1999 National Finals Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival

15th 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.

1999 National Finals Champions

Naturally 7

The origins of the group date back to New York City in 1999 when Roger Thomas started the group with his brother, Warren, and five other talented singers they had come to know over the years from singing around the city. Having been in and out of several traditional male groups over the years, Roger developed an affinity for a cappella sounds and a unique ability to create distinct harmony arrangements. When invited to sing at a major a cappella competition in New York, they won the competition, moved onto the nationals and took away two more wins.

Riding the wave of this newfound success and still unable to decide if Naturally 7 were going to be an a cappella group or a traditional band, Roger had a novel idea: they could be both.

1999 Results
1st	Naturally 7
2nd	The Standards
3rd	Minimum Wage
Audience Favorite	Minimum Wage
Best Original Arrangement	"Bridge Over Troubled Waters"
Best Original Song	"So Far" arranged John Milne
Best Original Song	"Ultimate Pop Band"

1999 Participating Groups

TBA

1999 Judges

Steve Baker

Steve Baker has been the Executive Director of the Freight & Salvage since 1996. Since its founding in 1968, the Freight has been a leading presenter of a cappella music—perhaps, as some have described, "the home of Bay Area" a cappella.” Groups who have performed there include The House Jacks, Bobs, M-Pact, Kitka, Hookslide, Edlos, Da Vinci's Notebook and many others. Before joining the Freight family he worked in the nonprofit arts sector as an attorney and a program administrator and attorney. In addition, Steve plays guitar and performs regularly with his musical cohorts at clubs and private events throughout the Bay Area.

Charles Eisler

Charles Eisler is one of San Francisco's leading producers and managers of live theatre. Mr. Eisler has produced Beehive the 60’s Musical Sensation in Las Vegas, Detroit, Houston, Fort Worth, San Jose, and Phoenix, and on a 70-city national tour. In San Francisco, productions include the Cole Porter musical revue Cole, Forever Plaid, and Noises Off that toured to many West Coast cities. Mr. Eisler has acted as general manager for Sylvia, Free Food, Together Again, starring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, Night Dreams, and Tunnel Rats. Mr. Eisler owned and operated the Mason Street Theatre in San Francisco, where Shear Madness played for four years, and the Union Square Playhouse, which housed the comedy hit Late Nite Catechism. On Broadway, Mr. Eisler produced the Alan Jay Lerner musical, Music! Music! He general managed the national tours of Man of La Mancha with Richard Kiley, and Fiddler on the Roof with Hershel Bernardi; The Abbey Theatre; the Shenyang Acrobats, and the Wushu Martial Arts Exhibition from the Peoples’ Republic of China; The National Theatre of Greece; The National Folk Theatre of Ireland; and the Gavella Theatre of Zagreb. Mr. Eisler is currently co-writing a new musical that uses the words and music of Cole Porter.

Gunnar Madsen

Gunnar Madsen is an award-winning composer, actor, singer, and writer. He is perhaps best known as founder, songwriter and performer with the internationally acclaimed a cappella group The Bobs. Their first album, released in 1984, led to a Grammy nomination for Mr. Madsen. Since then, The Bobs have released five more albums with Gunnar and he has received seven consecutive ASCAP songwriter's awards for his work. His two recent solo releases on G-Spot Records, "Spinning World: 13 Ways of Looking at a Waltz", and "The Power of a Hat" continue his unique ways with music. As a composer and songwriter/librettist he has received commissions from the Los Angeles Theater Center, the Oberlin Dance Collective, the Minnesota Opera, ISO Dance Theater, National Public Radio, and many others. He has written music for the feature films "Breaking the Rules" and "A Special Providence", and is a featured performer on the soundtrack of "At Play in the Fields of the Lord", in the National Geographic Special "Asteroids: Deadly Impact", and as the voice of Sammy Davis, Jr. in the HBO film "The Rat Pack". He is also the creator of the sound and music for the hit video game San Francisco Rush. Gunnar's performing highlights include appearances on the Tonight Show, the Smothers Brothers Show, and two award-winning hour-long specials on PBS featuring his music and performances. He has worked with a broadrange of performers, including Robin Williams, The Grateful Dead, Bobby McFerrin and Billy Crystal. He enjoys playing with his dog and his lovely wife.

Queenie Taylor

Queenie Taylor is respected and innovative presence in the San Francisco music scene goes back to 1974, when she began a 16 year odyssey at Bill Graham Presents which involved advertising, marketing, entertainment acquisition, and venue and event management. Her experience as an independent producer since 1993 includes booking, promotion and event production.

She has produced such events as the San Francisco Symphony's Black & White Ball, Grace Cathedral's Spirit of the City Ball, Focus Magazine's Creative Achievement Awards, Anniversary Galas for Marin County, the Mill Valley Art Commission's Milley Awards and numerous corporate parties. She co-produced Gavin's SFO1, 2 and 3, music business conventions in San Francisco which featured three days of business panels and breakouts and four nights of events in 35 area nighclubs for over 800 participants.

Complete list of 1999 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