23rd Annual

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Boston | Chicago | Rocky Mountain | Los Angeles | New York | Pacific North West | San Francisco | Mid Atlantic

The Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival is the premier American showcase for vocal harmony music. The annual national competition draws from hundreds of vocal groups from around the country with regional competitions in eight cities. The winning group from each festival is flown to perform in front of celebrity judges and a sold out house of enthusiastic a cappella fans at the National Finals.

2007 National Champions


Moira Smiley & VOCO

Hailing from Los Angeles, and just named as honored representative of western U.S. & Canada at the International Folk Alliance Music Conference, Moira Smiley & VOCO is a fiery roots vocal band making new song as it pulls on roots of Eastern European and Appalachian harmony and rhythm. "The multilingual singing of Smiley's VOCO ensemble is especially fascinating" (Los Angeles Times). Listen to "I Live in California" in MP3 format.

Members: Moira Smiley – Lead Vocals, body percussion, Jess Basta - Vocals, body percussion, Christine Enns - Vocals, body percussion, Jessica Catron - Vocals, body percussion

2007 Results

National Champions

Moira Smiley & VOCO

2nd

Face

3rd

Solstice

Audience Favorite

Face

Best Original Song

"Stand In The River " Moira Smiley

The David Lichtman Award
Best Original Arrangement

"Oh Fortuna" Ben Lunstad
Face


2007 National Finalists

Bay Area - Solstice has enthralled audiences for over ten years with their passion and technical prowess. Their powerful performance of music from many genres spans thirteen languages and over nine centuries, and includes original compositions and arrangements for women's voices. This vocal ensemble defies easy categorization -- classical, world, jazz, pop, funk -- they sing it all. The eclectic and joyful mix of a cappella music that's a hallmark of every Solstice performance keeps bringing audiences back for more.

Members: Emily Bender, Becca Burrington, Lark Coryell, Krista Enos, Mari Marjamaa, Kim Warsaw, and Sara Webb-Schmitz

Listen to "Ergen deda" in RealAudio.


Boston- Men in Black is a young quartet bringing a fresh youthful sound and personality to barbershops classic standards and drawing appeal to its ever evolving sound in today's world. Their passion for the barbershop style was rewarded in July of 2005 when they were awarded he 2005 gold medal as the MBNA International Collegiate Quartet Champions. Once winning at this level, they immediately began to take on "the big boys" and in October of 2005 they were crowned the best in the Northeast.

Members: Ray Johnson, Karl Hudson, Tony Nasto and Oliver Merrill


Chicago - Nightwatch was formed in 1998 as a result of a lost bet, or at least it seems that way.  "Stik" (Fireman - ask to see his Dalmatian), "Flip" (Security pro - he breaks in and cleans out your fridge), "Leo" (Nursing home crooner/heartthrob) and "Nooge" (Nacho cheese pump problems?  He’s your man!) have been berating each other ever since meeting at a local Sadie Hawkins dance (they were the ones "holding up the wall"). Their consistent refusal to get serious actually paid off in August of 2000 - they were crowned the Buckeye Invitational Comedy Quartet Champions after performing their now infamous (this means 'more than famous', right?) Diner Set© in front of tens of people.  Since then, they've hoodwinked their way into a 2001 Division Quartet Championship and a spot in the 2003 Harmony Sweepstakes National Finals.  Scores of unsuspecting audience members across the country have made it through a “Nightwatch Experience”; the lucky ones brought a tarp.  No matter what the venue, you can expect a wide array of musical styles from this group. What you cannot expect is for them to go to bed early or to have serious conversations with each other, or anyone else for that matter.

Members: Scott Hettig, Daniel Naumann, Paul Wolf, Mathew Martin

Listen to "Love Letters" in RealAudio.


Denver - Face is an all-vocal rock band that brings a new edge and attitude to the human voice. These seven young men from Boulder, Colorado provide raw entertainment from original arrangements of rock, pop, funk and upbeat jazz. Using the full range of sounds that the voice can produce, including vocal percussion or "beat-box," Face sounds more like an instrumental rock band than a choral group. Done completely live, with no backing tracks, special effects, or other instruments, first-time audiences are frequently left with a feeling of "How do they do that???" Called "a 7-voice bomb blast," Face won second place at the 2005 National Harmony Sweepstakes, as well as National Audience Favorite.

Members: Mark Megibow, Forest Kelly, Ben Lunstad, Cody Qualls, Ryan Driver, Stephen Ross, Jayson Throckmorton

Listen to "If You Could Only See" in MP3 format.


Los Angeles - Moira Smiley & VOCO - Hailing from Los Angeles, and just named as honored representative of western U.S. & Canada at the International Folk Alliance Music Conference, Moira Smiley & VOCO is a fiery roots vocal band making new song as it pulls on roots of Eastern European and Appalachian harmony and rhythm. "The multilingual singing of Smiley's VOCO ensemble is especially fascinating" (Los Angeles Times).

Members: Moira Smiley – Lead Vocals, body percussion, Jess Basta - Vocals, body percussion, Christine Enns - Vocals, body percussion, Jessica Catron - Vocals, body percussion

Listen to "I Live in California" in MP3 format.


Mid-Atlantic (DC) - DoubleShot! - Pittsburgh's only All-Vocal Band, is extremely proud to make their Harmony Sweeps debut as the FIRST EVER NATIONAL SWEEPS FINALIST from Pittsburgh! One part a cappella group, one part vocal band, six parts hardworking, fun, and audience-friendly (and usually several generous parts beer), the guys combine the selections and styles of contemporary a cappella with more traditional styles to create a performance as fun for the audience as it is for the performers. In this, their first full year together, the guys recently began performing semi-pro in the Pittsburgh area this past fall. They can be found in venues ranging from sports stadiums to cultural district haunts to dive bars and back again. Visit DoubleShot! on the web at www.Double-Shot.net or be their friend on MySpace.com: /DoubleShotonMySpace.

Members: Mike Yanchak, Eric Manalo, Luke Clavey, Nate Wildfire, Dave Wilson, Michael Bodnar


New York - The Fault Line - Infectious energy sweeps the stage as five powerful voices prepare themselves for their first note. And by that first note, audiences will know that they are in the presence of vocal rock's latest superstars.; Launching their own bid for national stardom, The Fault Line takes the leap into mainstream rock without the use of instruments. With their heavy hitting, vocal percussion driven music, spectacular harmonies, stunning arrangements, ranging from the likes of The Used to Bill Haley & His Comets to Fall Out Boy, as well as a variety of originals, their music is garnering fan reaction to rival some of the most popular musical groups of all time... ...while introducing those fans to the instrumental and vocal power of the human voice.

Members: Justin Adams, Jeff Bratz, Adam Decker, Matt Olmstead, Josh Logan

Listen to "True" in Real Audio.


Pacific NW - V-Chords is a high-energy sextet based in Portland, Oregon. Established as a four-man group in early 2006, the ensemble increased its membership to five several months later and began performing at parties, outdoor summer festivals, and weddings. Recently V-Chords added a sixth voice in order to expand their hamonic textures to the rich, full sound they bring you today. V-Chords takes pride in the wide breadth of their musical offering - from pop/rock to jazz to country to funk to doo-wop - and is very excited to perform in the 2007 NW Harmony Sweepstakes competition.

Members: Jeremy Miller, Chris Moore, Bryan Podwys, Rick Pullen, Scott Townsend, Darin Wirth


Judges

Amy Bob Engelhardt has been the sole female member of Grammy-nominated quartet The Bobs since 1998. As a composer/lyricist, her theater credits include NICHOLAS NICKLEBY, THE MUSICAL (Centerstage), THE COMEDY OF ERAS (ACT, with The Flying Karamazov Brothers), THE EGG GAME (Present Company, NYC), THE NEW NORMAL (Los Angeles) and . Amy has received seven ASCAP songwriting awards for her work with The Bobs, which includes four albums, several concerts DVDs and the upcoming documentary, Sign My Snarling Movie: 25 Years of The Bobs:  She has sung with Barbra Streisand, Julia Fordham and Jill Sobule, in several commercials and on Neil Young's recent Grammy-nominated album, Living With War  as well asJim Henson's Animal Jam (TLC/Discovery Kids). Amy is a graduate of Syracuse University and Boston's Berklee College of Music.

Jesse Hamlin is a senior music writer for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Scott Mathews - What do The Beach Boys, David Bowie, Jimmy Buffet, Johnny Cash, Roseanne Cash, Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, Ry Cooder, Robert Cray, John Fogerty, Jerry Garcia, Billy Gibbons, Sammy Hagar, John Hiatt, George Harrison, John Lee Hooker, Mick Jagger, Booker T. Jones, Patti Labelle, Huey Lewis, Nick Lowe, Steve Miller, Van Morrison, Aaron Neville, Roy Orbison, Steve Perry, Bonnie Raitt, Joey Ramone, Keith Richards, Todd Rundgren, Carlos Santana, Joe Satriani, Boz Scaggs, Ringo Starr, Barbra Streisand, Trip Shakespeare (Semisonic), Bob Weir, Brian Wilson, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Neil Young have in common? Scott Mathews. For more than 30 years, Scott Mathews has produced, arranged, written songs for, recorded with, and/or performed with all of these legends...just to name a few. His awards and accolades include: several Gold and Platinum Awards, several Grammy Award winning projects, Oscar Award winning film projects, Top Pick–Billboard Magazine, 5 Stars–Rolling Stone Magazine, He also has been internationally featured in prominent music industry publications such as: MOJO, Rolling Stone, Guitar Magazine, Song Writer's Market, Spin, as well as Time Magazine and The New York Times. He has sold more than 13,000,000 units worldwide and continues to display amazing longevity in the music industry. Scott Mathews is the owner of TikiTown Studios, a private, state-of-the-art boutique recording studio based near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Laura Moody - Known on air as "Laura in the Livingroom", Laura is a veteran of Bay Area radio. She has had a show for 20 years on UC Berkeley's KALX (90.7 FM) Radio, one of the nation's most influential college radio stations, where she did an extended stint as music director. Laura has a Master's Degree in Library and Information Science specializing in Music Librarianship. As an undergraduate, Laura studied voice and percussion at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Il. An avid music lover with a seasoned and critical ear, Laura enjoys all types of music from Ayler to Zappa.

Dave Stroud - With nearly 20 years' experience training singers, Dave Stroud can quickly assess any vocalist's strengths and challenges. His love of the craft and innate drive to push students to find their potential led him to create opportunities  around the world for high quality vocal education that transcends musical styles. Whether giving master classes in a  university setting or preparing singers signed with prominent labels and management companies, Stroud always  keeps what is best for his client's voice at the forefront of his teaching.  Working closely with his mentor, world renowned vocal instructor Seth Riggs, Dave created the Speech Level Singing  Instructor Certification program to make the SLS method accessible to as many singers as possible. As a member of  the SLS Instructor Management Team, he is responsible for the ongoing education of pre-certified and certified instructors.  Stroud works with vocalists and entertainers of all genres. He is able to pinpoint the specific, unique skills singers  must acquire to fulfill a particular role, or prepare for recording, tours and live shows. His clients have included singers such as Brian Wilson, Terry Ellis (En Vogue), Wendy Moten, Matt Scannell (Vertical Horizon), Jaime Cullum, Rain  (K-pop), and Rosie Gaines (Prince & the New Power Generation); actors such as Evan Rachel Wood, (Thirteen, Pretty  Persuasion); Val Kilmer, Luke Perry, Tanya Pinkins and stage performers such as cast members for national companies  of The Lion King, Mama Mia and RENT, Cole!, Les Miserables, and many others.   



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