21st Annual

The Akafellas are five guys from Olympia and Tacoma that love singing a cappella music. You may remember the name...a few in this group (Jon, Tony & Jon) sang with the original group of the same name back in the late 90's. A few of us have sang with some other groups since, but we've reformed again as The Akafellas and want to continue on with new voices and fun music. We really love coming to the Harmony Sweepstakes and getting to hear and meet other groups that love a cappella music as much as we do. Our name is not new, but our sound is. We've added vocal percussion and new voices but, as with the last group, we enjoy singing many different styles of a cappella music from doo-wop to pop, barbershop, rock, soul and yes, even country. We sing some old and some new, but overall, we just get a kick out of getting together to sing and have fun!

The Baudboys are Microsoft's premiere men's a cappella singing group. (Okay, maybe we're the only one, but we're still pretty good!) We perform all styles of music, from rock to folk to classical, with as much humor as we can inject. The group has been in existence on the Microsoft campus for over 12 years. None of the original members remain in the group, having long since retired when those stock option thingies were still worth something. Currently, the longest tenure is about seven years. When we're not building the next generation of software, we perform on the Microsoft campus, and for various charitable and non-profit organizations in the area.

T Minus 5 is the hottest vocal band to come out of the Rocky Mountains. They have been together for over four and half years and have traveled the country performing for Universities, Arts Councils, city events, large corporations, for both young and old audiences. Simulating all instrument sounds with just their mouths, T Minus 5 is a high-energy a cappella group with comedic timing and fun for the whole family to enjoy. They will "wow" you with their tight vocal harmonies and endless energy. T Minus 5 was the Rocky Mountain Regional Harmony Sweepstakes Champions in 2001 at Denver and their music is featured on the album showcasing the best performances at the 2001 Harmony Finals in San Rafael, California. In the spirit of Gene Roddenberry's preamble to the Star Trek television series, T Minus 5' goal is Fame-the final frontier. These are the voyages of T Minus 5. Its five-man mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations… to boldly go where no a cappella group has gone before.

Chain Reaction: We've been around for a while in different quartets, but when this foursome came together, we knew it was the sound we'd been looking for! We've been singing together for about two years, enjoying the sound, enjoying each other's company, and most of all enjoying performing! Placing 10th, after setting our goal for top 10 in our first regional Sweet Adeline's competition, taught us to set our goals much higher and to realize that they are achievable. In April we'll be back on the Sweet Adeline's regional competition stage in Spokane looking for a medal! We're here to dispel the myth that all Sweet Adeline's are blue-haired ladies! We are all professional women with similar office positions. Mari Coffee and Bonnie Crockett both work for the State of Washington. Patty Hale manages some of the most beautiful apartment properties in the state, and Nancy Carlson keeps their family business, Carlson Electric, running like clockwork.

KlapaDooWopella features the soulful romantic sounds of traditional Croatian "Klapa" singing, while offering a diverse repertoire of international a cappella genre; earthy folk songs from Bosnia, Slovenia, Italy, Serbia and - and, as its name implies - American Doo-Wop. Klapas are the a cappella singing groups that hang out on the street corners in towns up and down the Adriatic coast of Croatia. The passionate harmonic blend of these klapa songs evoking lost love, raging seas, and uncaught fish is the core of KlapaDooWopella's work. Despite their delightful forays into other a cappella media, the quartet always returns to its first love, the moan of the sea that is the primal chord of the Klapa song. KlapaDooWopella offers the traditional klapa song along with more recent songs of the doo-wop genre in a unique blend that is sure to delight even the most begrudging concertgoer. The group is preparing for an upcoming Adriatic Tour presenting a series of concerts in Italy and Croatia.

Groove For Thought is a group of six singers who share a love of contemporary vocal music. GFT sings an assortment of jazz, gospel, rhythm & blues, and pop music both a cappella and with a live band. The members of GFT all have extensive backgrounds in vocal jazz and bring something fun, exciting, and unique to the idiom. GFT originated in 1998 and perform at schools, jazz festivals, and community events throughout the Seattle area. The group's early performances were completely a cappella and the group won the "Best Original Arrangement" as well as the "Audience Favorite" awards at the 2003 Pacific Northwest Regional Harmony Sweepstakes Festival. GFT looks forward to the release of their debut CD in the spring of 2005.

Complete list of 2005 national participants

Judges

Angi Swan: Playing the piano since the age of three, Angi grew up in a musical home, accompanying church services, choirs, musicals, and soloists. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor’s in Music Education, and earned her Kodaly certification at the University of St. Thomas. She taught elementary music for six years. One of her early teaching career highlights was performing with opera singer Simon Estes. Angi has performed with the Fort Dodge Choral Society, the King Ringers, the Joffrey Ballet, and the Masterworks Choral Ensemble. Masterworks’ recent performance of “The King’s Festival” gave Angi the opportunity to direct a 32-voice choir composed of Tenino Elementary students. She has judged both choral and piano competitions at the school and community levels. Angi currently teaches private piano, voice, flute, and guitar and serves as organist and bell choir director at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Lacey.

Sara Boos: is in her second year as artistic director of Northwest Girlchoir in Seattle. She conducts three of the five choirs and oversees the concert and educational programming of this organization that serves 200 young women, ages 7-18. Sara has taught choral and general music at the elementary through college levels and has also directed church choirs and a women’s choir at a maximum-security prison. She holds two music education degrees--a Bachelor of Music from Michigan State University and a Masters of Music from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. For four years in Minnesota, Sara was a member of the Dale Warland Singers, one of the country’s premier a cappella choirs, and she has recently sung with Seattle Pro Musica and the St. James Cathedral Choir.

Michael Butterworth is a native of Seattle. He has a BA in drama from the University of Washington and a BA in English Literature from Pomona College in Southern California. He has taught for 14 years in the Puget Sound region, 12 of those teaching theater and English. Michael had directed over 30 school productions, including most recently A Midsummer Night's Dream and Really Rosie at South Sound High School, and a play about bullying at South Bay Elementary. He takes voice lessons from Mark Anton and has sung with Masterworks, where he has soloed several times, for three and a half years. He currently teaches English at Timberline High School.

Bill Gibson, president of Northwest Music and Recording, has spent the last 25 years writing, recording, producing, and teaching music and has become well known for his production, performance, and teaching skills. As an instructor at Green River College in Auburn, WA, holding various degrees in composition, arranging, education, and recording, he developed a practical and accessible teaching style which provided the basis for what was to come—over 20 recording instructional books, a DVD, and a VHS video for MixBooks/ArtistPro along with a dozen online courses for members of ArtistPro.com. Gibson's impact o the a cappella genre began in the early 80s recording albums for The Main Attraction. Shortly thereafter he recorded the first Coats Album, producing and recording 8 albums, countless jingles, and corporate themes with them over the years. His projects have won critical acclaim and respect in the musical community, across multiple styles: a cappella, rock, jazz, and country. Gibson's work has been heard on T.V., in movies, on the radio, and across the Internet at www.billgibsonmusic.com.

Dale Syverson has been singing and performing since she was a child. Her mother brought her into barbershop as a youth and, in the ensuing four decades, Dale has become one of the most preeminent members of Sweet Adelines International. She is a Certified Expression Judge, Approved Sound Judge, Certified International Faculty Member, Master Director of the three-time International Championship Richtones Chorus, two-time International Quartet Champion, and was the 2004 recipient of the SA President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Dale devotes her life to vocal development and the perfection of ensemble a cappella singing through worldwide coaching and teaching.