15th Annual

The Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival, the premier American showcase for vocal harmony music, celebrates its 16th year in 2000. 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 Denver Champions

Octane

Octane first formed in 1994 as an octet with piano accompaniment while students in the School of Music at Northern Illinois University. They released their first CD, "High Performance" in this format and became strictly a cappella in 1996. Their local performance experience includes 2 summer retreats for the American Choral Directors Association, 4 performances of the National Anthem and half time shows for the Chicago Bears, second place in the 1997 Midwest Regional Harmony Sweepstakes, summer festivals throughout the midwest, guest entertainers for the Miss Iowa pageant, and many concerts and workshops at schools throughout the area. They performed as representatives of Softline, Inc. at the Sapphire '98 trade show in Los Angeles and were the resident a cappella ensemble from January to July 1998 aboard Celebrity Cruise Lines in the Caribbean and Alaska. Their second CD, "Grand Slam" was recorded while on board. They can also be heard on a Baker and Taylor Entertainment Services christmas compilation CD along with artists Kenny Rodgers, Michael Bolton, James Galway, and Vanessa Williams. They will return to Celebrity Cruises in May of 1999.

Members: Sean O¹Connor (baritone), Ethan O¹Connor (2nd tenor), Jason Bayle (1st tenor), Kevin Schoenbach (Bass), Tyler Ball(Baritone/Vocal Percussion.

1999 Results
1st	Octane
2nd	JazzKats
3rd	Raging Harmonies
Audience Favorite	Raging Harmonies
Best Original Song	Graffiti Tribe "Make Up Your Mind"

 

1999 Partcipating groups

 

The Fleeners named themselves after a local bakery in northern Colorado and have been performing for 6 years in that area. Since their appearance in the 1997 Harmony Sweepstakes they have been baking up new melodies, some of which will be released on their first CD this summer.

Graffiti Tribe is back after winning the Denver Regionals in 1995 as the Silk Threads then again in 1997, having changed their name to Graffiti Tribe. The Tribe is one of the most popular college groups in America and are looking forward to making their talents known on an international level. This spring they will release their second CD project.

The Jazz Katz discovered their musical chemistry 2 years ago when these 4 singers decided to combine their talents. Rob, Doug, Monica and Rosemary stylize their music after such groups as Manhattan Transfer, Singers Unlimited, The Arbors and the Hi-Lo's. Each member of this group is devoted to entertaining their audiences with great tunes form the past and present...entertainment is the name of the game.

LoDo AirBand. Since winning the Audience Favorite and Best Original Song awards in the 1997 Denver Regional, fans have continued to enjoy this group for it's unique style of original, contemporary a cappella. They have performed all over Colorado for over a quarter million people. Denver audiences should prepare for take off and enjoy the non-stop a cappella sound of the LoDo AirBand.

Octane is a five member male vocal ensemble formed in 1994 by a group of students studying music at Northern Illinois University. This group enjoys performing a wide variety of musical styles including renaissance, rock and country western. They have performed halftime shows for the Chicago Bears and finished second place in the 1997 Midwest Regional Harmony Sweepstakes. Octane is currently working on their second CD.

On The Town is an all female a cappella group! Sisters Cecily and Karen have been singing together since childhood. Their group "Girls' Night Out With Bob" participated in the 1996 Denver Regional Harmony Sweepstakes. Since then Bob moved on and they added Peg, Lara and Andrea to create On The Town's musical magic.

Raging Harmonies met in high school where they started singing arrangements from the Urban Harmony Movement. Now they're blending their unique personalities & styles to create their own arrangements. This group has had the honor to host the Colorado American Choral Director's Association A Cappella Festival for the last 2 years. We hope Denver audiences will agree that their harmonies are raging!

Special Effects is the second all female a cappella group to compete in the 1999 Denver Regional. These four ladies bring many years of musical training and professional experience to their peformances. Special Effects became Silver medalists in May of 1998 in the Sweet Adeline's regional competition. They are simply exciting!

1998 Results