Powerful, entertaining and bursting with energy, this contemporary a cappella octet blends familiar sounds to create its own expression of American vocal music. The ensemble's voices -- pairs of sopranos, altos, tenors and basses -- combine in rich harmony to create a seamless blend of sound. Saluting the boundless and unpredictable American spirit, Pieces of 8 combines classical music influences with the sounds of jazz, pop, rock, Reggae, doo-wop, gospel and soul to create a multilayered, nearly orchestral texture. Pieces of 8 was founded by Charles Mead, the ensembles artistic director, with support from the Professional Studies Program at the St. Louis Symphony Community Music School (formerly the St. Louis Conservatory and School for the Arts).

Mead started his career in Los Angeles, where, in addition to being active as a composer, arranger and educator, he was the director of the electronic composing and arranging program at the Grove School of Music and a MIDI consultant to several prominent recording/television studios, including Group Four and NBC. All of the music performed by Pieces of 8 is written or arranged for the ensemble by Mead, who considers his main musical influences to be Bach, Bartok, Debussy, James Brown, Tower of Power and the Neville Brothers. The group remains committed to the celebration of music and the musical styles from various ethnic cultures. Each of Mead's compositions and arrangements has a unique flavor and sound, creatively combining melodic, rhythmic and harmonic material from diverse sources. Pieces of 8 tours nationwide, concertizing for adults as well as for children and teenagers.

Its performances have taken the ensemble to universities and performing arts centers in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida. As an important part of its touring, Pieces of 8 undertakes residency and educational outreach activities tailored to all levels of students, from elementary school through college. Highlights of its American tours have included performances at New York's Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art. Pieces of 8 has appeared on Fox Television in New York and nationally on NBC's Today show. Pieces of 8 and MMB Music have published an illustrated children's book with audio tape, The Gingerbread Man, the first in the "HandClaps and FingerSnaps" series, featuring some of the world's best-loved tales as adapted and set to music by Charles Mead. Its newest CD recording, "Hook, Line & Sinker," celebrates Pieces of 8's eclectic, sophisticated style with music ranging from Gershwin, Loesser, Weill, Lennon and McCartney to the original compositions of Charles Mead.