A cappella music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term a cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato musical styles. In the 19th century, a renewed interest in Renaissance polyphony, coupled with an ignorance of the fact that vocal parts were often doubled by instrumentalists, led to the term coming to mean unaccompanied vocal music. The term is also used, rarely, as a synonym for alla breve.
Rockapella is an American a cappella musical group formed in 1986 in New York City. The group's name is an amalgam of "rock" and "a cappella". Rockapella sings original vocal music and a cappella covers of pop and rock songs; and over time, their sound has evolved from high-energy pop and world music toward a more R&B-style sound. Rockapella initially found their biggest success in Japan throughout their career. They are also known for their role as a vocal house band and resident comedy troupe on the PBS children's geography game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, based on the educational computer game of the same name developed and published by Broderbund.
Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga, known professionally as Lea Salonga, is a Filipina singer, actress, columnist, and producer. Nicknamed "Pride of the Philippines," she is best known for her roles in musical theatre, for supplying the singing voices of two Disney Princesses, and as a recording artist and television performer. Throughout her career, she has achieved numerous accolades and honors, becoming an internationally-recognized figure in music and entertainment.
Barry Manilow is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Mandy", "I Write the Songs", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ".
Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress and singer. Particularly known for her work in musicals on the Broadway stage and having achieved mainstream success across stage, film and music, Menzel has garnered the honorific title "Queen of Broadway" for her achievements. Her accolades include an American Music Award, a Billboard Music Award, a Disney Legends Award, and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for three Drama League Awards and four Drama Desk Awards. In 2019, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to live theatre.
Toxic Audio is a five-person a cappella singing group from Orlando, Florida. They began with appearances at the Orlando International Fringe Festival in the late 1990s. Frequent appearances at the Jazz Club in Pleasure Island at Walt Disney World Resort's Downtown Disney have increased their fame. They have released several CDs and performed live, including a run off Broadway in 2004 and tours in Europe and Japan. They have also performed at The Loft, in Dayton, Ohio.
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.
Deke Sharon is an American singer, arranger, composer, director, producer and teacher of a cappella music, and is one of the leaders and promoters of the contemporary a cappella community. He has been referred to as "the father of contemporary a cappella" by some authors, and "the godfather of a cappella" by others.
The Spizzwinks, stylized as The Spizzwinks(?), are an a cappella singing group of undergraduates from Yale University. Founded in late 1913, the Spizzwinks(?) are the oldest underclassman a cappella group in the United States, dating back to a first performance in early 1914.
The Princeton Nassoons are a ten to twenty-member low-voice a cappella group at Princeton University. The group has been officially self-selecting since 1941, although the original group is known to have sung together as early as 1939. The Nassoons are the oldest a cappella group at Princeton University.
Sean Altman is an American musician and songwriter. He is a founder and former lead singer (tenor) of the a capella musical group Rockapella and a pioneer of the modern a cappella movement. He was a member of Rockapella from its inception in 1986 until he left the group in 1997 to launch a solo career.
Renn Woods is an American film, television and stage actress, vocalist and songwriter. She is best known for her role as Fanta in Roots, and also for her performance of Aquarius in the film version of Hair (1979).
Redhot & Blue, usually called Redhot or RHB, is Yale University's oldest all-gender a cappella group. Founded in 1977, the group has released 17 albums. It regularly tours the United States, and it tours internationally once a year, to locations such as China, Japan, France, Italy, and Brazil. The group’s repertoire is based in the jazz genre, but has expanded to include an array of musical styles. Redhot is a member of the Singing Group Council of Yale.
The Alleycats are a Scottish collegiate a cappella group, hailing from the University of St Andrews, Scotland. The group was established in 2001. Since then, they have released nine albums, performing across the UK.
The Yale Alley Cats is an undergraduate a cappella singing group at Yale University. Founded in 1943, it is the college's third-oldest underclassman a cappella group.
The Other Guys (TOG) are an all-male a cappella ensemble from the University of St Andrews, Scotland and reigning Scottish champions after winning the Scottish A Cappella Championships (SACC) for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023. The group was founded in 2004 and has been one of the groups responsible for the rise of collegiate a cappella in Scotland.
The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus, also known as the SOBs, is an all-male a cappella singing group from Yale University. Founded in 1938, The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus is the longest-running all-male a cappella group in the United States. Alumni of the SOBs have gone on to be founding members of other college a cappella groups such as The Pitchforks of Duke University and The Chorallaries of MIT.
Out of the Blue is a co-ed a cappella group from Yale University. Out of the Blue's repertoire includes music that spans 50 years and several genres, including pop, folk, and R&B. The group has won multiple a cappella competitions, awards, and accolades, shared the stage with Ben Folds and Sister Hazel, and performed for audiences all over the world. Out of the Blue records a full-length studio album every two years. The group's sixteenth studio album, Late Nights, was released in February 2021.
Ari Goldwag is an American Orthodox Jewish singer, songwriter, composer, and producer of contemporary Jewish religious music, as well as an author and teacher living in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel. He was a soloist for the Miami Boys Choir at age 10 and starred on five albums and three videos before his voice changed at age 14. He launched a music career after his marriage and move to Israel. He has released seven solo albums, and composes songs and produces albums for other artists.
