Vocal Point

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BYU Vocal Point
BYU Vocal Point Logo.png
BYU Vocal Point Logo
Background information
Origin Brigham Young University
Genres A cappella
Years active1991 (1991)–present
LabelsBYU Records
Website www.byuvocalpoint.com
MembersJason Bromley
Yaphet Bustos
Nathan Cazmersen
Jantzen Dalley
Joshua Dalley
Cabe John
Matt Newman
David Steele
James Thorup

BYU Vocal Point is a nine-member, male a cappella group at Brigham Young University (BYU). Founded by students in 1991, Vocal Point operates under the direction of BYU's Performing Arts Management (PAM).

A cappella music is specifically group or solo singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It contrasts with cantata, which is usually accompanied singing. The term "a cappella" was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato style. 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, albeit rarely, as a synonym for alla breve.

Brigham Young University private research university located in Provo, Utah, United States

Brigham Young University is a private, non-profit research university in Provo, Utah, United States owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and run under the auspices of its Church Educational System. The university is classified among "Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity" with "more selective, lower transfer-in" admissions. The university's primary emphasis is on undergraduate education in 179 majors, but it also has 62 master's and 26 doctoral degree programs. The university also administers two satellite campuses, one in Jerusalem and one in Salt Lake City, while its parent organization, the Church Educational System (CES), sponsors sister schools in Hawaii and Idaho.

Contents

The group has won three Pearl Awards and it was the winner of the 2006 International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA). In 2011, the group placed fifth on NBC's third season of The Sing Off .

The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), originally the National Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, is an international competition that attracts hundreds of college a cappella groups each year.

NBC American television and radio network

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial terrestrial television network that is a flagship property of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The network is headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, with additional major offices near Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. The network is one of the Big Three television networks. NBC is sometimes referred to as the "Peacock Network", in reference to its stylized peacock logo, introduced in 1956 to promote the company's innovations in early color broadcasting. It became the network's official emblem in 1979.

The third season of The Sing-Off premiered on September 19, 2011. The number of a cappella groups was increased from 10 to 16, resulting in a new format. The show created two brackets, with only half the groups performing each week for the first few weeks. Nick Lachey stayed as host for the new season, as did Ben Folds and Shawn Stockman as judges. New to the judges' table was Sara Bareilles, who replaces Nicole Scherzinger, who left after 2 seasons to become a judge on The X Factor. Deke Sharon returned as music director and vocal producer. The program ran for 11 episodes, and concluded on November 28, 2011 with Pentatonix winning the title.

History

Vocal Point was founded in 1991 by two students at BYU, Dave Boyce and Bob Ahlander. [1] Boyce and Ahlander became introduced to modern a capella while visiting the Eastern United States, where a capella had become popular among colleges. [2] Jill Petersen-Lex became the group's first Artistic Director as the group hoped to introduce the Western United States to contemporary a capella. [2] The three held auditions in the fall of 1991. Although the group intended to have eight members, a double-quartet, they could not choose between two singers so they accepted both and became a group of nine. [3] In 1992, the group recorded its first album, "If Rocks Could Sing" on cassette. [4] In 1994, Vocal Point was absorbed into BYU's School of Music. [5]

The group won the ICCA semifinals for the 2003–04 and 2004-05 competitions, but the group chose to not participate in the finals in New York, because they took place on Sundays. [3] In 2004, Vocal Point performed eighteen shows in Nauvoo, Illinois for three weeks at the Joseph Smith Academy Theater. [6] James Stevens became the group's director in 2004, directing the group until 2012. [7] In 2006, Vocal Point received three Pearl Awards from the Faith Centered Music Association for "Best Sacred Recorded Song of the Year", "Best Group Recording Artist of the Year", and "Best Performing Artist of the Year" for their newest album "Standing Room Only". [8] [9]

Nauvoo, Illinois City in Illinois, United States

Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 1,149 at the 2010 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its historic importance and its religious significance to members of several groups: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ; the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS); other groups stemming from the Latter Day Saint movement; and the Icarians. The city and its immediate surrounding area are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Nauvoo Historic District.

Vocal Point performed at BYU's Homecoming Spectacular in 2006. [10] The same year, they hosted a reunion concert for Vocal Point's 15th anniversary. [11] Competing in the 2006 ICCA competition, the group was awarded first place in the quarterfinals and semifinals before winning first place at the ICCA finals in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York [12]

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Performing arts venue in New York City

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a 16.3-acre (6.6-hectare) complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It hosts many notable performing arts organizations, which are nationally and internationally renowned, including the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet and the New York City Opera.

Directed by Buck Mangum, in early 2011, Vocal Point again competed in the ICCA. [11] They placed first at quarter finals in Eugene, Oregon. At the semi-finals in Los Angeles, Vocal Point again placed first. [13] At finals in New York, Vocal Point received awards for "best vocal percussionist" to Tanner Nilsson, again "best soloist" to Hunsaker, and second place in the entire competition. The songs they competed with in their set were Michael Jackson's "Beat It," Michael Buble's "Meglio Stassera," a Polish hymn entitled "Infant Holy," and Louis Prima's "Jump Jive an' Wail." [14]

In 2011, Vocal Point competed as part of season 3 of NBC's reality TV series, The Sing Off. The members of the group that competed in the show were Michael Christensen, McKay Crockett, Keith Evans, Tyler Sterling, Tanner Nilsson, Robert Seely, Ross Welch, Ben Murphy, and Hunsaker. They were accompanied by Stevens. [8] As a result of their participation in the show, the group was featured in a CNN article discussing how the group represented BYU and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [15] Since 2012, a previous member of Vocal Point, McKay Crockett, has served as the group's producer and artistic director. [16] Vocal Point has performed the United States national anthem at Utah Jazz games. On tour in the United States, their concerts frequently sell out. [2] In 2018, Vocal Point won several CASA A Capella Video Awards including Outstanding Collaborative Video and Best Show Tunes/Soundtrack/Theme Song for "Beauty and the Beast A Capella Medley" featuring Lexi Walker and the award for Best Religious Video for "It Is Well With My Soul". [17]

Awards

Discography

Discography from 2004 to present was retrieved from BYU Music Store. [4]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Haddock, Sharon (March 3, 2011). "BYU's Vocal Point to celebrate 20 years". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Haddock, Sharon (March 2, 2016). "Vocal Point celebrates 25 years of singing creative a capella". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Wadley, Carma (March 20, 2009). "Nine is enough: BYU a capella group gathers national and international recognition". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  4. 1 2 "BYU Vocal Point". BYU Music Store. Brigham Young University. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  5. ↑ Harris, Sarah (December 10, 2018). "BYU Vocal Point signs record deal with Universal Music Group". Daily Herald. Herald Communications. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  6. ↑ "BYU Performing Group Does It Again, Vocal Point earns Final Berth; Competition Still on Sunday". Meridian Magazine. March 16, 2004. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  7. ↑ Kenner, Kari (April 8, 2016). "BYU Vocal Point: 25 years down and 'just getting started'". Daily Herald. Herald Communications. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  8. 1 2 Haddock, Sharon (September 19, 2011). "BYU's Vocal Point competing in 'The Sing Off' show". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Award-winning Vocal Point to perform March 4". BYU News. Brigham Young University. February 12, 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  10. ↑ Winters, Charlene (October 2, 2006). "Top BYU performers set for Homecoming Spectacular Oct. 19-20". BYU News. Brigham Young University. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  11. 1 2 Volmar, Philip (April 8, 2011). "BYU's Vocal Point a capella group celebrates 20 years". BYU News. Brigham Young University. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  12. ↑ Wadley, Carma (May 3, 2006). "Vocal Point wins world championship". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  13. ↑ Leema, Alex B. (April 18, 2011). "Vocal Point takes second at international collegiate a capella contest". BYU News. Brigham Young University. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  14. ↑ "ICCA Finals 2011 Wrap-Up". The Contemporary A Capella Society. Contemporary A Cappella Society. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  15. ↑ Dan Merica (December 8, 2011). "The Mormon group – whether they like it or not". CNN . Retrieved December 8, 2011.
  16. ↑ Randall, Caresa Alexander (January 31, 2019). "'Ordinary college students...extraordinary things': BYU's Vocal Point talks new record deal, upcoming shows". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  17. ↑ "2018 A Cappella Video Award Winners". CASA. The Contemporary A Capella Society. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  18. 1 2 Stitt, Elizabeth (November 16, 2005). "A capella group stays 'Vocal'". The Daily Universe. Brigham Young University. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  19. 1 2 Hellewell, Emily (April 16, 2015). "BYU Vocal Point Wins Two CARA Awards". BYU News. Brigham Young University. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  20. ↑ Hadfield, Joe (November 15, 2011). "Vocal Point bows out after reaching five final groups". BYU News. Brigham Young University. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Arts/Entertainment-Program/Special" (PDF). Rocky Mountain Emmy Awards. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  22. ↑ Clements, Derrick (March 3, 2016). "BYU's Vocal Point celebrates 25 years of tunes with Covey Center concerts". Daily Herald. Herald Communications. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "Our Story". Vocal Point. Brigham Young University. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
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