22nd Annual

The Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival, the premier American showcase for vocal harmony music, celebrates its 21st year in 2005. 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.

Doors open 5:00 pm. Full menu and bar served before and during show
Tickets available from Ticketmaster 202-432-SEAT or www.ticketmaster.com

Hosted by

2005 Mid Atlantic Champions

2005 Contestants:

Almost Recess is a five-man vocal band from the Washington, DC area whose mission is to bring kickin’ a cappella music to every single person in the world.  This is Almost Recess’s second time around at the Mid-Atlantic and we are happy to have them back, and not just because they are going to videotape the performance!

Cartoon Johnny is an energetic vocal band that pushes the limits of traditional a cappella.  Drawing on influences from classic soul to modern alternative, they've crafted a sound and a repertoire of sure-fire favorites and original music that brings audiences to their feet show after show.  The group has performed up and down the East Coast, and has been honored to share the stage with some of the best in the business, including DC favorites DaVinci's Notebook and 2003 Harmony Sweepstakes Champions The Idea of North. Harmony, rhythm, and soul, with a touch of mischief and a whole lotta fun - that's Cartoon Johnny.

Members: Kieran Daly, Kevin Dixon, Ben Feeney, Mike Henrickson, Darcy Romano, Mike Webb.

Rare Blend: Hailing from central Florida, Rare Blend fuses gospel, vocal Jazz, classical, swing and doo wop.  This will be Rare Blend’s first appearance at the Mid-Atlantic Regional.

Regency:  This outstanding five man vocal musical ensemble began singing on the street corners of Baltimore nearly 20 years ago.  Since then, they have earned a reputation as one of the undisputed finest performing vocal ensembles in America.  Incorporating their own stylistic interpretations of Swing, Motown, Rock 'n Roll, Beatles, and even Country Western into their songs, Regency brings alive the music that America has learned to love. Their repertoire includes the hot sounds of today mixed with the Motown magic of yesterday – including the music of Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, The Righteous Brothers, Sam Cooke, and The Temptations. They also perform soulful renditions of artists from Elvis Presley and James Brown to Boyz II Men and Take 6.  The group's dynamic stage presence, original choreography, and unique ability to engage their audiences produces an energetic and entertaining show with audiences invariably clamoring for more after each finale.  The ensemble has appeared in concert with many national headline acts including Sinbad, Patti LaBelle, The Temptations, Manhattan Transfer, Ramsey Lewis, Spyrogyra, and The Four Tops.  Regency came in second in the 2003 competition and were narrowly bested by Aussie sensations The Idea of North who would go on to win the Nationals.  Watch out for these guys! 

Staticflow is a band with a unique, vocally-generated sound. The group focuses on creating original music filled with passion, drive, and soul, but also performs a number of popular covers.  Each singer in the group brings their own influences to bear on the sound, filling the music with rich vocal textures, soaring leads, and thumping bass and vocal percussion.  This will be Staticflow’s second appearance at the Mid-Atlantic Regional.

Tonic & Gin is a seven-member co-ed a cappella group dedicated to sharing a wide variety of music with intriguing arrangements, amazing soloists, and a lot of fun!  This is T&G’s first appearance in the Mid-Atlantic Regional.

Vocal Obsession is made up of five friends who have sung in various groups for the past twenty years and decided to band together in the service of a cappella music.  Individually, the members have performed throughout the US and Europe.  This is Vocal Obsession’s first appearance.


2004 Judges:

Richard Hsu is the President and founder of the Rock Creek Artists Group, a music booking and management agency representing a selection of acoustic and roots music's rising stars. Artists on the roster have appeared at clubs and festivals across the country, including Boston's Club Passim, New York's Knitting Factory, Philadelphia's Tin Angel, Atlanta's Eddie's Attic, and Alexandria's Birchmere. Prior to starting the agency, he was a founding member of Washington D.C.'s loud--and occasionally lauded--Da Vinci's Notebook. Known for their clever lyrics and madcap antics, the group has been heard and seen on NBC's Today Show, the Drew Carey Show, Comedy Central, NPR, and XM Satellite Radio, and were named A Cappella Group of the Year by the Washington Area Music Association in 2002 and 2003. He has written and arranged CARA-winning arrangements for Da Vinci's Notebook and penned radio jingles and short songs for educational television. Mr. Hsu is a graduate of the University of Maryland and a founder and director of the generics, the first men's a cappella ensemble there.

David Whitman: For a ten year span in the late 1980s and mid 1990s, David Whitman was the basso profundo of Brock & The Rockets. Brock & The Rockets were the first D.C.-area acappella group to headline at the Birchmere, were earlier winners of the Harmony Sweepstates eastern regional, and hosted the regional in D.C. in 1994. Prior to his stint with Brock & Rockets, Whitman bassed for six years for the Boston-based quintet, The Moving Violations. He last served as a judge at the D.C. regional in 2002.

Cal Sexton has been singing in a cappella groups since the eighth grade, when his chorus director asked how many boys wanted a pass to get out of Homeroom and sing instead. Cal raised his hand, and that’s how it all began. At the age of 19, he became the tenor of then current Barbershop Harmony Society’s International Champion Quartet, The Lads of Enchantment. By the age of 21, Cal had moved to Los Angeles, and spent the next ten years as a full-time professional group singer.  On the road, on television, films, commercials, and recordings, Cal has performed with Judy Garland, Julie London, Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Dean, Glen Campbell, the Norman Luboff Choir, the Robert DeCormier Singers and many others. After more than 10 years of singing for a living, Cal decided it was time to make singing his avocation instead of a vocation. When asked why he decided to leave full-time singing, Cal replied, “For over 10 years I got paid for what I would do for nothing. I figured that sooner or later they’d get wise to me, so, I got out.”  Since then, Cal has continued with his singing through the Barbershop Harmony Society, as a quartet singer, chorus director, coach, and Certified Judge. Cal earned his Chorus Gold Medal as a member of the ten times International Chorus Champion, the Vocal Majority, of Dallas, Texas.

Carolyn Sexton is no newcomer to the Harmony Sweepstakes – she and husband Cal were both judges at the 2001 and 2002 competitions.  For most of her adult life, Carolyn has been a proud member of Sweet Adelines International.  She became an International Quartet Champion in this organization of women who teach and train the art of singing 4-part a cappella harmony, barbershop-style.  During her long association with this singing organization, Carolyn served as an award-winning Chorus Director, Judge, Education Faculty member and Coach of many outstanding choruses and quartets from all over the U.S. & Canada.  After switching voice parts recently (from tenor to bass), she is now working in a new combination called Gold Dust.  Who knows…we may see them on the Harmony Sweepstakes stage in the future!  Her latest passion is founding a new mixed a cappella chorus in the greater Frederick, MD area.

Complete list of 2005 national participants

Prizes

Winner represents the Mid Atlantic in the Harmony Sweepstakes National A Cappella Festival

A set of Shure SM 58 microphones

A selection of compact discs from the Primarily A Cappella catalog

Free cassette tape duplication by Discmakers

Interested in Competing?

We are always seeking groups who would like to compete in our events.

Groups of any style are welcome, but you must have between 3 and 7 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 tapes and photos to the regional director :

Ted Donat (Washington DC) has been producing the Mid-Atlantic Regional for five years to sellout crowds at The Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria. Ted has been singing, writing, arranging and producing music for over 20 years. Ted's competitive a cappella experience began in earnest in 1984, when he joined the Amherst College Zumbyes, who would win the coveted Silver Chord Bowl two years running. Ted settled in New York City in 1987, where he would sing in several a cappella groups and play in a number of bands. Most notably, Ted sang with the group Downtown Vocals, which he would eventually go on to direct. In 1999, Ted relocated to the DC area and joined dcVocals, assuming the musical director mantle of that group in 2000. In 2004, Ted left dcVocals in order to concentrate on writing and playing with his original music project (the kind with instruments) - The Slow Burn

3817 Prince William Drive
Fairfax, VA 22031
703-373-5251 fax 703-564-5624
tdonat@gmail.com

The Harmony Sweepstakes National A Cappella Festival
PO Box D
San Anselmo, CA 94979
(415) 455-8602
harmony@singers.com