2014 Participating Groups
 | | Boston Accent Quartet
Boston Accent just can't seem to get enough of singing together, so they are members of Sweet Adelines International and Harmony, Incorporated - two international organizations of female barbershop singers. In November 2006, BA won the coveted gold medal at Harmony, Inc's International competition in Jacksonville Florida! In May of 2010, 2012 and 2013 they won first place in the Sweet Adelines North Atlantic Regional competition and competed internationally in Honolulu, HI. Their CD, CROWNED AND DANGEROUS, has been hailed as a "vocal symphony with an ACCENT on fun and entertainment". Members: Karen Rourke, Ruth Berman, Julie Jeffery, Cheryl Brusket
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 | | The Eight Tracks
The Eight Tracks are a close-knit, semi-professional, Boston based a cappella group who bring a wealth of musical experience and passion to their singing. They perform regularly around the greater Boston area, singing energetic arrangements of crowd-pleasing hits and popular classics. Their debut performance was in the Fall of 2013 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Boston, where they took third place/best vocal group among 11 other acts. For The Eight Tracks, it's all about sounding tight and letting loose.
Members: Michela Gardne, Tony Harris, Ashton Howard, Mary McCoy, Diego Reinero, Jordan Smith, Rebecca Corliss
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None of the Above
Celebrating 15 plus years of music-making and camaraderie, None of the Above (NOTA) is an a cappella octet performing an eclectic mix of early polyphony, cutting-edge modern harmony, familiar folk songs, uplifting spirituals, catchy pop tunes, and lush jazz standards. Based in Wellesley, MA, NOTA has performed all over New England at coffeehouses, libraries, churches and other aca-friendly performance spaces. We have won multiple cultural council grant awards in Natick and Wellesley, MA for our diverse programming - including our annual showcase concert, Spring Fev-ah. In 2009, NOTA took third place here at Boston Sweeps, our first and only appearance to date. Our wildly popular inaugural CD, "multiple choice", is now in its second printing, and is available at numerous online outlets. We are delighted to perform today for such a great aca-savvy audience!Members: Elena Rabinowitz, Deb Abberton, Elyssa Miller, Charlie Hodges, Tony Vuolo, Matt Ettore, Jeff Auerbach, Alisa Manning
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 | | Prosper
Prosper is an inspirational a capella group that originated in one of the most musical places in the U.S.-Oakwood University in Huntsville, AL. Musicians like: Brian Mcknight, Take 6, and Committed-the season 2 champions of the hit NBC televesion show 'the sing-off'. We are very excited that our first album will be produced by Committed's Lead vocalist Theron Thomas on our newest album) Arion Mills originated the group by literally walking around campus and listening to various singers sing in and outside of classes! We assembled a bass, 3 tenors and a counter-tenor and the sound was phenomenal! Singing gospel arrangements around campus at various functions slowly turned into us performing pop music for large masses in AL. We are excited to take on the challenge of expanding our sound outside our state and showing musicians and people around the globe that we are hungry to perform and excited to share in the fun and camaraderie that only a cappella music can bring!
Members: Brian McDaniel, Shianne O'Connor, Cheon Brathwaite, Randel Hall, Arion Mills
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Similar Jones
Similar Jones is a vocal band with a combined sound that's bigger than their 7 voices. With a heavy focus on blues and rock, the vocal band uses a powerful rhythm section to get things pumping and tight, and bright background vocals to build the foundation for a wide variety of songs, including favorite covers and their own original tunes. SJ has been gigging around Boston for ... holy crap has it really been 15 years? ... at venues large and small. The current lineup features an opera singer, an astrophysicist, and one original member. Can you guess who they are?Members: Reena Freedman, Rob Opdycke, Nate Piper, Jeremy Sacco, Mike Stevens, Eric Chung
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 | | Six13
Six-man vocal band Six13 brings an unprecedented style of Jewish music to the stage. With songs that range from hip-hop dance tracks to rock anthems, their albums have been the recipients of five Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards and selections to nine different "best of" compilations. This summer, they were chosen as finalists in the casting process for NBC's prime-time series The Sing-Off, and the group has also become an internet sensation, with over 500,000 views on YouTube.Members: Eric Dinowitz, Rob Operman, Craig Resmovits, Jacob Spadaro, Mordy Weinstein, Mike Boxer
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Women of the World
Women of the World was formed to bring women musicians from across the globe onto a common platform to collaborate and create, not only through the sharing of music, but also to explore and celebrate the differences in ideologies, and cultural tenets that exist in the daily lives of women all over the world.
Honoring global folk traditions, their repertoire spans music in 29 languages.
In many ways, the ensemble is a microcosm of the world, with members working closely together, not just to create and perform music, but also learning about each other's countries, cultures, languages, beliefs and practices.
2014 Harmony Sweepstakes champions, nominees for the 2013 Boston Music Awards and 2014 Independent Music Awards, Women of the World has toured North America and Asia, having collaborated with many industry legends including Grammy-award winning vocalist, Bobby McFerrin and African vocal icon, Angelique Kidjo. Women of the World continues to serve as cultural ambassadors of peace and unity through music and has delighted audiences at venues like Carnegie Hall, Blue Note Jazz Club, Boston Symphony Hall, as well as through collaborations with the United Nations, amongst others.Members: Annette Philip, Giorgia Renosto, Deborah Pierre, Ayumi Ueda
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2014 Judges
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Tsunenori “Lee” ABE
Tsunenori “Lee” ABE is an active composer, arranger, performer and producer throughout the country as well as in his native country, Japan. ABE has written music for many types of instrumentation, from solo piano, pop rock band, and big band, to world-class orchestras likes the Boston Pops. While ABE, a winner of S&R Washington Award as a composer, is extremely versatile in many genres, his name is especially known in the vocal jazz world as an arranger both in the US and in Japan. He won the best arranger’s award in 2008 at Harmony Sweepstake. Many of his works, highly praised by such musical personalities as Keith Lockhart of the Boston Pops, Cheryl Bentyne of the Manhattan Transfer, Kim Nazarian of New York Voices, and Cedric Dent of Take 6, are currently published through YAMAHA Music Media, Sunnyside Music and University of Northern Colorado (UNC) Jazz Press, and are being sung by many vocal jazz lovers across the nation. |
Anne C. S. Kalis
Anne C. S. Kalis has been involved with theater and a cappella for over 20 years. While living in Chicago for 6 years, she sang with a semi-professional co-ed group called Lake Shore Jive. After moving to Boston, she quickly found In the Moment, an all female a cappella group, and performed with them for nearly 8 years. Anne has performed on stage as the lead in Diary of Anne Frank and Coyote Ugly. She has sung in numerous musicals, including the cabaret style show, An Evening with Stephen Sondheim and recently played the role of Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof. Currently, Anne is a preschool teacher and also sings part-time at her temple during religious services. She produces an annual a cappella concert called Acappelooza to raise money for her children's elementary school. |
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Amy Malkoff
Involved in a cappella since college (Kenyon College), Amy Malkoff was a founding member and bandleader of the award-winning groups All About Buford and Deadline Poet, and she has appeared on stage and in the studio with such luminaries as Wayne Brady, Jonatha Brooke, The Persuasions, Ellis Paul, Vance Gilbert, GrooveLily, Patty Griffin, and Dar Williams. She has a degree in music from Kenyon College, with music studies at Youngstown State University and masters-level coursework at the New England Conservatory of Music. She is currently Media Director for the Women's A Cappella Association, as well as being on the board, and the Marketing Director for the A Cappella Education Association (presenting the first National A Cappella Convention in Memphis next week!). Amy served on the board and was the Web Content Director for CASA (Contemporary A Cappella Society) and is a longtime judge for the International Championships of Collegiate and High School A Cappella. She is a writer, designer and runner of social media campaigns (www.amymalkoff.com), as well as a singer/songwriter. Amy's music has appeared on both the Rounder Records and Hear Music/Starbucks labels. @amalkoff |
Brian O’Connell
At UMass/Lowell Brian directs the Chamber Singers, University Choir, and teaches Voice and Conducting. Brian teaches Secondary Choral Methods in the graduate program at The Boston Conservatory and for 12 years has been the director of the Sarteano Chamber Choral Conducting Workshop in Tuscany. He has been on the faculties of Berklee College, Tufts University, Boston University, New England Conservatory and Northeastern. In 2005 he was the first recipient of the Massachusetts ADCA Award for Choral Excellence.
Brian is an accomplished contemporary a cappella singer, having performed for many years with the Boston based professional group No Strings Attached. He also currently adjudicates both collegiate and professional a cappella competitions throughout New England. In 2010, Brian joined the panel of judges for choral performance, voice & conducting for the national competition, The American Prize. |
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Christopher Scranton
Christopher Scranton sang with the nationally-known Beelzebubs during his time at Tufts University, which included the the award-winning "Infinity" album and the group's first network television appearance, on "The Late Show with David Letterman". He began performing a cappella in high school, as part of a group directed by one of the founders of the Vineyard Sound, and continues to support a cappella music to this day with his work as President of the Bubs Foundation. |
 
Complete list of 2014 participants
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 :
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Dan Campagna (Boston)
has been a part of the a cappella community for over 10 years and is the co-founder and business manager of the Boston-based group, Fermata Town. Behind his leadership, Fermata Town has released two award-winning albums, performed at international festivals and appeared on network TV. In 2013, Fermata Town captured the Boston Harmony Sweepstakes championship before placing third overall at Nationals where they took home "Best Original Song" honors. He is a founding board member of the Contemporary A Cappella League and voluteer program manager for the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA). An active member in the Boston a cappella community, Dan enjoys attending local shows and volunteering for Varsity Vocals during ICCA season.
Prior to Fermata Town, Dan sang collegiate a cappella at Emmanuel College in Encore!, the college’s first-ever coed group which later changed its name to In Good Company.
Outside of a cappella, Dan works fulltime at Emmanuel College as the Director of Athletic Communications. Dan is also an Assistant Coach to the University of Massachusetts Boston Women’s Soccer Team and an adjunct professor at Lasell College where he teaches a sports journalism course.
860-874-5191
FermataTown@gmail.com
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