechNotes, Smith has made both friends and lasting memories. Smith believes joining TechNotes was the best decision she’s ever made in college, as the group “gave me a community where I felt like I belonged” and “was an outlet where I could sing again with an amazing group of people.”

What makes the TechNotes family so special is how members are “surrounded by people who were immensely talented…[while] getting to do the thing we all loved the most — making music,” Smith said.

Smith wanted to become president of TechNotes to “give back to the people that gave so much to me,” a sentiment that is echoed among TechNotes alumni.

Kavya Shankar, who graduated in 2024, has enjoyed singing her whole life. She participated in choirs during middle and high school and trained in Indian classical music.

Shankar’s most memorable experience in TechNotes was singing backstage before her first in-person concert in the fall of 2021, after pandemic restrictions were lifted. “We were all having such a great time and so hyped up to be singing on stage together for the first time and you could really feel the energy in that room,” Shankar said.

Many former TechNotes members maintain strong ties with their musical friends. Deepa Gajulapalli, who gradauted in 2022, was a member of TechNotes from September 2018 to January 2022 held various roles, including concert director, social director, and, in her senior year, president of TechNotes.

Gajulapalli, who had been involved in her high school choir, wanted to join a co-ed voice group during her time at college. When auditioning for TechNotes, she remembers how everyone was “so friendly and had an energy that consumed the room.”

When Gajulapalli was approaching graduation, she knew her time with TechNotes was drawing to a close. She had so much to show for her time in TechNotes, having grown as a leader, singer, and person. Gajulapalli still has the TechNotes albums, videos of concerts, and a box of all the things she has collected from TechNotes over the years, including letters, photos, and concert programs.

Gajulapalli describes how her TechNotes family are both her long-distance best friends and future bridesmaids. “Even though we don’t get to make music together anymore, it doesn’t mean we have paused on making memories together,” she said. “Those familial connections don’t disappear after college.”

Written by Anja Hemesath, a senior a student writer for Virginia Tech Marketing and Communications

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