39th Annual

Bay Area Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival, acapella singing competition, san francisco

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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.

April 29th, 2023 - 8pm

THE PALACE OF FINE ARTS

3301 Lyon Street
San Francisco, CA 94123

Box Office: 415-392-4400

Hosted by

2022 Bay Area Champions

Side Note

Side Note is a fun, funky, exuberant group of friends who jam together every week to sing pop, funk, disco, soul, R&B, jazz, and more. Though their diverse careers (writers, teachers, architects, engineers, dancers, nurses, entrepreneurs) make a cappella a "side note" in their lives, they work hard on their musical craft and are delighted to share it with you - let the good times roll!
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2023 Participating Groups

Acanonymous

Acanonymous is a 9-person a cappella group, originally formed from Concord High choir members looking to expand their music. With high energy pop tunes and familiar classics, they always put on a fun and engaging performance for their audience. Although the group was recently formed, most of the members have been singing together for 7 years.

Members: Caitlyn Hoshida, Savy Freitas, Hannah Morrell, Skye Knowles, Valeria Huaco, Marina Garcia, Saoirse Feiler, Jumaiya Preston Tabayoyong, Bella Hernandez, Daniel Jones

Beyond Zebra

Beyond Zebra is a newly formed a cappella group who enjoys expressing unique, intricate arrangements with heartfelt emotion. Like the Dr. Seuss book On Beyond Zebra about an alphabet beyond Z, the music of Beyond Zebra takes audiences beyond what they might know and expect. When you go Beyond Zebra, who knows what wonderful things you might hear?

Members: Fiona McCrae, Zareen Levien, John Kelley, John Rae-Grant, Miya Kanzaki, Jonahan Pilat

Find A Capella

We are a group of vocal singers, music lovers, and young professionals based in the Bay Area. We held our first concert on Oct 15, 2022, a few days past our first anniversary. We hosted 200 people and sang 14 songs throughout the concert. We found in music not only friendship, excitement, emotional support, but also most importantly, each other. We work on pop songs and musicals, and we also love jazz, folk, and church songs. We hope to deliver our good vibes to our audience and the community. We are 'Find A Cappella'.

Members: Charlotte Fu, Qingsen Wang, Xuanli Deng, Caiwei He, Zikai Cai, Rui Yang, Musheng He, Yeats Wu, Yi Zhou, Shuyuan Nie, Yulou Zhou, Jiawei Huang

Halfway to Midnight

Halfway to Midnight is a co-ed band of musical misfits who, having missed the thrill of the a cappella world and desiring an outlet to strengthen our individual instruments, serendipitously found each other in the midst of the great big beautiful Bay Area and begun gathering weekly to share in the blend of our voices together. Our life stories are as varied as our voices yet we find common ground in our love of instrument-free music-making and we truly hope you like what you hear.

Members: Scott Adler, Gonzalo Alonso, Alicia Flor, Vivek Saraswat, Michael Barrientos, Shanna Bengtson

Smorgaschord

Smorgaschord draws its name from ancient runic inscriptions of abundant food and music, the combination of which may lead to harmonic indigestion. We entertain at events around the Peninsula, including summer festivals, coffee shops, rehab centers, and occasionally, the checkout line of supermarkets. We could be right behind you in line. Look for the shoppers with a wide variety of musical styles and poorly-balanced nutritional choices. Hey, where did you find that bacon-flavored chocolate? Follow us on Facebook or Twitter and get your shopping cart harmonized.

Members: Alexandra Langston, Mia Whitfield, Bill Anderson, Larry Hamel, Harold Zable, Patti Schank

Take Flight

Take Flight is Napa's premier a Cappella band. Comprised of 5 highly experienced vocalist, they take on hit songs from a wide array of genres and artists and perform them all without the use of any instruments! With smooth, tight harmonies and pleasing upbeat music, they can perform background for intimate dining or for larger groups focusing on entertainment.

Members: Diana Corzo, Carlos Gonzalez, Henry Mattei, JourneyDay, Ted Reynolds

The pH Scale

Coming from Pleasant Hill, The pH Scale is Diablo Valley College's newest a cappella group! They may be a group of 14, but BASIC is the last thing they are. Earlier this year, the group performed at the 2023 ICCA West Quarterfinal (awarded outstanding choreography for their entire set!). Whether they're showing their dance moves or belting ballads, The pH Scale is always ready to bring their all.

Members: Rjay Molo, Dennis Dunn, Marizel Mendoza, Rachel Lloyd, Mouse Tungpalan, Jeanelle Alelis, Keila Barrientos, Courtney Lucas, Sam Michael, Audrey Parco, Jaden Talosig, Jeramey Watts

The West of Us

The West of Us is a gender-inclusive performing a cappella group based in Monmouth, Oregon, and is the only group representing Western Oregon University! TWOU was founded in 2017 following the merging of the two groups that had previously represented the campus, the male-identifying 15 Miles West, and female-identifying Suspended. Following its formation, TWOU competed in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella in 2018 and is excited to re-enter the competitive field of a cappella this year.

Members: Sadie Martin, Erica Guddat, Daphne Malpass, Olivia Jacobs, Autumn Beck, Connor Eyler, Maximus Sing, Cole Somers, Julian Visda, Jasper Beck, Erin Mackey, Julie Schuerger

Vocal Music Workshop

Vocal Music workshop has gone through many changes over the years. Originally a show choir (with full band and choreography), Vocal is at present a 12-member a cappella sensation, exploring the music of all genres and time periods. Year-round they are called upon to entertain and inspire the community, performing at sports events and private special events. Over the years Vocal has been fortunate to share the stage with amazing performers such as Bobby McFerrin, Dick Van Dyke, The House Jacks, The EDLOS, OC Times, Straight No Chaser, Rockapella, The Exchange, VoicePlay, The Philharmonic and SixAppeal.

Members: Matthew Corrigan, Jean Perez, Noah Goldman, Micah Homzie Eisenberg, Atticus Fisher, Seth Daniel, Maya Prouty, Isabella Christman, Julia Bui, Mia Hernandez, Carly Pennycook, Olivia Hall

Your Emcee for the Evening

Juliet Green

Originally from Maui, Hawaii, Juliet Green is a singer, songwriter and educator in the San Francisco Bay Area. Juliet has performed in various vocal jazz ensembles, winning the SF Regional Harmony Sweepstakes competition in 1998 and 2000 (+4db), 2005 (Moodswing) and 2012 (Sing Theory). Another ensemble, Clockwork, was selected to perform at the 2011 JEN Conference in New Orleans after the released of their acclaimed album Every Voice Counts. Juliet currently sings alto in the award-winning jazz a cappella sextet Ro Sham Bo. As a soloist, she has sung with the big band A Touch of Brass under the direction of trumpeter Ed Morrison, and performed with many theater groups in the area. Juliet's other passion is working as an educator, clinician, and director. She has taught at the Jazzschool in Berkeley, Jazz Camp West, Stanford Jazz Workshop, and directs the six-time Downbeat award-winning Panache vocal jazz ensembles at Corte Madera School in Portola Valley.

2023 Judges TBA



Complete list of 2023 participants







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Interested in Performing?

We are always seeking groups who would like to participate in our events.

Groups of any style are welcome, but you must have between 3 and 12 members. We have a rule book which explains many of the details of the event, which you can see by clicking here. All groups must audition in order to compete. Generally this is done by sending a current tape and photo, although live auditions are sometimes arranged. The purpose of the audition is to make sure the group is appropriate for the Festival and to help the Director determine the performance order. If a group has competed previously, the audition process may be waived.

How to enter

Please send music and photos to the regional director :

John Neal (Bay Area) Beginning as a local event the Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival, under Neal’s guidance, has grown to become the most significant live showcase for a cappella music in the nation and attracts hundreds of groups and thousands of audience members every year. The Harmony Sweepstakes was the original inspiration for the NBC prime time series The Sing-Off and Neal was hired as a consultant to the series. Neal is president of Primarily A Cappella - (www.singers.com) which is the nation’s leading vendor of a cappella music including recordings, arrangements, DVDs, songbooks and instructional material for singers. Neal writes the informative blog at www.acappellanews.com which has a large and loyal readership.

PO Box D, San Anselmo, CA 94979
415-455-8602
festival (at) harmony-sweepstakes.com


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The Palace of Fine Arts

The Palace of Fine Arts was built as part of The Panama Pacific Exposition of 1915, an event dedicated to progress, the celebration of the completion of the Panama Canal, and the rebirth of San Francisco following the disastrous 1906 earthquake. The only remaining building from the Exposition the Palace slowly crumbled from the ravages of the weather and ill-use. Finally, after World War 2, the structure had to be fenced off as it was a public hazard. Then, in the late 1950's, a group of dedicated citizens, led by philanthropist Walter S. Johnson, initiated a drive to rescue the Palace from planned demolition and restored it to its former glory.Directions -Yelp reviews -Photos


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