2001 New York Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival

17th 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.

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Exboyfriends

Formed in 1993, the seven-member vocal band started their humble journey in small NYC music clubs and worked their way up to win the Audience Favorite Award at the 2000 Harmony Sweepstakes national finals in San Francisco. Along the way, they appeared on VH1, Nickelodeon, TNN, NBC's Today Show as well as several appearances on The Howard Stern Show. They performed regularly at NYC rock club Mercury Lounge and their classic rock roots even earned them opening act slots with the likes of The Marshall Tucker Band and The Edgar Winter Group.

Their debut CD, A Cappella's Dead (1999) was called the "classic rock album a cappella has been waiting for" (Recorded A Cappella Review Board). The album features inventive covers of Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Yes, and Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight". Their follow-up CD Karaoke Bar Brawl (2002) gained even more praise. Produced by Rockapella vocal percussionist Jeff Thacher, the album was nominated for two Contemporary A Cappella Recording Association (CARA) awards: Best Album and Best Cover Song ("25 or 6 to 4") and was one of RARB's "Picks of 2003" for favorite albums of the year. Karaoke Bar Brawl (named after a true event involving several band members) features loud & raw covers of The Who, Alice In Chains, Queen as well as two original songs.

2001 New York Champions

Vox Bop

Vox Bop is a mixed a cappella quartet with ultra-smooth voices reminiscent of The Manhattan Transfer and a wry baby-boomer sensibility. Founded in 1995 by David Deschamps, who also does the arranging, Vox Bop was interviewed and featured in a 12-minute piece on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" on Christmas Eve 1999. They can be currently heard in a national Amazon.com TV ad and were featured as the house band on NBC-TV "The Ainsley Harriott Show." Vox Bop's first CD, THE VOX BOP CHRISTMAS VARIETY HOUR, has been much acclaimed: it was nominated for a 1998 CARA award, with one of the cuts ("Mission of The Three Kings") winning Best Arrangement at the 1999 NYC Harmony Sweepstakes. In the summer of 2000 Vox Bop performed at The Alandia Jazz festival in Finland and has also made a name for itself performing for a variety of clients throughout the Northeast, including Bloomberg Financial, Bloomingdales, Borders Books, The Brooklyn Museum, Filene, The New Press, Starbucks, and many others. The group finished in the top five at the NYC regionals of the 1998 and 1999 Harmony Sweepstakes and is currently at work on their new CD, "Affluenza."

2001 Results
1st	Vox Bop
2nd	PhilHarmonix
Audience Favorite	Vox Bop
Best Original Arrangement	David Deschamps of Vox Bop for "The Slinky Variations"

2001 Participating Groups

All About Buford
All About Buford is a pop-funk vocal band from Boston, New York City and Philadelphia who switch seamlessly between an a cappella format and an acoustic guitar format, delivering pure vocals, complex arrangements, and intricate harmonies. The rhythmic background of AAB is the complex vocal percussion (beatboxing) of Del Coy, who simultaneously does percussion AND bass. You might not believe the sound is being created vocally, but there are no drum tracks! Performing an eclectic mix of covers and originals, All About Buford has been described as both sexy AND sophisticated. They have performed steadily at venues large and small since their inception in 2000, and were the 2003 Boston Regional Harmony Sweepstakes champions (runner-up in 2002). All About Buford does a high-energy, surprising show that gets an audience involved.

Members: Taunia Soderquist, Adeel Pandith, Shah Salmi, Amy Malkoff, Amy Malkoff

Dobsonfly
Dobsonfly is a six-person rock/pop/R&B vocal band based in Manhattan. Out of a series of online notices, trade-paper ads and personal contacts came the current lineup of a group which has rehearsed in one form or another since mid-1999. This most recent conglomerate (since mid-2000) has performed at the East Coast A Cappella Summit in Boston and a variety of New York 's well-known venues.

Members: Lorelle Holway-Smith, Jason Menkes, Evan Smith, Warren Bloom, Debbie Tassone, Colette Thompson, Warren Bloom

Flatiron5
The Flatiron5 is a male quintet performing doo wop, barbershop and alternative music. Founded in 1995, they have played such venues as Macy 's, Chelsea Piers, Sony Plaza, Rockefeller Center and the Cunard 's famous ocean liner, the QE2. Some favorite performances were on NBC 's Today show and at the Yankees 1996 American League Championship Dinner. Members Jonathan Berkun, Charles Matthew Eddy, Mark Curtis Filstrup, Thomas Kitt and John Scott have a repertoire of over 60 songs & one of which impressed Tony Randall enough to exclaim, "Bravo, Lads!".

Mystery Date
Award-winning a cappella sensation Mystery Date sings to entertain and inspire. This gay male a cappella group has roots as diverse as rock and roll, classical music, musical theater, soul, and collegiate a cappella. They delight audiences with their jazzy sound and sweet, sassy ( and sometimes irreverent) stage presence. Their repertoire defies categorization, ranging from Spike Jones and Gershwin classics to the B52s and contemporary songwriters like Alanis Morrisette and Desiree. They have performed nationwide sharing stages with a cappella legends “The Bobs”, Sweet Honey and the Rock’s Y’saye Barnwell, Lea DeLaria, The Persuasions, Kate Clinton, and Naturally Seven, among others. From New York cabarets and concert halls to theaters and arenas across the country, their performances are fueled with uncompromising musicianship, explosive energy and offbeat humor.

Members: Bob Stern, Joshua Koffman, John Whitley, Ken Brown, Ken Brown

NexTime
NexTime is a mixed quartet comprised of two female Sweet Adeline members (Marsha Baron, and Bette Silver) and two male SPEBSQSA members (Tom Brucia and Gary Wilson). NexTime has had the pleasure of singing at several Minor League Baseball Stadiums around the country. They are also very popular on Valentine 's Day with their Singing Telegrams. They are proud of their newest trophy for the Funniest Quartet at the Bolton Landing Barbershop Celebration; as well as taking 6th place overall out of 60 mixed quartets!

Members: Gary Wilson, Marsha Baron, Bette Silver, Tom Brucia, Tom Brucia

PhilHarmonix
Based in the Philadelphia area, PhilHarmonix is a mixed quartet that performs at regional venues from central Pennsylvania to the Jersey shore. They are a popular feature quartet on chapter shows, community concerts, banquets and trade shows. In August 2000, PhilHarmonix performed at Political Fest, in conjunction with the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. On the national scene, PhilHarmonix won gold medals in both the 1999 Mid-America Barbershop Quartet Expo in St. Louis, Missouri and the 2000 Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.

Members: Amy Carr, Tom Halley, Rick Serpico, Donna Perrone, Donna Perrone

Vox Bop
Vox Bop is a mixed a cappella quartet with ultra-smooth voices reminiscent of The Manhattan Transfer and a wry baby-boomer sensibility. Founded in 1995 by David Deschamps, who also does the arranging, Vox Bop was interviewed and featured in a 12-minute piece on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" on Christmas Eve 1999. They can be currently heard in a national Amazon.com TV ad and were featured as the house band on NBC-TV "The Ainsley Harriott Show." Vox Bop's first CD, THE VOX BOP CHRISTMAS VARIETY HOUR, has been much acclaimed: it was nominated for a 1998 CARA award, with one of the cuts ("Mission of The Three Kings") winning Best Arrangement at the 1999 NYC Harmony Sweepstakes. In the summer of 2000 Vox Bop performed at The Alandia Jazz festival in Finland and has also made a name for itself performing for a variety of clients throughout the Northeast, including Bloomberg Financial, Bloomingdales, Borders Books, The Brooklyn Museum, Filene, The New Press, Starbucks, and many others. The group finished in the top five at the NYC regionals of the 1998 and 1999 Harmony Sweepstakes and is currently at work on their new CD, "Affluenza."

Members: David Deschamps, Johanna Grussner, Maura May, John Bischoff, John Bischoff

Voxy
Voxy is seven dynamic and talented women who have day jobs, but at night love entertaining with the power of their voices alone. Voxy was founded in February of 1999 by several Cornell University grads who recruited new members and now perform at many New York venues and private functions. Members Aley, Allie, Angel, Indu, Margaret 1, Margaret 2 and Maria-Stella already won the award for the most daring video submission.

Members: Allie Shaper, Angel D'Antonio, Indu Raghuraman, Aley Schoonmaker, Margaret Laszczak, Maria-Stella Fountoulakis, Margaret, Aley Schoonmaker

2001 Judges TBA

Complete list of 2001 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 :

Colette Thompson (New York) Colette Thompson has directed or performed in over eleven vocal ensembles, with her group, Stay Tuned, placing 3rd in the 1998 New York Regional of the Harmony Sweepstakes; Colette has performed/recorded with Lukas Foss, Leonard Bernstein, Jesse Norman, Peter, Paul & Mary, and James Levine A billboard-ranked singer/songwriter, she has also managed several events, including, Christmas at NYU, Complex at the Duplex, and An Evening with The Real Group at NYC's Symphony Space. With performances televised via major news programs including Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, and NY1, she is a promoter, producer, adjudicator and an ambassador of vocal music worldwide.

128 Fort Greene Place, Suite 1B, Brooklyn, NY 11217
917-442-2011
colette.thompson (at) mac.com

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