Home | 2008 Schedule | Recordings | Previous winners | Rules | How to enter
Boston | Chicago | Rocky Mountain | Los Angeles | New York | Pacific North West | San Francisco | Mid Atlantic (DC)
Home | 2008 Schedule | Recordings | Previous winners | Rules | How to enter
Boston | Chicago | Rocky Mountain | Los Angeles | New York | Pacific North West | San Francisco | Mid Atlantic (DC)
The Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival, 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.
The Boston Globe calls Syncopation the “Manhattan Transfer of the 21st Century”, and it is easy to see why. Like that legendary vocal group, Syncopation performs jazz and pop music that is both timeless and up-to-the-minute. These four young singer/musicians have performed across the U.S. at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, the Tri-C Vocal Jazz Festival, the Boston Globe Jazz Festival, the Meihou Music Festival, and the 2004 and 2006 International Association for Jazz Education Conferences in New York City. The group has also regularly tours Japan.
2009 PARTICIPATING GROUPS
| 5-Alone is a talented young group from the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School in South Hadley, MA. 5-Alone performs a mix of jazz and pop a cappella, and they are excited to be competing at Sweeps this year!
Members: Kimaya Diggs, Maisie Dolan, Harpo Jaeger, Andrew Lederman, Dylan Makowski, Rose O'Connell-Marion, Daniel Plimpton, Rose Whitcomb-Detmold. |
 |
 |
KnightSong - We are in our twentieth year! KnightSong is a group of friends from diverse backgrounds who share a love of singing beautiful music. We have two regular concerts a year, have performed for many seasons of "Christmas Candlelight Nights" at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, and perform at private functions and community events throughout the year. We have two CDs available for sale and are about to release our third, "Twentig," in honor of our first twenty years.
Members: Pat Buonodono, Brad Ketch, Keith Duggan, Becky Strickland, Rebecca Ballard, David Pylate, Dave Ballard, Courtney Strickland |
| None of the Above - Take 8 gifted voices from a myriad of musical backgrounds. Add equal parts of early polyphony, cutting-edge modern harmony, familiar folk songs, uplifting spirituals, catchy pop tunes, and lush jazz standards. You'll get the eclectic, thought-provoking, and entertaining performance that only None of the Above can deliver to your next event. Members: Alisa Manning (soprano), Elena Krasnovsky (soprano), Deb Abberton (alto), Elyssa Miller (alto), Charlie Hodges (tenor), Tony Vuolo (tenor), Matt Ettore (baritone/director), Jeff Auerbach (bass |
 |
 |
Our Town - Much like the play, OUR TOWN quartet embraces traditional values. They prefer classic songs by great American writers and composers; songs that lend themselves to four-part harmony singing, a unique American art form. Influenced by popular quartets of the past, including the Mills Brothers and Buffalo Bills, the group strives for audiences to leave performances humming the songs they heard the quartet sing. All four members boast outstanding credentials within the Barbershop Harmony Society circles. Members: Jamie Carbone (tenor), Scott Brannon (lead), Terry Clarke (bass), Larry Tully (baritone) |
| Overboard is a Boston-based male a cappella group whose repertoire spans a variety of musical genres. In addition to street performing throughout Boston and New England, Overboard has performed at a variety of venues, including charity events, community festivals and corporate parties, as well as at Idol Camp, the performing arts summer camp created by the producers of American Idol. In December, the group was honored to be named among the Top 5 finalists in the CBS Early Show "A Cappella Quest" hosted by Boyz II Men. Members: Nick Girard, Ryan Sterling, Gary Gustavsen, Josh Koelker, Dave Plante, Jeff Alderson, Scott Cobban, Joe Barbato |
 |
 |
Road Show - This highly accomplished foursome brings more than 100 years of musical experience to the stage. Combination of their voice style and talents, makes them one of the premier a capella groups in the Northeast. They were the first group to win both the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) Northeastern Championship, and the Harmony Sweeps (Boston) a capella Championship. Members: Mike Gabriella (tenor), Bob O’Connell (lead), Mike Maino (bass), Jimmy Berger (bari) |
| Snowday - Snowday, a DC based vocal band of seasoned performers, has emerged in music education to a world of applause throughout the East Coast. New harmonies combined with upbeat dialogue engage students in learning about music while listening to the popular music they love. Through varied vocal techniques, four voices and four mics, Snowday creates the full sound of a band with just voices! In addition to public performances, Snowday performs as part of the Class Acts Art roster for schools and libraries throughout DC, Maryland and Virginia. Members: Amanda, Becky, Marco, Hugh, Ward |
 |
 |
Tuckermans at 9 was conceived April 2004 on our baritone's living room floor (sadly, not as much fun as it sounds) and premiered the following September at a popular Boston-area venue. Okay, so it was the Somerville, Massachusetts, Red Line T Station... picky, picky. We steal only the best from Bonnie Raitt, Boston, James Taylor, Three Dog Night, The Beatles, Steam, Linda Ronstadt, The Kingston Trio, George Michael, The Roches, are you still awake? If so, we'd have a lot of fun singing for you! And it could be the high point of your year. In which case, you really need to get out more. Members: Mark, Bill, Ashley, Frances, Walt, Daryl, and Kam. |
BOSTON REGIONAL JUDGES (TBA)
Regional winners win roundtrip airfare plus two nights accommodation in the San Francisco Bay Area to compete in the Harmony Sweepstakes National A Cappella Festival
A selection of compact discs from the Primarily A Cappella catalog
A $250 coupon from Discmakers
|
Keep in touch with the Boston a cappella scene! Subscribe to this regional resource for a cappella fans and groups. |
Groups of any style are welcome, but you must have between 3 and 8 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.
Please send tapes and photos to the regional director :
Jackie Chisholm (Boston) The Bubs Foundation, formed by alumni of the Tufts University Beelzebubs A cappella singing group, has had a historic mission since 1991 of supporting vocal music programs in Boston-area public schools. With the relentless need to reduce public school budgets, music education programs have been substantially reduced or eliminated. The Bubs Foundation is proud to have contributed over $50,000 in grants to 60 music programs thus far. In addition to its annual grant-making activity, the Bubs Foundation has decided to take a more focused approach to leveraging the principal tenet of the Beelzebubs organization, namely "Fun Through Song". The Foundation will also create and implement a cappella music programs in economically underprivileged middle schools and community agencies.
Jackie Chisholm
45 Dearborn Street, #3
Medford, MA 02155
781-640-5902
jtchisholm@yahoo.com
The Harmony Sweepstakes National A Cappella Festival
PO Box D
San Anselmo, CA 94979
harmony@singers.com
Cohen Auditorium is located at Tufts University, 40 Talbot Ave., Medford, MA 02155-5813. Map
From Boston or Points North:
Leave Boston on Route I-93 North. (If coming from the North, take Route I-93 South)
Take the Route 28 exit, exit number 29, towards Route 38 - SOMERVILLE/EVERETT.
Keep LEFT at the fork in the ramp.
Merge onto MYSTIC AVE/Route 38 North.
Turn LEFT onto HARVARD ST.
HARVARD ST becomes WARNER ST. in about 0.2 miles.
Turn RIGHT onto traffic rotary at POWDER HOUSE SQ.
Take first exit from rotary (RIGHT) onto COLLEGE AVE.
Turn LEFT onto TALBOT AVE. Parking for Cohen Auditorium is on the left behind the building; some street parking is available.
From Points West of Boston:
Take the exit for Route 3 NORTH/Route 16 EAST towards MEDFORD.
Turn SLIGHT LEFT onto ALEWIFE BROOK PARKWAY/Route 16.
Stay on ALEWIFE BROOK PARKWAY/Route 16 and cross Massachusetts Avenue and then Broadway.
At traffic rotary take first exit (RIGHT and uphill) onto POWDER HOUSE BLVD.
Take LEFT onto PACKARD AVE (see signs for Tufts University).
Take first RIGHT onto TALBOT AVE. Proceed 1/3 mile to Cohen Auditorium on RIGHT. Parking is available in a lot behind the auditorium (take first right after Cohen); some street parking is available.
Regional Champions: Boston | Chicago | Denver | Los Angeles | Mid-Atlantic | New York | Pacific NW | SF Bay Area
To find a specific song on any recording (or to find recordings by group name or CD title),
pick the search method and type the item you are searching for here:
Thanks to our Sponsors
