2001 Boston Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival

17th 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

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.

2001 Boston Champions

SoRare

So Rare is an award-winning women's a cappella quartet singing smooth sounds and intricate harmonies. No vocal percussion here, just perfectly blended chords in a varied repertoire including swing, jazz, modern and contemporary. Brought together by their love of close harmony, these talented ladies have been entertaining audiences for six years. SoRare! has been 1st runner up in the Boston Area Harmony Sweepstakes Competition for 1998, 1999, and 2000 before becoming this year's winners. They are a five-time medalist quartet in the North Atlantic Regional Quartet Competition of Sweet Adelines International. They have performed extensively throughout New England including, Worcester's 1st Night Celebrations, Bridgewater’s 4th of July featured entertainers and performer of the National Anthem, Stellar A Cappella, A Cappella Gold, opening night for the Boston Celtics where they performed for Bill Russell, several area shows, clubs and private parties. They have recently released their 1st CD entitled, SoRare! Well Done!

2001 Results
1st	SoRare

2001 Participating Groups

A.K.A. Pelican Groove
The members of A.K.A. Pelican Groove love to joke around, hence the name (phonetically, "A Cappella Can Groove!") But seriously, their sense of humor has sustained an 8-year-long collaboration that has brought them to many new and exciting places (both musically and geographically). Over their history, they¹ve performed at hundreds of venues, including corporate events, club dates, wedding gigs, outdoor shows, community concerts, and live appearances on television and radio. One morning last spring, the group made their "drive time" debut on Boston¹s Star 93.7 FM morning show. That same evening, they performed the National Anthem on the hallowed grass of Fenway Park (GO SOX!) Last summer, they had the privilege of sharing the stage at Boston¹s Hatch Memorial Shell with Nile Rodgers and Chaka Khan. A.K.A. Pelican Groove released its first CD "Plunge" in 1999. With a diverse repertoire that spans classic R&B, doo-wop, 70¹s soul, 90¹s alternative, pop originals, and more, A.K.A. Pelican Groove looks forward to entertaining you tonight, as they bring their own brand of groove-based, "funkified" a cappella into the new millennium.

Members: Charlie Deal, Scott Evrard, Alice Burge, Andy Long, Bob Lutz, Chris Saulnier, Alice Burge

da Capo Vocal Band
The da Capo Vocal Band Born out of the Binghamton University a cappella community, da Capo is a high powered, raucous male vocal band founded in the fall of 2000 committed to bringing professional a cappella to central New York. Literally translated, da Capo means "from the beginning" and the group aims to stay true to its roots: award winning groups with an emphasis on entertainment and fun for their audience while expanding their sound to creative new heights. A full, rich sound, intense percussion, outstanding vocalists and an eclectic repertoire make da Capo a group to look for in the future.

Members: Kevin Doherty, Jim Fowler, Mike Boxer, Charles Howard, Dave Levy, Al Orbinati, Chris Sheppard, Mike Boxer

Duwende
Since 1998, Duwende has been performing its own brand of genre-bending rock & roll in a variety of venues up and down the East Coast. The group has recently finished recording its first CD, a collection of ten original songs. More information about Duwende and their music can be found at.

Members: Edward Chung, Abbey Janes, Jason Baluyut, Dexter Jones, Morgan Phillips, Ari Picker, Jason Baluyut

The Georgian Six
The vocal sextet The Georgian Six was founded in 1998 in Tbilisi, capital of the Republic of Georgia. The group¹s repertoire includes jazz, folk, and church songs, as well as classical and popular music arranged in a new style. The group collaborates continuously with the Georgian State Orchestra and has begun collaborating with the Georgian National Ballet. While the group regularly performs with an instrumental quintet, the members of the ensemble enjoy singing a cappella music and their first album contains only a cappella songs. The Georgian Six has received many awards and accolades, including winning the Georgian national radio hit parade, winning the Grand Prize at the Georgian Student Festival and winning the Grand Prize at the International Contest For Vocal Ensembles in Tampere, Finland. The group was recognized as the best vocal group in Georgia in September 1998. The main goal of the group is to popularize Georgian music all over the world.

Members: Buka Kartozia, David Kiknadze, Revaz Abaishvili, Nana Korakhashvili, Magda Papiashvili, Tamta Urushadze, Revaz Abaishvili

Realia
Realia is a six-woman vocal band from Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1997 and ever-evolving, we are on a mission to create consistently entertaining, energizing, gorgeous music. While we don¹t limit our repertoire to any particular genre, we are all soul/rock/R&B devotees, so that¹s usually what you¹ll find flying from our big loud mouths. Realia has made appearances at venues throughout New England, from saloons to radio shows to fraternal organization Christmas parties. We have also just completed our debut EP "b¹zilla baby", to be released within days of the Harmony Sweepstakes. We are thrilled to be making our second appearance at the Boston Regional with such a talented group of bands.

Members: Val Hildebrant, Christy Maver, Emily Fisher, Evie Southwick, Sofia Trapotsis, Courtney Wheaton, Emily Fisher

Similar Jones
Similar Jones is a vocal band with a combined sound that's bigger than their 7 voices. With a heavy focus on blues and rock, the vocal band uses a powerful rhythm section to get things pumping and tight, and bright background vocals to build the foundation for a wide variety of songs, including favorite covers and their own original tunes. SJ has been gigging around Boston for ... holy crap has it really been 15 years? ... at venues large and small. The current lineup features an opera singer, an astrophysicist, and one original member. Can you guess who they are?

Members: Rob Opdycke, Jeremy Sacco, Shawn Madden, Joseph Salonga, Mike Schwartz, Judd Tomaselli, Shawn Madden

SoRare
So Rare is an award-winning women's a cappella quartet singing smooth sounds and intricate harmonies. No vocal percussion here, just perfectly blended chords in a varied repertoire including swing, jazz, modern and contemporary. Brought together by their love of close harmony, these talented ladies have been entertaining audiences for six years. SoRare! has been 1st runner up in the Boston Area Harmony Sweepstakes Competition for 1998, 1999, and 2000 before becoming this year's winners. They are a five-time medalist quartet in the North Atlantic Regional Quartet Competition of Sweet Adelines International. They have performed extensively throughout New England including, Worcester's 1st Night Celebrations, Bridgewater’s 4th of July featured entertainers and performer of the National Anthem, Stellar A Cappella, A Cappella Gold, opening night for the Boston Celtics where they performed for Bill Russell, several area shows, clubs and private parties. They have recently released their 1st CD entitled, SoRare! Well Done!

Members: Jannis M. Williams, Donna Manoogian, Karen Christofi, Arlene Isaac, Karen Christofi

Soundstage 7
Soundstage 7 is the scroobiest band in Boston! We¹ve been rehearsing, performing, and chowing on sushi together since the spring of 1997, and we perform whatever music takes our fancy, as long as it¹s fun, crazy, energetic, hip, or just plain groovy, baby! We dig Œ80s and Œ90s pop tunes (you know you do too, admit it), but our repertoire also includes neo-swing, soul, and funk, among other styles. We¹re psyched to be back in the Boston Regional Harmony Sweepstakes, and we¹d like to thank the Beelzebubs Foundation for sponsoring this great show year after year! Go Boston a cappella!

Members: Mike Daly, Andrea Heyda, Greg Bowne, Hyoun Park, Liz Ruark, Maddie Welch, Greg Bowne

2001 Judges TBA

Complete list of 2001 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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