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.[1][2] 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.[citation needed]
The Stanford Mendicants was founded in 1963 by Hank Adams, a transfer student from Yale University, with a group of 5 undergraduate men. The group originally rehearsed only a single song before breaking into the dining commons of Branner Hall, an all-women's dormitory at the time, and performing their song during lunch. Adams often recalled, himself tearing up, that during their performance, the women wept, and there was literally "not a dry eye in the house". Having only rehearsed the one song, they quickly fled through an open window and went immediately back to rehearsal.[3][editorializing]
Their 1998 album Besides What You See received a 4.2 rating[4] from the Recorded A Cappella Review Board (rarb.org), which is the group's highest album score to date.
The group was Runner-Up in three categories in the inaugural Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs) in 1992.[5] As of 2020, they have been nominated for six more recording awards since then: in 1999, 2001, 2005, and 2019.[6][7][8][9]
Mendicant songs were selected for Varsity Vocals' "Best of Collegiate A Cappella" compilation album in both 2001 and 2005.[10]
On February 2, 2019, The Stanford Mendicants finished in first place in the ICCA Northern California Quarter-Finals in Redwood City, CA.[11] The Mendicants also took home two individual awards, including Outstanding Soloist, for Austin Zambito-Valente, and Outstanding Choreography, for Khoi Le and Gabe Wieder.[11]
↑ Prior to 1992, there were no awards organizations related to a cappella. The Contemporary A Cappella Society announced Recording Awards for the first time in 1992. The ICCAs introduced live a cappella performance competitions in 1996.
↑ Daly, Bobby (April 8, 1999). "Unaccompanied recognition: Stanford groups win national a cappella prizes". The Stanford Daily. Vol.215, no.34. p.1.
↑ Ardell, Shane (February 10, 2019). "2019 A Cappella Video Award Results". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
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