2002 Los Angeles Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival

18th Annual

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.

2002 Los Angeles Champions

The Perfect Gentlemen

The Perfect Gentlemen provide the perfect blend of harmony and humor harkening back to the days of Vaudeville. Preserving America's great vocal sounds from a time when music was music, The Perfect Gentlemen recreate the close harmonies of such legendary groups as The Ink Spots and the Pied Pipers, while including the era's great comic songs made famous by the likes of Louis Jordan and The Hoosier Hotshots.

A typical performance by The Perfect Gentlemen includes marvelous melodious music mingled with masterful mirth, mischief, and merry-making. The group's versatility allows for effortless shifts between vocal styles with an air of ease, whether singing a cappella or accompanied by guitar or ukulele. Their signature piece, Salute to the 20th Century, is a humorous take on the de-evolution of music over the last century, illustrated by singing the same song in the style of Barbershop, Dixieland, Blues, Big Band, Doo-Wop, Bluegrass, Disco, Techno Punk, and Rap, complete with visuals that delights audiences of all ages time and time again.

2002 Results
1st	The Perfect Gentlemen
2nd	Undivided Musical Group
3rd	Heartfire
Best Original Arrangement	Lime in the Coconut/Witch Doctor

2002 Participating Groups

Accafellas
They are an a cappella quartet that performs songs from the Doo-Wop, Jazz and Pop genre. The Accafellas began in 1999 as a small ensemble group at Cal Poly Pomona. They have performed the National Anthem during graduatioon ceremonies for the college of Business Administration and Environmental Design, and for the CCAA Women¹s Basketball Champions at Cal Poly Pomona.

Members: Chris Lindish, Tom Reid, Kacy Sakous, Bryan Dourdle, Jared Yohsiki

California Blend
When you combine good looks (well, one of us anyway) with good talent (most of us) and a love for a cappella harmony, you get an interesting blend a California Blend. The members of this fine quartet come from three different Barbershop Society chapters and all are interested in a variety of music styles.

Members: Robert Urierte, Robert Urierte, Dave Gunther, Richard Neufield

Grace
Grace is a Los Angeles based a cappella group of four women who are not actually named Grace - although their “Grace nicknames” have evolved over time. Lisa (alias “Baby Grace”) is the youngest and newest member of the group, and serves as their chief financial officer. Jeanette (alias “Crazy Grace”), groomed in Germany, provides on-going psychiatric evaluations (for free) as need arises. Paula (alias “Angst Grace”) serves as spiritual advisor and dutifully informs the group when the glass is twice as large as it needs to be. Marta (alias “Sassy Grace”) is their resident expert on feng-shui - despite the fact that, although close, they do not live together. Grace delivers tight harmonies, vibrant energy and an imaginatively reinvented mix of music from the 1920’s to the present. This group of seasoned performers shares a unique brand of blending that demonstrates the voice as an instrument like no other.

Members: Jeanette Meyer, Jeanette Meyer, Maria Weisskopf, Lisa Linehan

Heartfire
Heartfire is a female a cappella trio that delights in sharing their music with children and adults of all ages. Drawn together by the sheer joy of making music, these three multi-talented performers light up any stage or street with their enthusiasm, vocal harmonies and gentle sense of humor. Their repertoire ranges from swing and jazz to spiritual selections to various popular songs of the ages. Heartfire also offers an Andrews Sisters repertoire, complete with costumes and wigs

The Perfect Gentlemen
The Perfect Gentlemen provide the perfect blend of harmony and humor harkening back to the days of Vaudeville. Preserving America's great vocal sounds from a time when music was music, The Perfect Gentlemen recreate the close harmonies of such legendary groups as The Ink Spots and the Pied Pipers, while including the era's great comic songs made famous by the likes of Louis Jordan and The Hoosier Hotshots.

A typical performance by The Perfect Gentlemen includes marvelous melodious music mingled with masterful mirth, mischief, and merry-making. The group's versatility allows for effortless shifts between vocal styles with an air of ease, whether singing a cappella or accompanied by guitar or ukulele. Their signature piece, Salute to the 20th Century, is a humorous take on the de-evolution of music over the last century, illustrated by singing the same song in the style of Barbershop, Dixieland, Blues, Big Band, Doo-Wop, Bluegrass, Disco, Techno Punk, and Rap, complete with visuals that delights audiences of all ages time and time again.

Listen to: Blue Skies | Listen to: Patty Cake

Members: Tim Reeder, Mike Economou, Dan Jordan, Jim Campbell

Undivided Musical Group
With ten years of musical career, four albums, a Latin Grammy nomination, six CARA nominations and two awards this year 2010 for best religious album and best song of religion, among other numerous awards, combined with thousands of records sold worldwide, the charismatic and cheerful style Undivided continues to conquer hearts in the U.S. and Latin America.

Undivided is a vocal group made up of six young people who play music a cappella style. Breaking the language barrier, playing their songs in Spanish, English and Portuguese. The group enjoys a variety of musical influences such as gospel, R & B, Jazz, Pop, Reggae, Rock, Salsa, Merengue and other Latin fusions are achieved by the skill and facility to play music with their voices.

These young people are not satisfied with what they have achieved, but are always looking for innovative and different ways to reinvent his style within the genre a cappella, a feature that allowed you to excel as one of the best vocal groups in the world. These young people have a musical talent that not only captures the ear with modern harmonies and musical arrangements, but they combine their voices with the visual aspect to provide a show without boundaries.

Members: Ruben Aponte, David Cortes, Hector Sanchez, Greg Gordon, Richard Aponte, Mel Ramirez

Zhena Bulgarian Singers
Based in San Pedro, Zhena Folk Chorus appears in festivals and concerts throughout greater Los Angeles. The group¹s mission is to preserve and present the haunting a cappella music of Eastern Europe as sung by village women and by stage folk singers of Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Macedonia, Russia and Ukraine. Appearances have included the Getty Center, Cal State Long Beach and the Dalai Lama¹s World Festival of Sacred Music. Zhena means woman or wife in Slavic languages.

2002 Judges TBA

Complete list of 2002 participants

National Finals Recordings

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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 :

Tom Keyes (Los Angeles) Tom is a passionate and dedicated a cappella facilitator, event producer, and music director. He is the Director of Operations for A Cappella Academy, and previously has served as the exec. producer of the Los Angeles A Cappella Festival, and as director of the Contemporary A Cappella League (while still part of the Contemporary A cappella Society: CASA.org). With a considerable background in performance, vocal, and instrumental music, Tom was bitten by the a cappella bug in 2009 when he decided to create and direct his own group, the award-winning Frequency, and has been a strong advocate of all-vocal music ever since. Still music directing Frequency (vocalfreqs.com) as well as a spiritual center, he balances music, work, and family, and lives with his wife and three children in South OC.

tom.keyes@vocalfreqs.com

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Hermosa Beach Theater

The Hermosa Beach Playhouse is a division of the Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities. Created for the greater South Bay area to expand the availability of programming by providing a more intimate setting. This beautifully appointed 474-seat venue enables us to present a new catalog of production of straight plays as well as musicals. Performances are presented at The Hermosa Beach Playhouse located on the southwest corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach. There is plenty of free parking.Directions -

18th Annual

2002 Results

Stay Informed!

Interested in Performing?

Hermosa Beach Theater

HERMOSA BEACH THEATER

710 Pier Ave (At Pacific Coast Highway), Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

Primarily A Cappella - Your Source For Vocal Harmony Music

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18th Annual

2002 Results

Stay Informed!

Interested in Performing?

Hermosa Beach Theater

HERMOSA BEACH THEATER

710 Pier Ave (At Pacific Coast Highway), Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

Primarily A Cappella - Your Source For Vocal Harmony Music

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