1997 National Finals Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival

13th 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.

1997 National Finals Champions

SoVoSo

SoVoSo is a highly imaginative a cappella ensemble that sings a unique, rhythmic mix of jazz, gospel, world and R&B music, all rendered in their trademark improvisational style.

The SoVoSo repertoire consists of original compositions and other songs that present a global perspective, from Afro-Latin idioms to traditional funk and jazz arrangements. Two SoVoSo members (Joey Blake, past member, and current member David Worm) are current members of Bobby McFerrin's a cappella group, Voicestra, performing with him from 1993 to present.Currently you will see David Worm, Sunshine Becker, Bryan Dyer and Zoe Ellis in this vocal band line-up, along with other great singers such as Nicolas Bearde, Ashling Cole and Vernon Bush. The SoVoSo family of singers continues to expand as this one of a kind musical project grows and flourishes.

1997 Results
1st	SoVoSo
2nd	Graffiti Tribe
3rd	Five o’Clock Shadow
Audience Favorite	SoVoSo
Best Original Arrangement	"Say"
Best Original Song	"Tribute"

1997 Participating Groups

TBA

1997 Judges

Frank Albinder

Grammy Award-winning conductor and singer Frank Albinder currently directs the Washington Men's Camerata, the Virginia Glee Club at the Univesity of Virginia and the Woodley Ensemble. A native of Hollywood, California, Mr. Albinder hold degrees from Pomona College and the New England Conservatory of Music.

During his tenure with the group, Mr. Albinder performed in all 50 states and in 20 foreign countries. He appears on 20 of the ensemble's recordings, including Wondrous Love, which was recorded under his direction, and the Grammy Award-winning Colors of Love, for which he designed the concept and selected the repertoire. Other performance credits include the Boston Camerata, the Robert Shaw Singers, the Washington Bach Consort, and the Concord Ensemble. He is a past National Chair of Repertoire and Standards for Male Choirs for the American Choral Directors Association, as well as President of Intercollegiate Men's Choruses, Vice-President of ChoralNet, the internet's principal portal for information and resources relating to the choral field and a national board member of the National Collegiate Choral Organization.

Olivia Landsberg

Olivia is an award-winning radio producer and Head of Programme Development at an independent radio production company. She produce programmes for BBC Radio on a freelance basis, including the radio series an a cappella called “In Good Voice”.

Paul Liberatore

Paul Liberatore is a veteran music writer who has been covering the Bay Area music scene for many decades.

Narada Michael Walden

Producing Hits for Artists as diverse as Aretha Franklin (including the platinum “Freeway of Love.”), Steve Winwood, Ray Charles, Wynonna Judd, Whitney Houston, George Michael, Mariah Carey, Barbara Streisand, Lionel Ritchie, Lisa Fischer, Stevie Wonder, Tom Jones, Jeff Beck and The Temptations, the EMMY and multi-GRAMMY winner (Producer, Album and Song of The Year) has been at the helm of hit music that spans decades. His music flows freely from pop, rock and soul, to the rarified realms of jazz, fusion and world music.

With Jeff Beck, Narada wrote and played drums on the seminal album “Wired” that earned them both their first Gold Album.

Walden was an integral part of introducing Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey to millions of fans worldwide, producing and writing their breakthrough hits that first brought these divas to the spotlight.

He was awarded Grammys for Producer of the Year in 1988, Album of the Year for the movie soundtrack The Bodyguard in 1993 and the R&B Song of the Year in 1985 for Aretha Franklin''s "Freeway of Love." He was also named as one of the "Top Ten Producers With the Most Number One Hits" by Billboard magazine.

Complete list of 1997 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 :

Our Hall of Fame - The Harmony Sweepstakes National Champions