2003 Boston Regional Winners: All About BufordAll About Buford wants you to get up, work your groove thang, and laugh your butt off! With a repertoire that infuses jazz, pop, funk, and comedy - their goal is for you to hear new and exciting music, have a great time and join in on the fun! At only 3 years old, All About Buford has already won critical praise and awards: the 2003 Boston Regional Harmony Sweeps winners have performed with Wayne Brady and the acappella legends The Persuasions. Jerry Lawson of the persuasions said: "you're going to go down in the history books!" Recently, they've won in the Acappella Community Awards: runner-up for Best Lead Female Vocal (Taunia Soderquist), runner-up for Best Lead Male Vocal (Shah Salmi), and Best World/Folk Band. With the addition of newest member vocal percussion guru Wes Carroll, All About Buford hopes that things will only get better! 2003 Boston Regional: Second Place Northeast ConnectionNortheast Connection presents barbershop quartet music in a style reminiscent of the vaudeville era. Precise harmonies and beautiful old songs, wrapped up in an entertaining and folksy package are the trademark of this quartet. Since this foursome began singing together in 1996, they have won the Northeastern District Quartet Championship, and represented the Northeastern District four times at the SPEBSQSA International Contest and Convention. Their personnel comes to the table with a combined total of over 50 years of entertaining audiences all over the country. Be sure to take time to introduce yourself to Northeast Connection. They are, quite simply, four pretty good guys who love to meet new folks! 2003 Boston Regional: Third PlaceFrom the EdgeFrom the Edge is a female foursome that sings a variety of a cappella music--usually in the barbershop style. They have performed all over the New England area and have recently released their first CD. Lynne Morgan, tenor, from Fairfield, CT, is an illustrator; Penny Schroeder, baritone, from Trumbull, CT, is a medical transcriptionist; Sue Broudy, lead, from Weston, CT, worked in the field of advertising; and Marion Devokaitis, bass, from Farmington, CT, is a retired elementary school teacher. The group is presently the North Atlantic Regional championship quartet of Sweet Adelines International, and is honored to have been chosen to participate in tonight's event. Other 2003 Boston Regional Competitors Faith in ActionFaith in Action is a women’s a cappella group, singing gospel and spiritual songs with touches of jazz. Founded in March of 1996, the ad hoc group sang the same song (Sweet Honey in the Rock’s “We Are”) over several months for church-related events, culminating in a performance at Madison Square Garden in August 1996. After Madison Square Garden, they decided maybe God had a plan for the group, and maybe it was time to learn more than one song. Since then, FIA has performed with the Boston a cappella community (at a cappella showcases, clubs, and East Coast A Cappella Summits), in gospel concerts, for a variety of benefit events, and on WGBH-TV with Bobby McFerrin. FIA placed third in the 1999 Boston Sweeps, and is thrilled to be back with new members and new names. FretlessFretless, a mixed voice quintet with a repertoire of jazz, pop, and classical pieces, made its debut in June, 1999. The group blends the soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass voices of five multi-talented singers who have appeared with many other jazz and classical ensembles, performing for audiences in the Greater Boston area, across the country, and internationally. “Fretless” chose its name to represent the musical freedom – and challenge – of making music with a fretless instrument, the voice. (Frets are the metal strips on the fingerboard of a guitar or lute which limit those instruments to a finite number of accurately tuned pitches.) The singers have mastered an eclectic repertoire which demonstrates the flexibility of the human voice, provides a varied program of musical pieces, and is lots of fun to sing.  Integration by PartsIntegration by Parts is a six-member, co-ed group which has recently burst forth onto Boston a cappella scene. A merry band of a cappella veterans happy to have found a home, the group is quickly becoming known for its tight vocal harmonies and exuberant performance style. IBP has crafted a unique sound influenced heavily by jazz, breathing new life into everything from pop to folk to classic rock. Integration by Parts. a cappella without limits! Six AppealSimultaneously raw and sophisticated, this female-driven vocal band has been kicking a cappella up a notch since 2001. Comprised of four women and two men, Six Appeal blends female harmony with male bass & vocal percussion to create a full, lush sound. The group covers the spectrum of music genres, from standards to classic rock to gospel to modern pop & rock hits, and has performed in a variety of settings in the Boston area. Individually, these six twentysomethings cull experience from college a cappella groups such as the Boston College BC Sharps, Clark University Clark Bars, Dartmouth Dodecaphonics, and Skidmore Accents; professional groups, including NYC's 10fm and Cape Cod’s Hyannis Sound; and even barbershop and opera. Together, Six Appeal is one of the hippest new bands around, proving that the human voice can do almost anything that instruments can... and a lot of things they can't. The WorksThe Works is a five-part a cappella group, three men and two women, founded in 1994. The group is comprised of a public relations guru at a start-up company, a vascular surgeon, a stay-at-home Dad, a stay-at-home Mom, and a stay-at-home Mom that does marketing communications on the quasi-side. The Works perform an eclectic mix of contemporary close harmony, from the B-52s to Gershwin, from Ricki Lee Jones to James Brown. Based in Hyannis, Wenham, Sherborn, Concord and Wellesley, we’ve performed in a wide variety of settings, from intimate anniversary parties to business meetings with large gatherings of 3,000 people in a room to empty squash courts. The group is characterized by an intense rehearsal regimen (wine, chat, some singing), an absence of conflict when we all agree, and a shameless research-based, in-depth knowledge of tonight’s judges. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
