21st 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. |
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Moodswing is the newest configuration of some of the Bay Area's most moody jazz singers. Sweeps award winners and +4db founders Dave Duran and Juliet Green have put aside their differences to team up with mercurial couple Paul and Julie Ford of the Renaissance-Jazz sextet Without Measure. They have sung together, in brief stints in such groups as InFusion, Vocal Flight, Vocal Underground, Oarkland Jazz Choir, Siemens Microelectronics Stealth Band, and on Ward Swingle's Instructional video "Swingle Singing." Combined, Moodswing brings almost 20 years of community college vocal jazz experience to each performance. Photos, mp3s, and anger management techniques are available at www.moodswing.us. Members: Dave Duran, Julie Ford, Paul Ford, Juliet Green |
2005 Results |
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1st |
Mood Swing |
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2nd |
Houseblend |
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3rd |
Samsara |
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Audience Favorite |
Houseblend |
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Best Original Arrangement |
"Gilligan's Island Medley" Arr. Bob Westergaard - O Face |
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Best Original Song |
"Now Is The Time" - Heather Houston - Dis Moi |
Ancora - PiccolaThese six high school-age singers have trained in the Piedmont Childrens Choirs organization for many years and they have performed individually or together in festivals around the world as members of various PCC ensembles. They are all members of the 15+ voice Ancora ensemble, and have met regularly outside of the normal Ancora schedule to select and prepare their Sweeps program. Members: Kelsey, Michelle, Marjorie, Lindsay, Alice, Blythe |
Dis MoiDis Moi is a powerfully soulful A Cappella trio of women (Samantha Keller, Tamar Fogel and Heather Houston), who enchant their audiences with songs sung straight from the heart! Their musical repertoire incorporates a wide range of styles from around the globe, as well as inspired originals, with themes of love, hope, healing and unity. "Dis Moi" means "Tell me" in French, and reflects the members' belief and hope that their music will open people to expressing themselves as they feel called. As a visionary trio, they feel that their calling is to be an integral part of the healing movement of the planet. Their radiance is intoxicating, as they shine their deep love for one another, for their music, and for humanity as a whole; inspiring the crowd to open their hearts to the healing harmonies. Their thought provoking lyrics, and grounded words of wisdom, uplift spirits, stir souls, and inspire movement in consciousness. This is not your typical A Cappella music. Let the harmonies of these lovely women take you on a journet of heart, mind and soul as they weave their voices in a unique tapestry of spirited song. Members: Heather Houston, Samantha Keller, Tamar Fogel |
Flying Without InstrumentsEclectic is the word for "Flying Without Instruments," a.k.a. FWI (say "fwee!"). This seven-year-old San-Francisco-based ensemble performs a refreshingly diverse repertoire that includes Renaissance and classical music, swing, jazz, country, folk, pop, and rock. "Our tenors have really short attention spans." said one member who declined to be identified, "so we sing lots of different kinds of music to prevent them from wandering off." Usually boasting eight members, FWI is taking advantage of the temporary absence of soprano and new mother, Beth Crocker, to qualify for the Harmony Sweeps. Members: Caia Brookes, Greg Campbell, Melissa Leventon, Gareth Loy, Charles Seagrave, Greg Tinfow, Clair Ward | 
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HouseBlendHouseBlend is the new and exciting sound that has sprung up recently in the Bay Area. What exactly is "HouseBlend?" They will tell you, 'We're four guys, we sing songs.' Sing indeed - a rich a cappella harmony with an abundance of rhythm and humor. They will sing anything from jazz, doo-wop, country and big band o opera, classical, barbershop and gospel. To our delight, their sleek delivery is becoming infectious to many groups in the area. "HouseBlend" came together through the music ministry at Concord United Methodist Church and they have been creating and defining their unique style for five years. Members: Jim McGuire, Kent Parr, Doug Emigh, Bill DeGarmo |
MoodswingMoodswing is the newest configuration of some of the Bay Area's most moody jazz singers. Sweeps award winners and +4db founders Dave Duran and Juliet Green have put aside their differences to team up with mercurial couple Paul and Julie Ford of the Renaissance-Jazz sextet Without Measure. They have sung together, in brief stints in such groups as InFusion, Vocal Flight, Vocal Underground, Oarkland Jazz Choir, Siemens Microelectronics Stealth Band, and on Ward Swingle's Instructional video "Swingle Singing." Combined, Moodswing brings almost 20 years of community college vocal jazz experience to each performance. Photos, mp3s, and anger management techniques are available at www.moodswing.us. Members: Dave Duran, Julie Ford, Paul Ford, Juliet Green |
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O Face!O Face! started on a fateful cold day in October of 2001, when a couple of veterans of Bay Area musical groups grew tired of lugging heavy equipment to innumerable gigs. The 5 members of O-Face! come from a variety of non-musical backgrounds: a lawyer, a photographer, a student, a CPA, and a database designer. What they have in common is a love of singing. Their eclectic a cappella repertoire includes straight-ahead rock and roll and the syncopations of a Latin groove, but theyÕre at their best when they indulge their sense of humor: screaming Argonauts attack, a jilted boyfriend performs surgery on himself, and winsome bullfrogs are wooed. The broadly appealing result is what O-Face! calls Òear-catching entertainmentÓ for everyone. O-Face! has brought their vocal mayhem to festivals, charity events, and venues of just about every kind around Northern California. Members: Rob Westegaard, Mike Borchers, Grant Hughes, Deb Westegaard and Nate Austin |
Ready, Willing and MabelReady, Willing and Mabel sounds like it should be a trio but it isn't. It is a quartet but it has 5 people in it. It is not a traditional SATB group either as it has no sopranos. I suppose it could be thought of as AATBB. We could best be described as chord freaks. Harmony is the thing with Ready Willing and Mabel. Members: Caroline McLean, Kate Walker, Peter Neushul, Dave Taylor, Robert Clark | 
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SamsaraSamsara is an A Cappella women's trio who unite fierce, exraordinary vocal music with passionate struggles for justice. They strive to connect the music of struggle, freedom and tradition, creating the new generation of the culture of resistance and empowerment. 'Samsara's' repertoire ranges from traditional folksongs, sea songs, worksongs and spirituals with new arrangements, to original music on current issues, all with tight, searing, dissonant and bittersweet harmonies and intricate vocal percussions Members: Rebecca Anders, Jamie Ben-Azay, Susan Appe |
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Jennifer Newell: Professional singer and vocal instructor Jennifer Newell has sung on stage and in the studio with such platinum selling artists such as Aretha Franklin,Lionel Ritchie,Whitney Houston,Chris Isaak,Greg Allman,Screaming Bloody Marys, Ron Keel and Jeff Pilson. She was the house vocalist at Narada Michael Walden’s Tarpon Studios, where she also worked with Grammy-winning Producer of the Year Walter Afanasieff. In addition, Jennifer’s voice can be heard on countless national commercials. Recently, she has taught at the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music, and also gives private lessons, using the Seth Riggs vocal method. A voting member of the Recording Academy, Jennifer has been branching out into producing, working with Rita Sahai on her last Grammy nominated CD. Jessika Diamond: Jessika Diamond has spent more than a decade working in the a cappella business, wearing many hats including vice president of the Contemporary A Cappella Society, founder of the Northern Harmony Canadian A Cappella Competition, and director of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella from 1999 until 2003. She also produced the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards for seven years. A former music journalist with Canada's largest newspaper chain's web division, Jessika served as Managing Editor of the Contemporary A cappella News from 1995 until 2004. Currently, Jessika is producing the Jewish Music Festival's Community Music Day in Berkeley in March (www.brjcc.org). Roberta Donnay: Grammy nominated and award winning recording artist,singer-songwriter & producer Roberta Donnay began singing at the age of five and never stopped! She has released 5 CD’s,and her songs have been used in films and on TV, on programs such as Nash Bridges, The Young & The Restless, Days of Our Lives, One Life to Live, All My Children, and That's Life. She has opened for artists such as Booker T, Tommy Casto, The Black Crowes, Peter Coyote, David Grisman, Dan Fogelberg, Woody Harrelson, Colin Hay, Dan Hicks, Jonny Lange, Huey Lewis, Eddie Money, The Mother Hips, Lenny Williams, and Neil Young. Through DivaBands, an organization she co-founded to promote women in music, she has booked national tours, both for herself and for other female artists. Roberta is currently working on a new jazz CD with legendary jazz producer Orrin Keepnews (John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk etc). Roberta’s website is www.robertadonnay.com. John Glennon: Piano soloist, conductor, chamber collaborator and accompanist John Glennon has performed throughout the US and Europe, on both historical and modern instruments. His diverse repertoire ranges from instrumental pieces in the Faenza Codex and J.S. Bach to twentieth century Japanese art songs, works by Elinor Armer and Jean-Louis Petit, as well as the world premieres of several pieces by renowned composer J.X. der Löwe. He has played in masterclasses for Martin Canin, Nelita True, Aleksander Peskanov, Arthur Haas, Jacques Ogg, Elisabeth Wright and Pierre Hantaï, and has studied with Mr. Canin, Carroll Meyer, Madeleine Hsu, Mr. Haas, Mr. Ogg, Paul O’Dette and Ms. Wright. In demand as a choral conductor, he has studied and performed extensively with John Poole and Paul Hillier. He currently serves as an instructor in Choral/Vocal Music at Napa Valley College, and resides in San Francisco. Bryan Matheson: Bio Coming Soon |
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Winner represents the Bay Area in the Harmony Sweepstakes National A Cappella Festival A set of Shure SM 58 microphones A selection of compact discs from the Primarily A Cappella catalog Free cassette tape duplication by Discmakers Studio time from Studio 468 |
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