22nd 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

2006 Champions

Tongue Tied A Cappella

Tongue Tied A Cappella has been dazzling audiences since 2002. Their distinctive arrangements create a very unique sound in the a cappella world. From classic '80s rock to original heartfelt ballads, Tongue Tied A Cappella covers a broad spectrum of previously unattempted a cappella sounds. This group of five from Northern Utah has entertained thousands, sharing stages with The Standards, T Minus 5, Eclipse, and many others. They have performed all over the Western US, and competed in the Northwest Regional Harmony Sweepstakes in 2003. Their first album "Mix It Up" showcases their mix of incredible sound, luscious bass, and original harmony.

Members: Jake Tesch, Jason Mark Tesch, James A. Case, Ryan J Brierley, Todd Becraft

2006 Results
1st
 Tongue Tied A Cappella
2nd
 The Baudboys
3rd
 DISH
Audience Favorite
 Tounge Tied A Cappella
Best Original Arrangement
 "A Little Romance" Arr. Mockingbird

2006 Participating Groups

Baudboys are an all-male a cappella group composed entirely of Microsoft employees. Risking the wrath of fellow employees, they rehearse in on-campus conference rooms, singing a variety of popular and original music. The group's members are drawn from product teams across the company, and as The Baudboys, they boast a wealth of musical training and performing experience. They have performed to audiences in a variety of venues, from nursing homes and schools to major festivals and sporting events. True to their profession, the "baud" part of their name refers to the method by which computer modem speeds were once rated.


Members: Mark Adolph, Owen Braun, Dave McEwen, Jonathan Schwartz, Paul Eng, Graham Sheldon, Elliot Lewis
DISH formed in late 2004 with the intention of creating sassy, original and musically excellent a cappella. They recruited potential singers through the magic of Craigslist, and after a rigorous audition process found the seven sparkling vocal personalities they call DISH. Dirty, Delisha, Diva, Sugar, Candy, Saucy, and Deep DISH offer up some scrumptious a cappella. Their lyric-writing bursts usually happen in the middle of rehearsals, and they store these disruptions in a book fondly called the DISHionary. Because traditional a cappella music doesn't cater to the bottom range of women's voices, they write many of their own arrangements. Their self-titled first album was released this year.


Members: Devon Webster, Hayley German, Shauna Hill, Llyra de la Mere, Natalie White, Laney Williams
Double Deuce was formed in 1998, even though they discovered each other about 15 years ago. Each of the members brought years of singing experience to the quartet, and they soon found that audiences enjoyed their combined a cappella sound. In the beginning they concentrated on barbershop, but as time went on, they incorporated contemporary harmonies from groups like the Four Freshman and the gospel sounds of the Gaither Quartet. They have entertained audiences throughout the Northwest, performing virtually everywhere from concert stages to small coffee houses to private homes.


Members: Matt Yorkston, Rick Smith, Dan Evans, Jerry Potter
Four Real, quartet hails from Abbotsford, British Columbia, as a registered quartet with Sweet Adelines International. They started singing together in the Fall of 2004, and have developed a harmonious friendship over and above the music by sharing their personal challenges and victories in life. Most of their rehearsals end up having more storytelling time than singing time! They are proud members of Green Heart Chorus, the 2004 Small Chorus Champions of Western Canada with Sweet Adelines International. Four Real is excited to have the opportunity to participate in this Northwest Regional A Cappella Festival.


Members: Cindy Rintoul, Linda Dickinson, Erin Toews, Leigh Fadden
KlapaDooWopella was formed in 1979 in Seattle. The name "KlapaDooWopella" comes from "klapa" music of the Dalmatian Coast, "doo-wop" music from the streets of America, all sung in "a cappella" style. Thus, KlapaDooWopella. While the number of singers and personalities has changed over the years, the current quartet still has three of the original members. The group was first formed as a "klapa" to sing folks songs of the Adriatic Sea, but has added many styles over the years, singing in the Seattle area and around the world. Performance venues include folk festivals, pubs, street corners and private parties.


Members: Phil Parham, Ted Hunter, James Hoath, Bill Weis
Mockingbird, is three good friends from Whatcom County who have joined their musical interests and diversity to form a cappella harmonies straight from their hearts. They have been making music together for over 10 years and sing a blend of musical styles, from '50s doo-wop music to songs with social justice messages, from ballads to humorous songs, such as the audience favorite "Co-Dependent With You," plus many originals. Their harmonies are beautiful, edgy rather than lush, and their arrangements highlight each member. Mockingbird has released three CDs and they placed third at the Harmony Sweepstakes NW Regional A Cappella Festival in 2002.


Members: Robin Wallbridge, Sherrie Lutsch and Lesley Rigg
Tongue Tied A Cappella has been dazzling audiences since 2002. Their distinctive arrangements create a very unique sound in the a cappella world. From classic '80s rock to original heartfelt ballads, Tongue Tied A Cappella covers a broad spectrum of previously unattempted a cappella sounds. This group of five from Northern Utah has entertained thousands, sharing stages with The Standards, T Minus 5, Eclipse, and many others. They have performed all over the Western US, and competed in the Northwest Regional Harmony Sweepstakes in 2003. Their first album "Mix It Up" showcases their mix of incredible sound, luscious bass, and original harmony.

Members: Jake Tesch, Jason Mark Tesch, James A. Case, Ryan J Brierley
Transit, is an international women's barbershop quartet, adding equal parts of Canadian and American flavors to their mix. This group of creative and lively women offers a twist on familiar tunes like "Hooked on a Feeling," they do a hot swing rendition of "Jazz Me Blues," and audiences warm to their Celtic arrangement of "The Parting Glass." Transit has performed throughout the US and Canada over the past 15 years, bringing individual talents from backgrounds in musical comedy, cabaret and choral singing. This eclectic group will be sure to conjure up fond memories as well as create new ones!


Members: Katy Hawley, Leslie Liberman, Corinna Barriock, Rose Epp

Judges

Melanie Wroe is active locally and nationally with Sweet Adelines International, a women's barbershop organization. She serves as a Certified Showmanship Judge and faculty member, teaching workshops and coaching a cappella groups on visual performance, competition preparation, and show development. Melanie performs with a local a cappella quartet, Seattle Mix, and sings with Pacific Sound, an internationally-recognized women's barbershop chorus based in Bellevue, Washington.

Scott Farrell, a Northwest native, has been a professional actor, singer, music director and teacher for over 30 years. As a featured singer he has appeared on cruise ships, in theatres and nightclubs in New York City, Miami, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, London and Bermuda, For sixteen years he was music director for Greg Thompson Productions, one of the largest producers of staged revue shows in the world, where he arranged and directed over 50 world-class revues. He is a former music faculty member at The Evergreen State college, where he directed the college's choral group, The Evergreen Singers. Scott has private voice studios in both Olympia and Seattle, where his students range in age from 9 to 84. He is currently the Artistic Director and Conductor for the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Chorus, and Co-Director of Seattle's Open Voices.

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 15 years in the Puget Sound region, 12 of those teaching theater and English. He currently teaches English at Timberline High School. In the fall of 2006 Michael will begin his MFA in Directing. Michael had directed over 30 school and community productions, including most recently The King's Festival for MCE in 2004. He has sung with Masterworks, where he has soloed several times, for five years.

Dan Schumacher was born and raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming (the other square state) to a highly unorthodox, very artistic family. When presented with her children's practical career choices, his mother was known to say things like, "That's fine if you want to be an architect, honey, but it would be a shame to waste such a beautiful voice." After winning the Vocal Jazz Soloist award in the Big-N-Tall weight class (more tall than big) at a University of Northern Colorado Jazz Festival and studying vocal jazz at Northwest College, enablers kept telling him, "You should do this for a living," to which he replied, "Okay!" Dan's alter ego then studied vocal performance and operatic technique at Indiana University in Bloomington while his inner jazzbo founded the vocal band Monkey Puzzle. Dan Bob lives in Seattle, where he previously wrote, arranged and performed with the funktastic, techno-groove-oriented vocal band Kickshaw. Dan is now exploring the dimensions of his long, tall, schizophrenic personality with the long-established a cappella band The Bobs (of whom he was a fan in high school), where both of him fit well, except in most rental cars.

Trist Ethan Curless is a co-founder of the vocal group, m-pact, the 1996 National Champions of the Harmony Sweepstakes. He has performed with m-pact in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Tunisia, Singapore, Estonia, Latvia, Canada, and throughout the United States. He has also made several trips to Japan with the group, where they were featured on Fuji television. He has produced, arranged, and performed on numerous recordings with the group, including the multi-award winning Album, "The Carol Commission." Before m-pact, Trist majored in Music Education at the University of Northern Colorado, where he participated in a variety of musical offerings, including the a cappella jazz sextet, Et Cetera; several choirs; and large-scale opera productions. He also directed a vocal jazz ensemble there-one of only a few undergraduate students ever to do so. Trist has participated as an instructor at many vocal jazz camps, including currently at the Rocky Mountain Vocal Jazz Camp in Colorado. He has served as an adjudicator at a cappella and vocal jazz festivals throughout the country.

Complete list of 2006 national participants

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