34th Annual

Boston Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival acapella singing competition

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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.

2018 Boston Champions

Sound Off

Formed in 2013, Sound Off is an award-winning semi-professional a cappella group based in Boston, MA and proud member of the Contemporary A cappella League (CAL). We are young men and women from all different career fields brought together by an unabashed love for a cappella music and performance. While we perform regularly around the Greater Boston area, Sound Off continues to develop a diverse repertoire of modern pop with a soulful twist.

2018 Results

1st
Sound Off
2nd
Daily Special
3rd
4ManTent
Audience Favorite
Sound Off
Best Original Arrangement
“Rise” by Kevin Guest of Sound Off
Best Soloist
Larry Ong from Mass Whole Notes


2018 Participating Groups

4ManTent
We are four guys in our mid 20's who are passionate about barbershop. 4ManTent came together with a love for harmony and has been making music together since the winter of 2017. Our members have sung together in other contemporary groups including Bostonality and Fermata Town but decided to reunite as a quartet so we can share our love for barbershop with you! Members: Tien Tran, Garrett Little, Evan Desrochers, Ben Lang

Blacklight
Blacklight is a Salem/Boston based, high energy, beatbox heavy a cappella group made of 6 energetic, multi talented musicians and a cappella enthusiasts. Our aim is to bring a cappella fully into the 21st century, where the audience's experience is the most important. We want our audience to get on their feet.Members: Diana Galeano, Shannon McNulty, Anna Morsillo, Arsanuos Abousetta, Tyler Gravelle, Craig Simonetti

Bostonality
Bostonality is a Boston-based a cappella group comprised of young professional 20-somethings who share a passion for music and performance.Members: Sarah Hill, Tien Tran, Kamisha Ferreira, Susie Ruppe, Jane Margolis, Brittany Stein, Janice Nosal, Dan Cormier, Jeff Bliss, Evan Desrochers, Ben Lang

Collective Measures
We are a co-ed post-collegiate A Cappella group in the Boston area in our 20's and early 30's who love to sing and have fun together. We enjoy performing for our friends and family at different venues around Boston and when we aren't doing that we are singing at different events like weddings, corporate parties, or even wedding proposals! We arrange our own songs and enjoy performing a wide variety of styles to ensure each member of the audience can connect to at least one song!Members: Tiia Groden, Rob Katuska, Greg Price, Liz Wing, Ryan Ross, Laura Katuska, Linette Davis, Elyse Shenberger, Ben Chang, Olivia Butkowski

Daily Special
Daily Special is a barbershop quartet based in southern New England, and although they came together less than a year ago, they are quickly rising in the ranks of competitive barbershop. They love to bring silliness, authenticity, energy, and sincerity to every performance, connecting with audiences of all kinds. Friendship is at the core of their music-making and mission--and they love making new friends wherever they sing. Members: Isaac Swanson, Chad Putka, Ben Lewin, Cay Outerbridge

Deception
Deception is Danvers High School's 6-Person A Cappella group comprised of students from grades 10-12. Singers in Deception are also members of the school's larger, award-winning a cappella groups, Falconize and Ingrid Sound. Deception primarily performs current hits for school concerts, and just recently released three songs on the Danvers High School A Cappella album “Structure,” recorded with The Vocal Company. Members: Jared Casey, Kali Sheppard, Trevor Hathaway, Hannah Kelsey, Mike Mahoney, Brianna Rivera

Mass Whole Notes
The Mass Whole Notes are a semi-professional contemporary a cappella group, based in Somerville, Massachusetts. We have a modern sound that can also rock the classics with some style. The Mass Wholes are made of a diverse, zany, and individually unique group of fun-loving goofballs with a soft spot for making music with our mouths. The Mass Wholes also have a large range of a cappella renditions of everything from Paramore to Chance the Rapper.

Sound Off
Formed in 2013, Sound Off is an award-winning semi-professional a cappella group based in Boston, MA and proud member of the Contemporary A cappella League (CAL). We are young men and women from all different career fields brought together by an unabashed love for a cappella music and performance. While we perform regularly around the Greater Boston area, Sound Off continues to develop a diverse repertoire of modern pop with a soulful twist.Members: Tyler Gravelle, Kevin Guest, Will Finlay, Jon Lavalley, James Cannon, Patrick Dennan, Diana Galeano, Alisha Hill, Emily Parker, Megan Kettmann, Eileen O'Hara, Leah Caruso

2018 Judges

Evan Feist   

Evan Feist has been singing, arranging and teaching a cappella for over 15 years. He currently serves as the Vice President for the Contemporary A Cappella Society (CASA), was the Content Director for FloVoice and also founded and runs the Creative Vocal Lab. Evan has degrees in Music Education, Vocal Pedagogy and Studio Composition and currently lives in New York City.

Michael Klein   

Michael Klein is a 30 year member of The Barbershop Harmony Society. While an avid A Cappella fan of all genres, he has served in almost every seat of the Northeastern District of the BHS, representing 60 Chapters from Southern Connecticut to New Foundland. He is a Past President of the Boston, Lowell and Beverly, MA Chapters and currently sings with The Essex County 4 men's quartet and Dudes N' Dolls. His former quartet Eastern Standard Time are past champions of the Allston Brighton Kiwanis Idol contest. He is amazed by the places music has taken him including the honor of having a judge's seat at this contest and is looking forward to a great show from all of the performers.

Brian O’Connell   

At UMass/Lowell Brian directs the Chamber Singers, University Choir, and teaches Voice and Conducting. Brian teaches Secondary Choral Methods in the graduate program at The Boston Conservatory and for 12 years has been the director of the Sarteano Chamber Choral Conducting Workshop in Tuscany. He has been on the faculties of Berklee College, Tufts University, Boston University, New England Conservatory and Northeastern. In 2005 he was the first recipient of the Massachusetts ADCA Award for Choral Excellence.

Brian is an accomplished contemporary a cappella singer, having performed for many years with the Boston based professional group No Strings Attached. He also currently adjudicates both collegiate and professional a cappella competitions throughout New England. In 2010, Brian joined the panel of judges for choral performance, voice & conducting for the national competition, The American Prize.

Eric Chung   

Eric Chung is an award-winning veteran of collegiate and professional a cappella who has been singing, arranging, and writing since 2013 with Similar Jones, a seven-member Boston-based a cappella band that recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. From 2008 to 2013, Eric was the primary director, arranger, and songwriter for the Portland-based pop/rock vocal band Strangers in Harmony. Under his leadership, the Strangers won the 2011 “Portland’s Got Talent” competition, were runner-up in the Pacific Northwest Regional Harmony Sweepstakes, and were recognized with multiple A Cappella Community Awards nominations. Other prior a cappella projects include Boston-based Downtown Crossing (now called Immutable), award-winning New York pop/jazz group Stay Tuned, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Veritones.

Eric has earned national recognition for his solo a cappella work, winning the nationwide 2008 A Cappella Originals songwriting contest and receiving multiple nominations in the annual A Cappella Community Awards for Best Solo A Cappella Performer over the years. His 2011 EP, “It Was You All Along”, was one of the first solo a cappella albums to be released consisting entirely of original music. More recently, he received a nomination in the Best A Cappella Song category of the 2016 Independent Music Awards.

Michela Gardner   

Michela Gardner is a musician and educator who specializes in vocal performance. Music and singing has been at the center of Michela’s entire life starting in early childhood. That passion was fostered by her parents who are both professional musicians. Her mother was her first voice teacher, teaching her how to sing in harmony and own the stage.

Michela graduated from Berklee College of Music where she studied with some of Boston's best voice instructors. She then earned her Master's degree in Music Education from The Boston Conservatory. Throughout her career, Michela has taught students of all ages in both classroom and private voice studio settings. Her instruction has ranged from collegiate world music, to teen a cappella, to music classes for toddlers. Today she is a middle school music teacher and choral director in Fall River, MA.

Michela fell in love with a cappella in college and co-founded the Providence, RI semi-pro group Songs For The Rhode. Upon moving back to Boston in 2012, Michela also co-founded and music directed the Eight Tracks, which just released its debut album 8TRX. Michela also sings lead vocals for the blues band Root Cellar. Michela is honored and thrilled to serve as a judge for this year's Boston Harmony Sweepstakes!


Complete list of 2018 participants





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 :

Dan Campagna (Boston) has been a part of the a cappella community for over 10 years and is the co-founder and business manager of the Boston-based group, Fermata Town. Behind his leadership, Fermata Town has released two award-winning albums, performed at international festivals and appeared on network TV. In 2013, Fermata Town captured the Boston Harmony Sweepstakes championship before placing third overall at Nationals where they took home "Best Original Song" honors. He is a founding board member of the Contemporary A Cappella League and voluteer program manager for the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA). An active member in the Boston a cappella community, Dan enjoys attending local shows and volunteering for Varsity Vocals during ICCA season.

Prior to Fermata Town, Dan sang collegiate a cappella at Emmanuel College in Encore!, the college’s first-ever coed group which later changed its name to In Good Company.

Outside of a cappella, Dan works fulltime at Emmanuel College as the Director of Athletic Communications. Dan is also an Assistant Coach to the University of Massachusetts Boston Women’s Soccer Team and an adjunct professor at Lasell College where he teaches a sports journalism course.


860-874-5191
FermataTown@gmail.com


Our Hall of Fame - The Harmony Sweepstakes National Champions

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The Harmony Sweepstakes National Audience Favorites

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Best Original Arrangement Winners | National Winners | San Francisco | New York | Boston | Chicago | Los Angeles | Pacific North West | Mid-Atlantic

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Somerville Theater

The Somerville Theatre, part of the Hobbs Building in the heart of Davis Square, was built in 1914 and designed for stage shows, vaudeville, opera, and that new fad - motion pictures -the theatre was only one of the Hobbs Building attractions, which also included a basement café; bowling alley and billiards hall; ten ground floor storefronts; and the Hobbs Crystal Ballroom on the second floor.


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Saturday, March 9th, 2018 - 8pm

SOMERVILLE THEATER

Box Office: 617-625-4088


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