2000 Boston Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival

16th 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.

Hosted by

Pickup 6

At the crossroads between swinging jazz, sultry soul, and upbeat pop, Pickup 6 delights and entertains audiences with a high-energy a cappella sound. Since 1996, we have journeyed down the musical highway, constantly straddling the double- yellow line between sophistication and fun. Most of our arrangements are by members of the sextet, including standards like "Route 66," blustery, heated ballads like "Fever," or more off-beat fare like "You Never Give Me Your Money" and "Cool" from West Side Story. Performing at jazz clubs and private parties, or spending long nights rehearsing or producing new arrangements, we find joy, challenge, companionship and inspiration in our singing.

2000 Boston Champions

Live Wire

LiveWire is the pre-eminent vocal rock sensation out of Atlanta, GA. Since 1998, these seven talented musicians have been thrilling Atlanta TV, radio and live audiences with their unique "rock-band-without-the-band" sound: they perform musically accurate arrangements of rock songs with only one instrument -- the human voice. Their shows combine jaw-dropping musicality, contagious high energy, and a pinch or three of wackiness. They have entertained thousands of people around the Atlanta area, appeared all over the Atlanta media -- from morning news magazine appearances on the local NBC and FOX affiliates to news appearances on FOX, CBS, and ABC to radio appearances on 99X (WNNX FM - Atlanta's modern rock radio station) and Magic 96.7 (WMKJ-FM) --and are just as comfortable performing in a raucous club setting as they are in an intimate corporate cocktail party.

2000 Results
1st	Live Wire
2nd	SoRare
3rd	After Eight

2000 Participating Groups

After Eight
After Eight is a male a cappella group comprised of graduates from Colby College in Waterville, Maine. The guys range from the class of ‘90 to the class of ‘96, and they all sang in the male a cappella group on campus called The Colby Eight. Now all living in the Boston area and holding onto day jobs, they get together weekly to rehearse and enjoy this chance to continue to sing together. They have had a variety of performance venues around New England and beyond over the past five years, including First Night Annapolis (MD), First Night Providence (RI), shows in Brattleboro, VT, Worcester, MA, Cape Cod, and of course central Maine. They are happy to be returning to the Harmony Sweepstakes and look forward to another fun evening of a cappella music.

Members: Peter Caruso, Jonathan Frothingham, Kris Boynton, Jonathan Howe, Mark Longsjo, Jun Shirahama, Marc Winiecki, Kris Boynton

Flashback
Flashback has been performing a cappella music throughout New England for over a decade. The group first gained notoriety as street performers in Harvard Square before honing their act for clubs, concert series, and special events. Their Swing Hits Radio Hour is an annual Boston theater event. Critically acclaimed for their Happy Holidays Radio Show and recording "Swinging On a Star," Flashback is delighted to strut their non-holiday stuff for Boston area audiences this March 17th, 18th, and 28th. On a personal note, they have three husbands (there’ll be a fourth this May), four children, three dogs and two cats among them.

Members: Laurel Browne, Kit Emory, Debba Andree, Kathryn Feinmann, Debba Andree

Live Wire
LiveWire is the pre-eminent vocal rock sensation out of Atlanta, GA. Since 1998, these seven talented musicians have been thrilling Atlanta TV, radio and live audiences with their unique "rock-band-without-the-band" sound: they perform musically accurate arrangements of rock songs with only one instrument -- the human voice. Their shows combine jaw-dropping musicality, contagious high energy, and a pinch or three of wackiness. They have entertained thousands of people around the Atlanta area, appeared all over the Atlanta media -- from morning news magazine appearances on the local NBC and FOX affiliates to news appearances on FOX, CBS, and ABC to radio appearances on 99X (WNNX FM - Atlanta's modern rock radio station) and Magic 96.7 (WMKJ-FM) --and are just as comfortable performing in a raucous club setting as they are in an intimate corporate cocktail party.

Listen to: Zoot-Suit-Riot

Members: Jennifer Bond, Carl Christie, Benjy Rose, Jordan Small, Michelle Arrascue, Rob Sylvester, Kris Walker, Michelle Arrascue

The Neighbor’s Kid
The Neighbor’s Kid is a new all-male vocal band composed of members of Brandeis University¹s Voicemale from its 1997-1998 year. That year helped propel Voicemale onto the national scene. We’re very proud of the fact that we finished as runner-up in the semi-final round of the NCCA’s; we also won best arrangement and runner-up awards for two of our arrangements that year. We had such a good time singing together that we¹ve gotten together numerous times since then to meet and perform around Boston (of course, it helps that everyone who graduated is still in the area!). We’ve added some new tunes, and have been performing locally as The Neighbor’s Kid over the past year. While we have a varied repertoire, our style is best classified as 70s and 90s rock & soul; in our performance and in our arrangements, we like to emphasize energy, rhythm, and groove. We’re looking forward to performing for you tonight, and hope you enjoy the show.

Members: Bill Folman, Nate Merrill, Keith Berman, Sam Meyrowitz, Mike Schwartz, Jason Taylor, Keith Berman

Random Association
Formed in November of 1997. Founders Joe Antonioli and John Hadden had worked together in preceeding years, John recording and producing several recordings for the UVM Top Cats of which Joe was the Musical Director. Both boys were aching to start up a professional group, so, when the time was ripe, they did! True to its name, RA found its musicians in a rather random way--through want ads in local Burlington, Vermont papers and via word of mouth. We think we lucked-out, finding us some very fine musicians!

Members: Anne Cameron, Heather Finley, Joe Antonioli, Leigh Guptill, John Hadden, Susannah Magee, Rich Redmond, Joe Antonioli

Realia
Take six alluring, young women, give them each a killer set of pipes, a passion for good music, and regularly scheduled pizza breaks, and you have Realia, one of the most up-and-coming vocal bands from Boston. Formed in 1997 and ever-evolving, Realia primarily performs contemporary pop, funk and R&B, with a delectable power that is anything but your typical female a cappella. The premier national publication of a cappella has described Realia as "a group to watch, maybe the first all-women¹s group to become really big, like Rockapella and M-Pact!" Flattering, of course although we¹ve been trying to master that cool M-Pact! disco-arm-swing-thing, and it just ain’t happening. Still, a girl can dream.

Members: Emily Fisher, Val Hildebrant, Kirsten Chidley, Christy Maver, Evie Nagy, Courtney Wheaton, Kirsten Chidley

Serious Fun
Serious Fun began in the fall of 1993, under the oft-misspelled and incorrectly remembered name of Vocomotive. In 1998, the group produced its first CD ("Serious Fun") which features its broad range of material: from popular music to jazz standards to TV theme songs to traditional folk, with a few original tunes thrown in for good measure. When assuming their not-so-secret identities, the group’s members work as a romance writer, a teacher, a real estate agent, lawyers, computer analysts, actors and folk rock musicians.

Members: Deede Bergeron, Brice Buchanan, Suz Brockmann, Ed Gaffney, Bill Kuhlman, Kathy Lague, Eric Ruben, Suz Brockmann

SoRare
SoRare is thrilled to be competing once again in the Harmony Sweepstakes! Since last year¹s competition, we’ve had the pleasure of appearing at various venues throughout New England including: Stellar A Cappella, A Cappella Gold, Bridgewater’s 4th of July Celebration and several area shows. We¹ve added some cool modern arrangements to our repertoire and look forward to sharing them with you.

Members: Jannis Moylan, Donna Manoogian, Karen Christofi, Arlene Isaac, Karen Christofi

2000 Judges TBA

Complete list of 2000 participants

National Finals Recordings

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

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Cohen Auditorium, Tufts University

Cohen Auditorium is the largest auditorium/lecture hall on the Medford Campus at Tufts University. The house seats 616 with 486 seats in the orchestra and 130 seats in the balcony. Located in the Aidekman Arts Center, it is a multi-use facility serving as a classroom from morning through mid-evening, Monday through Thursdays, and a performance or conference space on weeknights and weekends. Cohen Auditorium is located on the Medford campus at Tufts University, Cohen Auditorium is inside the Aidekman Arts Center on Talbot Avenue, near College Ave. There is plenty of free parking.Directions -

COHEN AUDITORIUM, TUFTS UNIVERSITY

40 Talbot Ave, Medford, MA 02155

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