18th Annual

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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.

2002 National Champions

The Perfect Gentlemen

Dan Jordan, Tim Reeder, Mike Economou, and Jim Campbell make up The Perfect Gentlemen. They have collectively appeared in over 1500 shows, in over 40 states plus tours of England, Germany, Sweden, Russia, Canada, Mexico, and the West Indies. Collective appearances on The Simpsons, ER, Blossom, Home Improvement, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, gold and platinum recordings with Neil Diamond, and appearances with The King's Singers, The Osmond Brothers, David Frost and Jonathan Winters, are just a few of their many entertainment industry credits.

2002 Results

National Champions

The Perfect Gentlemen

2nd

Autri

3rd

Chapter 6

Audience Favorite

The Perfect Gentlemen

Best Original Song

"Tale Of War" Autri

The David Lichtman Award
Best Original Arrangement

"Salute to the 20th Century " Perfect Gentlemen


Complete list of all 2002 regional participants


2002 Participating Groups

111 of a Kind (Bay Area) is a dynamic vocal trio from the Philippines formed in 1994 and is currently based in southern California. Comprised of soloists belonging to different music backgrounds. The three met when they joined the "UP Madrigal Singers"- a renowned Philippine choral group. With their deep passion for singing all kinds of music, from classical to jazz, R &B, mainstream pop and a cappella, they decided to form a "quartet". With a shortage of altos, they gave up looking for one and moved on as "III of a Kind". The union creates a memorable musical experience in each performance with their combination of high energy, powerful vocal chords and great passion for music.
Members: Gelo Francisco, Annie Nepomuceno, Edward Granadosin


Eclipse (Denver) is a six-man Vocal Band from northern Utah. The band has been in existence for nearly two years. In those two years Eclipse has performed for audiences both nationally and internationally. They were seen in the 2002 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies along with Sting, Leann Rhymes, and the Dixie Chicks. Eclipse has also been the opening act for artists such as Train, Brooks & Dunn, and Nelly Furtado. Their repertoire consists of original tunes and arrangements with styles ranging from Jazz and Swing, to Pop and R&B. Eclipses¼ debut album was released in April of 2001. Their second and third albums will be released in the summer and Christmas of 2002
Members: Paul Hansen, Kevin Jones, Dan Kartchner, Kirk Mecham, Patrick Rose, and Shayne Taylor


Chapter 6 (Chicago) - the 2001 Grand Champions of The International Collegiate Competition of A-cappella music, as well as Chicago's youngest-ever, Harmony Sweeps Champions, are finally out of college and making their professional debut!Ý Memorable performances include ABC's Good Morning America,  Rockapella 's Big Millikin Event,  and The University of Michigan's Acappalooza 2001. Ý On the heels of releasing their second CD, Chapter 6 Live!,  these six, young men, and their award-winning arranger, Mark Grizzard, have teamed up to share their passion for music, their witty humor, and their message of Hope and Love with their many fans.

With original renditions running from jazz to classical, and from gospel to pop-rock, Chapter 6 has been blessed with the opportunity to demonstrate its versatility for a wide range of audiences, including business parties, corporate conventions, college festivals, churches, weddings, opera houses, and regional, high-school tours. Upon the recent graduation of several members from Millikin University, Chapter 6 aims to add musical instruction to its goals, educating students on vocal styles and techniques and inspiring youth to activate their dreams.Ý United, these young men believe in having fun and in entertaining their audiences, while at the same time, maintaining a high standard of musical precision and personal excellence.Ý Together, they hold each other accountable for their belief in Christ, their trust in one another, and their passion for music.


Groove (Boston) is Boston's newest acappella sensation. Formed in December of 2001, this seven man vocal band specializes in arranging and performing pop/rock songs in a contemporary style. Though this lineup is new, individually, Groove's members have performed in over 2000 acappella shows as past and current members of: Binghamton Crosbys, Buffalo Chips, Boston College Acoustics, Boston College Bostonians, UMASS Doo wop Shop, The Gentlemen of UNH, Jyde, Four Shadow, The Hyannis Sound, Jigsaw and Five o'Clock Shadow. This exciting new septet strives to combine a high level of musicality with a vibrant stage energy
Members: Roopak Ahuja, Nate Altimari, Darrell Belch, Michael Burrows, Jim Harrington, Matt Lane, and Michael LeBlanc.


Perfect Gentlemen: (Los Angeles) Dan Jordan, Tim Reeder, Mike Economou, and Jim Campbell make up The Perfect Gentlemen. They have collectively appeared in over 1500 shows, in over 40 states plus tours of England, Germany, Sweden, Russia, Canada, Mexico, and the West Indies. Collective appearances on The Simpsons, ER, Blossom, Home Improvement, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, gold and platinum recordings with Neil Diamond, and appearances with The King¼s Singers, The Osmond Brothers, David Frost and Jonathan Winters, are just a few of their many entertainment industry credits.


The Standards , (Pacific NW) - are four brothers from Twin Falls, Idaho. They have thrilled audiences of all ages in performances for Holland America Cruise Lines, festivals from Alabama to Hawaii, the Idaho Governor's Gala, and for over 375,000 elementary to college-aged students! They have appeared nationally with Manhatten Transfer, Lonestar, Lee Roy Parnell, Dan Seals and River Dance, to name a few and were world champions on Destination Stardom.
Members: Jordan Williams, Morgan Williams, Nicholas Williams, Nathan Williams


Tone Rangers (Mid-Atlantic) Yee-haa. We are the Tone Rangers. Ruthless marauders of song, we pillage for pleasure. We are true blue buckaroos, who sing "Babaloos". Highly leveraged, yet prudently diversified, The Tone Rangers ride again. As the name suggests, the Rangers are a just barely domesticated group of free-spirited a cappella songsters. Although mostly policy wonks, computer geeks, and lawmen by day, they roam the badlands of the mid-Atlantic by night in search of distressed frontier folk and serve them a helpin' of vocal music and free legal advice. Combining sharp wit and tight vocal harmonies, they right wrongs where other groups dare not go. Yee-haa. Git along, little dogie.
Members: Joel Malina, Jamey McNamara, Gil Keteltas, Kenyon Erickson, Mike Beresik, John Bader, and Gene Stomecki


Autri (formerly 2x2) (New York) - The vocal ensemble Sixation first formed in Tbilisi ,Georgia in 1996. At first their program contained only jazz standards but later included folk and contemporary jazz. In 1997 the ensemble won the nomination "Best Vocal Group of the Year" on the Hit-Parade of National Radio in Georgia. In 1999 Sixation became the prize winner of the International Festival in Tampere, Finland and got invitations to Vienna, Moscow, Kaunas and Kiev. The same year the group won the grant of George Soros Foundation in the nomination "Modern Opinion of Folklore". In 2000, Chevron Corporation became the sponsor of the group and the first demo album was released. The same year Sixation was invited to Holland to collaborate with the famous artist Andre Rieu in recording his new album. In 2001 the group participated the Boston Regional Harmony Sweepstakes. The same year the sextet was reorganized into quartet and took the name "2+2".
Members: Tamta Urushadze, Nana Korakhashvili, David Kiknadze and Buka Kartozia.


Judges

Amy Bob Engelhard sings with and writes for pioneer a cappella nutcases The Bobs, recently named to Music Connectionís Top 100 Bands. Making weird noises for a living helped Amy provide character voices for Fox's Digital Video series Aliens: Colonial Marines, PBS' Animal Tales, interactive educational site smarterville.com, and the upcoming Jim Henson's Animal Jam. As composer/lyricist, her theatre credits include THE ROAD TO URANUS (with The Flying Karamazov Brothers), THE DOG AND PONY SHOW and THAT SINKING FEELING (The Free Associates, Chicago), THE EGG GAME (The Present Company, NYC) and the independent short GUY PLANET. Last fall, Amy sang in Barbra Streisandís Timeless concerts in Los Angeles. A two-time winner of Favorite Female Vocalist in the A Cappella Community Awards, she has also received ASCAP songwriting awards for her work with The Bobs. Amy is a graduate of Syracuse University and Boston's Berklee College of Music.

Joe Jennings joined Chanticleer as a countertenor in 1983, and shortly thereafter assumed his current title of Music Director. Under his direction, Chanticleer has released 20 critically acclaimed recordings (works ranging from Gregorian chant to Renaissance masterworks to jazz), including the GRAMMYÆ Award-winning Colors of Love, and has performed at many of the world's most prestigious festivals and concert halls. Originally from Augusta, Georgia, Mr. Jennings earned his Master's degree in Conducting from Colorado State University at Fort Collins, and his Bachelor's degrees in Music Education and Piano from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

A prolific composer and arranger, Mr. Jennings has provided the group with some of its most popular repertoire, most notably spirituals, gospel music, and jazz standards. He has also composed for such ensembles as The San Francisco Girls Chorus, Phillip Brunelle's Plymouth Music Series, The GALA V Festival Chorus, The New York City Gay Men's Chorus, The Dale Warland Singers, The Phoenix Bach Choir, and the Los Angeles Vocal and Instrumental Ensemble. His compositions and arrangements are published by Oxford University Press, Hinshaw Music Company of Chapel Hill, North Carolina Hill and Yelton Rhodes Music, Los Angeles. Mr. Jennings' versatility has earned him many types of positions: lead singer/pianist with jazz ensembles; music director and pianist for churches, theater, children's theater and opera productions; guest conductor; professor; and director of clinical demonstrations and workshops. Most recently, he served as guest conductor for performances of the Estonia Philharmonic Chamber Choir. In addition to being Music Director of Chanticleer, Mr. Jennings also leads the Golden Gate Men's Chorus.

Dave Stroud: After training voices since 1988 and producing vocal tracks for many artists, Dave Stroud knows how to quickly assess vocalists' strengths and vulnerabilities. He knows that the faster the assessments, the quicker the changes. This is the reason behind Dave's continued study with Seth Riggs. He has been studying voice since his late teens and continues his studies with Seth. Under the Teacher Training Program of Speech Level Singing, Dave maintains a Level 5 Certification and acts as the executive director for the program. The Northern California Songwriters Association has appointed him as one of the board of directors and he is a member of the San Francisco and Los Angeles chapters of NARAS. He has provided vocal training for the Grammy's in the school program (both in Los Angeles and San Francisco), the N.A.R.A.S. Vocal Tech, and the annual conference for the Songwriting Association. Dave has also provided artistic guidance for the Pacific Speech and Voice Foundation's annual Pacific Voice Foundation conference as well as provided vocal development classes for the conference.

Over the last five years, Dave has traveled all over the United States as well as Scotland, England and Canada teaching Master Classes. He has provided vocal assessments for many organizations, producers and community vocal groups. Some of the Schools he's worked with are The University of the Pacific, BYU Hawaii, USC, The San Francisco Conservatory and the South Plains College Commercial Music Program. Vocal help was provided for such productions as RENT, Miss Saigon, 42nd St., COLE! and Showboat. He has trained a number of renowned singers such as Terry Ellis of En Vogue, Rosie Gaines of Prince' NPG, Tony Lindsay, lead singer of Santana, and Dale Tracy (lead in Phantom of the Opera in Hamburg, Germany).

Dave firmly believes in the benefits of technology for singers and the entertainment business. In his San Francisco studio, he has built an Internet broadcasting suite. This allows him to stream lessons, master classes, style coaching and present shows over the Internet. The technology allows him to effectively help vocalists in parts of the world that may not have quality vocal development. He has also published a vocal magazine called "Connecting Voices" which began circulation in 1994 and is currently distributed as an Internet magazine. It is a periodical similar to Keyboard Magazine but for vocalists. He also started a small record label in 1997 and has released 5 CD's to date, in which a cut made it to the Gavin top 40 report. Mr. Stroud works with as many as one hundred singers a week and possesses a strong work ethic. His involvement with the numerous aspects of music production and performance has given him a breadth of knowledge and reflects his passion for his work.

Charles Eisler is one of San Franciscoís leading producers and managers of live theatre. Mr. Eisler has produced Beehive the 60ís Musical Sensation in Las Vegas, Detroit, Houston, Fort Worth, San Jose, and Phoenix, and on a 70-city national tour. In San Francisco, productions include the Cole Porter musical revue Cole, Forever Plaid, and Noises Off. ÝMr. Eisler has acted as general manager for Sylvia, Free Food, Together Again, starring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, Night Dreams, and Tunnel Rats.Ý Mr. Eisler owns and operates the Mason Street Theatre in San Francisco, where Shear Madness completed a four year run, and the Union Square Playhouse, which currently houses the comedy hit Late Nite Catechism. On Broadway, Mr. Eisler produced the Alan Jay Lerner musical, Music! Music! ÝHe has managed the national tours of Man of La Mancha with Richard Kiley, and Fiddler on the Roof with Hershel Bernardi; The Abbey Theatre; the Shenyang Acrobats, and the Wushu Martial Arts Exhibition from the Peopleís Republic of China; The National Theatre of Greece; The National Folk Theatre of Ireland; and the Gavella Theatre of Zagreb. Together with Deke Sharon, founder of the House Jacks, Mr. Eisler has developed an a cappella musical entitled Street.

Dr Dean Suzuki earned his Ph. D. in Historical Musicology at the University of Southern California and is now an Associate Professor in the Music Department at San Francisco State University specializing in Twentieth Century music, but also teaching Rock History and Music Appreciation. At KPFA, 94.1 FM in Berkeley, he produces and hosts "Discreet Music" (every other Sunday at 10 p.m., heard in streaming audio at www.kpfa.org), an eclectic offering of contemporary, experimental music, with periodic programs devoted to a cappella, progressive rock, sound poetry, sound sculpture and other musical genres and styles. Past in-studio guests and performers include the Bobs, the Housejacks, Naturally Seven, the Accidentals, m-pact, +4db, Gunner Madsen, members of SoVoSo and F'loom and others. As a music critic and journalist, he writes for Pulse, CDnow, Goldmine, Musicworks, and many other periodicals. He also writes "A View from the West," a monthly column on contemporary American music for the American Music Center's monthly on-line journal, New Music Box (www.newmusicbox.org). Dr. Suzuki's essay "The Art of the Voice: Trends in American Text-Sound Composition" was recently published in Homo Sonorus, an international anthology of sound poetry and he is putting the finishing touches on another article, "Minimalism in American Text-Sound Composition."


National Finals 2002

Eclipse - Look My Way
III Of A Kind - Man in the Mirror
The Perfect Gentlement - Patty Cake
Tone Rangers - Keep the Customer Satisfied
Eclipse - Danny Boy
Groove - Anna Begins
Tone Rangers - I Need You
Autri - Krimanchuli
Groove - I Feel Good
The Perfect Gentlemen - Blue Skies
Autri - Tale of War
III Of A Kind - Anak
Standards - Nothing But Love
Chapter 6 - Bohemian Rhapsody
Chapter 6 - Wizard of Oz Medley
Standards - Prayer of the Children 

The sellout crowd at Marin Veterans Aud. in San Rafael, CA once again saw a dazzling Harmony Sweepstakes Final - Eight Regional winners from all over the country, giving their all in the "most exciting twelve minutes in a cappella." In this wonderfully recorded CD we hear Denver winner Eclipse's "Danny Boy" and "Look My Way," Bay Area Winner III of a Kind's incredible cover of "Man in the Mirror" and the Asian hit tune "Anak;" returning winner (Pacific NW) The Standards' "Ain't Got Nothing But Love" and heartfelt "Prayer of the Children;" Boston Winner Groove's great covers of "Anna Begins" and James Brown's classic "I Feel Good," and New York winner, the Russian group Autri, sings "Keimanchuli" and a stunning original by one of its members, "Tale of War." Los Angeles' Perfect Gentlemen's cutting edge barbershop harmony soars into "Blue Skies" and "Patty Cake." Washington, DC's Tone Rangers score with their offbeat covers of "I Need You" and Simon & Garfunkel's "Keep The Customer Satisfied." Finally, Chicago winner Chapter 6 nails Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and finishes with a hilarious "Wizard Of Oz Medley." In the end the judges chose The Perfect Gentlemen as National Champion, (also chosen Audience Favorite) and we walked into the night, smiling and raving about one of the best a cappella shows of all time!

2002 CD $14.98

Click Here for Past Harmony Sweepstakes Recordings


Past Results: 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001- 2000 - 1999 - 1998


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