16th Annual

Chapter 6, Millikin University's premiere, a cappella ensemble, is a self-contained group of close friends and musicians. Comprised of six singers and one arranger, Chapter 6 sings a medley of original arrangements from jazz, to gospel, to pop rock. What started out as a University class in 1995, Chapter 6 Ensemble was discontinued in 1998, whereupon the group became an independent organization, student directed and produced. Since that time, Chapter 6 has been blessed with growing success. The year 2000 brought a roller-coaster of opportunity: Shortly after releasing their first CD, Acappella 101, Chapter 6 won The Chicago Harmony Sweepstakes, becoming the youngest group to ever qualify for the National Harmony Sweepstakes. Chapter 6 also won numerous other awards in Chicago, including Best Original Song,, Best Arrangement, and Audience Favorite awards. More recently, Chapter 6 took first place at the International Collegiate Competition of Acapella's Midwest Finals, and will be competing for the national title, in April, at New York City s Lincoln Center. Chapter 6 has been blessed to perform for a wide range of audiences. Regional tours include the Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Chicago, and St. Louis areas. Successful performance venues include business parties, country clubs, college festivals, regional opera houses, and area high schools. Some favorite performances include opening for the widely acclaimed group, Rockapella, as well as appearing with the Millikin University Choir on ABC's Good Morning America. As several of the current members of Chapter 6 approach graduation from Millikin in the coming spring, the group unanimously desires to pursue the chances of staying together and making a niche in the commercial music industry. As a group, they believe in having fun and in entertaining their audience, while at the same time, maintaining a high standard of musical and personal excellence. Together, they hold each other accountable for their belief in Christ, their trust in one another, and their passion for music.

2000 Results
1st	Chapter 6
2nd	Ac Rock
3rd	Blue Skies
Audience Favorite	Chapter 6
Best Original Arrangement	Chapter 6 "Istanbul"
Best Original Song	Chapter 6 "Istanbul"

2000 Contestants in Alphabetical Order:

A*C Rock Pronounce it: A*C Rock. It rhymes! Say it: A*C Rock! A*C (as in a cappella), Rock (as in rock 'n roll). You would think that this high concept name would be easy to remember and hard to forget... But you would be wrong. At the very least, it gets us listed first in programs like the one you're reading right now. A*C Rock! When you hear it, you'll get it! A*C Rock includes Paul Iams (tenor), JD Mathein (tenor), Chris Brown (baritone) and Mark MacLean (bass), who all love singing and traveling across this great country of ours to perform for corporate events, tradeshows, private parties, theatres, clubs, festivals and grand openings at Target.

 

Blue Skies, consisting of Patti Lupo, Susan Prischmann, Paul Zimmerman, and Greg Jasperse, has been performing in the Chicagoland area for 3 years. This versitile group has played the Taste of Chicago, festivals, corporate functions, Broadway nights and Oscar parties. Their love of vocal music and group singing brought them together, and during the month of December they sing with the acclaimed Christmas group, The Caroling Party. While not performing with Blue Skies, these singers work in all aspects of music...recording, arranging, teaching, theatre, bands and concert work.

 

elmo Thumm formed in 97 as a gathering of a cappella lovers, has collectively been on the scene from Broadway to barbershop, cruise lines and major tours. Openings include: The Beach Boys, Ben Vereen, Bobby McFerrin, and numerous competitions under the names The Sound (Chicago) and Speakeasy (Detroit). elmo Thumm's first performance was as a national finalist in the Lever "Singing In the Shower" contest. As more requests arrive, ET continues to work on a full-length stage show as well as recording demo materials and jingles for local radio and TV. Members include founders, songwriters and arrangers Greg Vaden (bass-baritone) and Adam Westmoreland (all-purpose), barbershopper Ed Pendleton (1st tenor), and local sensation Jason Miller (tenor-lead).

Singing a mix of pop, rock, country, reggae, rap, Christian, and even an occasional commercial jingle, they've never been accused of being like Granddad's barbershop quartet. It has been their pleasure to perform with stars like the Beach Boys, Peter Cetera, Bob Newhart, The Chenille Sisters, and 1964: The Beatles Tribute. They have also been guests on numerous television and radio shows. Performances range from corporate venues, to education and public arenas. They have traveled as far east as Scotland for the annual Fringe Festival and as far south as Florida for Tom Monahan's retirement party from Domino Farms. Communities have warmly embraced THREE MEN and a TENOR, thus, enabling them to spread humor and harmonies across the world. Any question why?

JUDGES:

Freddie Feldman has performed with, managed, and recorded various a cappella groups for the past nine years. He is the owner of VOCOMOTION, a vocal-centric recording studio in Evanston, IL. Freddie is the inventor of the only commercially available microphone designed specifically for vocal percussion. He is an album reviewer for RARB (Recorded Acappella Review Board) and has spoken at the East Coast A Cappella Summit. Freddie holds both a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Northwestern University.

Russ Foris - More than 35 years experience as a choral conductor in schools, churches, men's and women's barbershop. Experience in music education, retail music sales and audio-video production. Frequent adjudicator, guest clinician, coach and faculty member for contests, festivals and workshops in the U.S., Canada, England and Ireland. Performance experience in ensembles in choral, glee club, folk and barbershop. Several district, regional and international championships as performer, director and coach. Published arranger in mixed, folk and barbershop idioms. Currently Manager of Media Production & Services at the International Office of SPEBSQSA, Inc. in Kenosha, which involves production of all educational audio and video materials and oversight of the Old Songs Library. Serving as Music Director of Midwest Vocal Express, men's acapella/barbershop chorus, 9th place International rank in Anaheim, July 1999 and the only group to win the prestigious Buckeye Invitational twice.

Nancy Foris - A former elementary school teacher originally from Elgin, Illinois, Nancy has been involved in some form of music or music education most of her life. She joined Harmony, Incorporated, an international women's barbershop singing organization some 35 years ago and has served Harmony, both administratively and vocally for most of that time. Her credits include nine gold medals (two different choruses) and three championship quartet medals (in two different parts). She's also served as a certified judge in the Interpretation (now Presentation) Category, coach of several quartets and choruses, and is currently sharing directing duties for the Kenosha County men's chapter of SPEBSQSA. Husband Russ and daughter JoAnna complete her family and all have resided in Kenosha, Wisconsin the past 11 years, where both Nancy and her husband are employed by SPEBSQSA's international offices. Maybe that's carrying a hobby too far? "The enjoyment of and the making of music for others to enjoy is the biggest part of my life. I can't imagine people "living" without it!" Oh yes, and Nancy is currently serving Harmony, Inc., in the position of Public Relations/Marketing Chairman.

Joan Hammel - Joan is a professional vocalist who performs live with a ten piece band, along with appearing in commercials, on television, in films, and on radio. You may have heard her most recently as the vocalist for the recording, "Oh Lady DI," in honor of the late Princess of Wales benefiting her Foundation and charities. She has worked all around the globe in places like the Caribbean and Las Vegas including Caesar's Palace. She has opened for music greats like Buddy Rich, Koko Taylor, Lonnie Brooks, and Rare Earth. Commercials include working with a variety of sports legends like Mike Ditka and Dr. Julius Irving, and film work includes working with stars like Bill Murray, Robert DeNiro, Andie McDowell among others. The film, "Last Day in Chicago," in which she had a starring role, won its division of the Chicago International Film Festival. She hosted "The Midday Show" at ABC Radio affiliate WKRS for a year and a half, the first woman to do so, winning the Lake County Women^Rs Coalition's Woman in Communications Award and Illinois' Public Health Association Media Award with interviews with legends like James Brown, Steve Allen, Richard Marx, Jacques Pepin as well as covering a variety of local and national issues . She has been named to Who's Who in Entertainment, Who's Who in the Midwest, Who's Who in Music, Who's Who of American Women and recently, the International Who's Who of Music. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Columbia. "It's Fun To be Fit!" a television program she worked on, won an Emmy for Best Children's Program. She has served on the Board of Governors in Chicago for the GRAMMYs for several years, and along with attorney Linda Mensch, was a part of the first female President/Vice President team in Academy history. She is currently Chairman of the Education Committee. Through them, she has chaired the Chicago premieres of the Meryl Streep, Angela Bassett movie, "Music of the Heart," and "Mr. Holland's Opus," starring Richard Dreyfuss. She is a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists). She serves as a Trustee for the Board of the Friends of the Lake County Museum.

Bob Stroud is a 20 year Chicago radio veteran. Having worked at WMET, The Loop, WCKG, and AM 1000, Bob is currently heard in mid-days from 10 to 3 on CD 94.7, Chicago's Classic Rock Station. Perhaps more than anything else, Bob is primarily known for his long running Rock 'n Roll Roots Radio Program, which airs on Sunday mornings from 9 to noon. In the show, Bob has been treating listeners for 20 years to an eclectic mix of oldies and classics, that has culminated with the issue of two volumes of Classic Rock Roots CDs. Volume 3 is due out later this year. When not on the radio, Bob is seen fronting his 11 piece band Rockestra. As guitarist and lead singer, Bob has been performing rock 'n roll and r&b from the 60's and 70's with the band going on 10 years. He is honored to be a part of this prestigious event tonight.