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Collegiate a cappella ensembles are college-affiliated singing groups, primarily in the United States, and, increasingly, the United Kingdom and Ireland, that perform entirely without musical instruments. The groups are typically composed of, operated by, and directed by students. In the context of collegiate a cappella, the term a cappella typically also refers to the music genre performed by pop-centric student singing groups. Consequently, an ensemble that sings unaccompanied classical music may not be considered an a cappella group, even though technically it is performing a cappella.
BYU Vocal Point, or simply Vocal Point, is a seven to nine-member, male a cappella group at Brigham Young University (BYU). Founded by two students, Bob Ahlander & Dave Boyce, in 1991, Vocal Point is under the direction of former member Carson Trautman.
Shir Appeal is Tufts University’s only mixed-gender Jewish a cappella group. Founded in 1995 with assistance from the Jewish Agency, Shir Appeal is one of the nation’s oldest collegiate Jewish a cappella groups. The group sings music from a wide range of genres, including Israeli rock and pop, traditional and liturgical Jewish songs, Jewish world music, and English music with strong Jewish themes. Though based at Tufts University outside Boston, Shir Appeal has gone on tour to numerous areas in the United States, including New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, and Chicago, as well as the New England and Boston areas. Shir Appeal has been on Best of College a Cappella (BOCA) four times. It was the first non-secular a cappella group to be recognized on BOCA, and the only Jewish group to have ever been featured on it.
The Stanford Mendicants are an all-male a cappella group at Stanford University. The group is Stanford University's first a cappella group. Since its founding in 1963, the group's size has varied from 6 to 19 members. Although they are strictly an a cappella group today, they have performed with instruments in previous generations. The group prides itself on singing a wide range of songs, from gospel to barbershop to pop tunes and original compositions. The Mendicants are known around Stanford's campus for their red blazers and romantic serenades.
After Dark (AD) is a co-ed a cappella group at Washington University in St. Louis specializing in contemporary rock and pop music.
Voices in Your Head is a student-run a cappella group from the University of Chicago who aim to "push the bounds of contemporary a cappella." Founded in 1998, the group has consisted of both undergraduate and graduate students whose studies range from Economics to Music to MD/PhD programs. Its unique repertoire includes original pieces, as well as an eclectic mix of pop, R&B, rock, and alternative music. Voices competes regularly in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) and releases studio recordings of their arrangements.
The Stanford Harmonics are a co-ed a cappella group from Stanford University. Known for their alternative rock repertoire and award-winning recordings, the Harmonics have garnered international recognition for their performances and have been featured on BOCA, Sing, and Voices Only a cappella compilations. The Harmonics are one of the few collegiate a cappella groups that own their own wireless microphone equipment and have developed a live performance style that includes the use of electronic distortion and sound effects.
Straight No Chaser (SNC) is a professional American a cappella group that originated in 1996 at Indiana University. Originally a student group at Indiana University, they recorded a video in 1998 of a comical version of "The 12 Days of Christmas". The founding members all graduated, to be replaced by other students, in 1999. In 2007, the 1998 video went viral on YouTube, and subsequently led to a reunion of the founding members and a five-album record deal with Atlantic Records in 2008. The YouTube video has been viewed over 24 million times.
The Bear Necessities are an award-winning, TTBB acappella group from Brown University. Also known as "The Bears",they were established in 1992, making them the youngest of the three TTBB acappella groups at Brown. The Bears have released 7 albums, and are currently in the process of recording their 8th. They are best known for wearing suspenders and former member Masi Oka, one of the best known alumnus of a college a cappella group and actor in the television series Heroes. The group performs at Brown, across the country and internationally. Their repertoire ranges from R&B to jazz to classic rock to pop to Disney songs. Founded as an alternative a cappella ensemble, the group has a tradition of highly theatrical, interactive performance and is acclaimed for creating a fun, down-to-earth atmosphere in both rehearsal and concert. This is evident in the final track of each of their albums, titled “Bear-a-oke,” a karaoke version of one of the album’s songs designed to invite the listener to sing along. The group’s alumni song is Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen, arranged by member Andrew Callard in 1995.
The Brown Derbies is an a cappella group at Brown University. They were founded by Darryl Shrock in 1982 and have released fourteen albums. They sing a variety of different genres, ranging from Rock, to Pop, to R&B and are known in the a cappella community for their unique use of syllables in the background vocals. They have toured throughout the United States and internationally, with recent performances in Beijing, China, Shanghai, China, and New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1997, the group performed for President Bill Clinton at the White House. In November 2007, they were featured on the CBS Early Show in a segment about the rising popularity of a cappella groups on college campuses, and in July 2011 they were featured on the Gospel Music Channel reality show America Sings. In January 2012, they performed in the London A Cappella Festival.
The Academical Village People (AVP) is an a cappella group at the University of Virginia founded in 1993 by a group of people who vowed to "never take themselves too seriously." They set themselves apart from other groups by being able to keep professional while maintaining their lax attitude, wild antics while performing, and their less traditional uniform of a garage mechanic style shirt. The name "Academical Village People" comes from Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village at the university in Charlottesville, Virginia. As of 2017, AVP, as it is often called for short, has released thirteen studio albums, including a greatest hits album, DECADEmical: Best of 1993-2003, of its first ten years in existence. The group has recorded many notable performances such as opening for Dana Carvey and Girl Talk, performing for Reba McEntire at the White House, concerts at the Kennedy Center, and performances in such countries as England, Spain, and Scotland.
The Virginia Sil'hooettes are a student-run, all-female identifying a cappella group at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. Once just the vision of four UVA students in the winter of 1988, the Sil'hooettes are now the most award-winning a cappella group at UVA. They have performed for thousands of people at venues including the Kennedy Center, The White House, John Paul Jones Arena, Baltimore Orioles home baseball games, and Boston Red Sox home baseball games.
Mosaic Whispers is a Washington University all-gender a cappella group that performs music from a variety of genres. The group has performed on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews as well as on local radio stations such as 93.7 The Bull. The group competed in the international finals of the 2016 ICCA competition. They have progressed to the regional level of multiple ICCA competitions and the final four of a national competition to sing with Andy Grammer. They have toured nationally, opened for Ben Folds and Straight No Chaser, received a number of CARA nominations, and have been included on a number of national a cappella compilation albums.
The Northwestern Undertones are a 20-member co-ed collegiate a cappella group from Northwestern University in Evanston. Founded in 2001 by Jeni Noerenberg, the group was originally called Something Old, Something NU, but the name changed within a year.
The Chordials are a collegiate all-gender a cappella group from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. They are known for their edgy and passionate style, and perform a broad variety of music genres ranging from rock to alternative/indie to pop.
Stanford Everyday People, popularly known as EP, is Stanford University's only Hip-Hop, R&B, Motown and Soul a cappella group. The group is known for its tight, soulful sound and wearing all black. It was founded in 1987 and has released ten studio albums to date. EP has toured the United States, Jamaica and the Bahamas.
Dhamakapella is a coed South Asian fusion a cappella group based in Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in the spring of 2005 by students Mayank Prasad, Raksha Soora, and Manoj Nair, Dhamakapella's music has been influenced from both Eastern and Western elements, and mixes contemporary Western songs with popular Eastern music. Since Dhamaka's inception in 2005, the group has recorded and produced albums, EPs, and singles composed entirely of original arrangements written by current members of the group or alumni. As CWRU's largest competitive a cappella group, the group competes nationally and has won twenty-one national titles.
Semi-Toned is a British all-male A cappella group from the University of Exeter, in the United Kingdom who sing a variety of modern and classic songs. They were formed in October 2010 originally as a barbershop quintet, before establishing themselves as a twelve-man contemporary group with a wide range of repertoire dedicated to developing their musical abilities whilst sharing a passion for singing and performing. They became more well known after multiple TV and radio appearances on shows such as 'The Choir: Gareth's Best in Britain' (BBC2) and 'Sing: Ultimate A Cappella', as well as singing on BBC Radio 2 with Rylan Clarke-Neal during his 'Great Ka-Ry-oke Challenge' in support of BBC Children in Need 2019. They now regularly tour both the UK and US, as well as performing annually at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and frequently releasing albums and music videos.
The Stanford Fleet Street Singers is a comedy a cappella group from Stanford University. The group performs original songs and sketch comedy, and wears a uniform of black vests and red bow ties. Fleet Street is perhaps best known for having published the first collegiate a cappella album composed entirely of original music. In total, Fleet Street has released 13 studio albums and has received a dozen national awards.
Note-oriety is an upper voices a cappella singing group at James Madison University in the United States, founded in 1998 by Kelly Myer and Bonnie Estes. The group sings in and around Harrisonburg, Virginia, tours the east coast and other parts of the United States. Note-oriety is best known for the viral video of their cover version of Beyoncé's song "Pretty Hurts". The group has been featured in USA Today, The Huffington Post, and BuzzFeed, and the group has been praised by Nicki Minaj, TLC, and Kelly Clarkson. They have also been nominated for and received several awards from international organizations, notably, the Contemporary A Cappella Society and the Recorded A Cappella Review Board. Note-oriety has performed all over the country, including The White House, the Lincoln Center, and Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey's United State of Women Summit.
References
- ↑ "snc". Php.indiana.edu. Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- 1 2 Mickey Rapkin (October 3, 2008). "Music – The a Cappella Group Straight No Chaser – Reunited Singers, Recently Discovered and Replete With a Five-Album Contract – NYTimes.com". The New York Times . Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ↑ "Student Groups". University of Indiana. Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ↑ "Another Round | A Cappella Music - The Contemporary A Cappella Society". www.casa.org. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
- ↑ Shilager, Megan (25 Apr 2012). "Straight No Chaser changes name". Indiana Daily Student. Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
- ↑ CASA: the Contemporary A Cappella Society. "1999 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Winners" . Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ↑ CASA: the Contemporary A Cappella Society. "1999 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees" . Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ↑ CASA: the Contemporary A Cappella Society. "2000 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees" . Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ↑ RARB: Recorded A Cappella Review Board. "RARB Reviews of Straight No Chaser – Last Call" . Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- 1 2 3 ICCA: International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella. "ICCA & ICHSA Previous Results". Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2010.