22nd Annual

The Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival, 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.

The Blanks are Sam, Paul, George and Philip, a quartet of friends who like to sing a cappella music. For a few years now theyâ•˙ve been appearing on the television show Scrubs where, as luck would have it, they have to pretend to be a quartet of friends who like to sing a cappella music. They sing in a wide range of styles from original pop and doo-wop to TV and movie themes. They've even been known to sing songs with talking toys--that's right, four grown men who still play with dolls--er, action figures. But all is not fun and games with The Blanks, as they have been known to lapse into sentimental ballads too. If you want to know more about them and listen to some of their music, please visit their homes. On second thought, maybe just visit their home page (www.theblankswebsite.com). Members: Samuel Lloyd, Paul F. Perry, George Miserlis, Philip McNiven

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Clockwork: With influences drawn from Chet Baker, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Gene Puerling, Phil Mattson, and many others, Clockwork’s performances range from beautiful ballads to complex, harmonized bebop lines normally only performed by an experienced saxophone section. From straight-ahead jazz to sweet ballads to hard swinging standards, these five voices make the listener forget that there are no instruments playing. Clockwork is a quintet of musicians who happen to sing.  With their own arrangements of jazz from standards to be-bop with interesting, unexpected surprises, this award-winning vocal group is the coolest, newest sound in jazz.  Clockwork has taken the West by storm and is not to be missed in the jazz world.  In addition to being experienced performers, Clockwork, individually and collectively, has extensive experience in hosting and participating in educational workshops on a range of topics that include arranging for voices, solo interpretation, small group singing, microphone technique, and improvisation. Members: Angie Doctor, Eric Freeman, John Paddock, Jim Hale, and Stephen Saxon

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Dis 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: Samantha Keller, Tamar Fogel , Heather Houston

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HouseBlend has been performing throughout the East Bay for over seven years. Its understated motto, “Four Guys---We Sing,” belies its wide and varied repertoire. HouseBlend consistently leads its audiences on a musical tour de force: always expressivo, ma non troppo; con grandioso, but tempered with dashes of dolce et delicato; risoluto in its furioso; animato in its passionato; and far too often, with basso glissando at the grand finale. We hope that you will enjoy the sound of HouseBlend, subito, or poco a poco, and its playful persona. Members: Doug Emigh, Jim McGuire, Bill DeGarmo, Kent Parr

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Life: Artistically based on the sound harmonic principles of Psychoacoustics and Cymatics, “Life” is the intricate weaving of delicate harmonies balanced with interpretive nuances of each individual experience woven together as one voice. “Life” spans an acoustic spectrum from Classical to Gregorian, rhythmic World Beats to New Age etherial, Gospel to Jazz, providing a unique interactive listening experience. Their fluid, non-static and in the moment improvisational style reflects a dance of haunting intricate harmonies that engages the audience at a deep level. This unique inspiration comes from the interaction with heart, surroundings, sounds and feelings of each member and the climate of the audience they are embracing. Their focus is to express a spontaneous vocalization, capturing the life experience of the moment with their wide range of tones, rhythms and harmonic vocal effects. They also combine their musicality with visual images kaleidescopically projected matching their vocals to spontaneous imagery of color and light. Members: Theodore Olson, Reta Philips, Steve Lobue

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One of Each ..what??? Hairstyle? Political attachment? Favorite soft drink? Nothing so deep. 'One of Each' represents our individual tastes in underwear: boxers, briefs, panties or commando. We believe that variety in intimate apparel can be the cornerstone of an a cappella group. We've performed in various Bay Area venues, ranging from the Herbst Theater to Espresso Gardern to the Gaslighter Theater to Lisa's living room. Most recently One of Each could be heard on the nationally syndicated Dr. Demento show with our instrument wielding friends of Pledge Drive. In short - One of Each is an a cappella band with an unhealthy love for our audiences. Hold us. Members: Scott Adler, David Bender, Lisa Gallien, David Taylor

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Ro Sham Bo is named after a popular hand game often used as a selection method in a similar way to coin flipping or drawing straws to select a person for some purpose. When Ro Sham Bo tours in Japan or Brazil, we're called Jan-Ken-Pon, but Philippinos call us Jack-n-Poy because they’re cool. In England we're called Scissors-Paper-Stone because there’s no Rockhenge, silly. In South Africa, the mildly offensive Ching-Chong-Cha. In Latvia we're called Akmens, skeres, papirits because of the catchy rhyme, "Akmens, skeres, papirits, viens, divi, tris." Caligula called us Saxum-Charta-Forfex, but in those days forfex beat everything because of the excitement over the newly invented scissors. Biologist Barry Sinervo from UC Santa Cruz discovered the Ro Sham Bo evolutionary strategy in the mating behavior of the side-blotched-lizard species Uta stansburiana. When we're not drinking during rehearsal, mating or playing Ro Sham Bo, we sing nicely. And we look for basses. If you know any basses or side-blotched-lizards, or if you are one, please contact us at RoshamboSings@yahoo.com. Members: Bonnie Doyle, Audrey Kauffman, Moorea Ragab, Ben Fendel, Fadel Shukry, Paul Kim

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UnderAge is a group of four young ladies (ages 15-18) singing A Cappella 4-part harmony, mostly in the barbershop style. They have been working and performing together for three years. Each girl is an accomplished vocalist in her own right, thus making their sound strong, full and mature. They not only sing with maturity and poise, but are also seasoned performers capturing their audiences with wit, humor and charm. Members: Brittany Gilmore, Mia Dessenberger, Caitlin Smith, Mary Segura

Barbara Vander Putten, a Bay Area native, has been singing since elementary school, when Sister Louise moved her to the front of the class – so she could get the correct notes (turns out later she was just doing good ol’ fashioned harmony!).  She began her vocal music career in earnest after joining the West Valley Masterworks, with whom she sang diverse repertoire including Mozart & Verdi's Requiem (with a performance at Carnegie Hall), Bach B minor Mass, Rutter's Gloria, etc, as well as a variety of folk music, madrigals, show tunes and spirituals. For the last 11 yrs years she has been the Assistant Director of the award-winning Mission Valley Chorus (Sweet Adelines Intl), most recently stepping in as Interim Director and taking the chorus to a critically successful show last November.  She is a member of the SAI Region 12 coaching faculty and perhaps best known as The Duchess in the off-the-wall comedy quartet, The Aquanettas.  In addition to singing, for the last 9 years Barbara has used her speaking voice as one of the three enthusiastic hosts of The Human Voice Show, featuring a cappella harmony, on People’s Radio KKUP- Cupertino 91.5fm.

Sanford Dole - Bay Area native and life-long singer, was a founding member for Chanticleer and 23-year veteran of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Having earned degrees in composition and conducting from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, he is currently Artistic Director of Cantabile Chorale, a community choir based in Palo Alto and Berkeley, as well as Music Director at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. He continues his career as a professional tenor singing with the esteemedPhilharmonia Baroque Orchestra Chorale, as well as composing anthems and theatrical works for his choirs. His arrangements of jazz standards have been commissioned and performed by Chanticleer as well as the setting of a Walt Whitman poem, "I Am with You."

Craig Knudsen - Tenor singer in Harmony Sweepstakes Championship winners the Edlos, Craig graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. As an opera singer, he has performed leading roles with numerous opera companies, including the Pocket Opera, Las Vegas Opera, Pacific Repertory Opera and the Austin Opera in Austin, TX. He also toured to the East Coast as a tenor soloist with the George Coates Performance Works, performing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. In 1993 Craig changed his musical focus to a cappella and joined the EDLOS, with whom he has recorded five CDs.  He also does a lot of the arranging for the EDLOS as well as writing original songs for the group. The Edlos have performed at the Grand Ole Opry, The Bitter End in NYC, the Alaska Center for the Arts, the Riverbend Festival in Chattanooga and many, many other concerts covering most of the states in the U.S.  Craig also maintains a private vocal studio in Berkeley, teaching a broad range of students in genres ranging from opera to rock and blues to musical theater. He is currently the music director for the Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre Project and is represented by Stars, the Agency, through whom he does on camera and voice-over work.

Interested in Competing?

We are always seeking groups who would like to compete in our events.

Groups of any style are welcome, but you must have between 3 and 8 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

The Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival
PO Box D
San Anselmo, CA 94979
(415) 455-8602
harmony@singers.com

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