Accent A Cappella is the first student-run a cappella group from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School since it was founded in 2004. The group previously competed in Season 3 of Sing That Thing! and are back with many new voices. They enjoy the challenge of taking a top pop song and making it their own by slowing down the tempo or adding elements of jazz. As a student-run group, Accent A Cappella places a lot of emphasis on listening and providing constructive feedback to one another. They have performed in the International Championship of High School A Cappella (ICHSA) for the past 7 years and made it to the semi-finals in the last 2 years.
The Boston Saengerfest Men’s Chorus is now in its 28th season of celebrating the sonority and tradition of male choral singing. Although officially formed in 1991, the group has its roots back in the 19th century at Harvard Medical School when the idea behind Saengerfests (“Singing Festivals” in Germany) was brought to the U.S by Scandinavian and German immigrants. The Boston Saengerfest Men’s Chorus honors Welsh traditions by singing a mixture of classical, opera, hymn, and folk songs. They have sung regularly for naturalization ceremonies at Faneuil Hall, and in support of charity events around New England.
The Chorallaries are MIT’s first co-ed a cappella group and have been recording music since 1981. They dabble in everything from blues and jazz to musicals and traditional choir music.
While many of the members are STEM majors, the group emphasizes the importance of a balanced lifestyle with the arts and sciences. They are currently in the process of digitalizing their older vinyl albums, the first of which is now available on Spotify: “Making it in Massachusetts.” The group was one of only 20 ensembles worldwide to be selected to appear on the prestigious Best of College A Cappella (BOCA) album for 2018.
Founded in 1947, The Colby Eight is the oldest all-male a cappella group from Colby College in Waterville, Maine. The Colby Eight sing everything from country and pop hits to classic rock and doo-wop songs. One of their signature songs is Mood Indigo by Duke Ellington. In 2016, The Colby Eight became State Champions in Maine's Got Talent, a dynamic musical competition. When the Colby Eight’s 13 members are not traveling, they hold concerts with visiting a cappella groups from other colleges and perform for sports games, and events in the Waterville community.
Going six years strong, Harmonix is making its competition debut on Sing That Thing! From Dartmouth High School, the co-ed group is led by Juan Rodríguez, who has been directing choral and theatrical productions for over 20 years. The 24-member ensemble rehearses every day and sings a variety of songs from pop to Christmas carols. Harmonix is known around the Dartmouth community for performing at school and public events year-round. They have been featured in local news for their performances at nursing homes, churches and fundraisers, such as “Shed a Light on Cancer.”
Traveling all the way from Vermont for their debut on Sing That Thing!, the Hilltones is a select a cappella ensemble from St. Johnsbury Academy. As a part of the school’s music department, The Hilltones is an extracurricular group that meets twice a week to rehearse. They perform annually at First Night St. Johnsbury and the Vermont Madrigal Festival, and have opened for The Boston Children’s Chorus and Canadian fiddler Natalie McMaster. The Hilltones ensemble is also called upon frequently to sing for local civic groups. Sing That Thing! Season 5 will be the Hilltones first competition ever.
Through the vehicle of “small group close harmony,” Joyful Anyway loves to share music with a positive message emphasizing that joy can be found even in the presence of adversity. No two members of Joyful Anyway live in the same town, but they all share a passion of challenging four-part barbershop a cappella. Joyful Anyway’s members are affiliated with several organizations including our Season 2 champions, Vocal Revolution. The group grew out of an annual program for barbershop quartering, New England Harmony Brigade. As an octet, the group works hard to balance and blend two voices on each of the four barbershop parts.
Based in Southborough, Massachusetts, Labyrinth Choir consists of a professional choral conductor, 20 singers, and an accompanist. Under the artistic direction of Dr. Anita Kupriss, the group has sung in several languages including Latin, Italian, Urdu, Estonian, Latvian, Spanish, Hebrew, and French. They have an extensive repertoire including classical, contemporary, Broadway, jazz, and traditional music from different cultures. Labyrinth Choir loves to engage with its audience during performances by encouraging sing-alongs and poetry recitations. Their official mission is, “seeking the heart of music through the art of singing.”
Lexington High School’s Madrigal Singers, known as The Mads, are back with a crop of new voices. The Mads are a select honors chorus that meets four times a week and has a diverse repertoire from Renaissance pieces to 21st century hits. The group has built a reputation over the past 46 years as one of New England's premier high school chamber choruses. The Mads perform without a conductor, so listening and leading from within the group are important techniques that are emphasized in rehearsal. On top of their many achievements, The Mads have performed at Carnegie Hall and toured Greece and Bulgaria.
The Notables, also known as The Notes, are The University of New Hampshire’s original all-female a cappella group started in 1980. They have several professionally recorded albums and arrange all of their own music. The Notes perform at many events on- and off-campus, including their winter and spring shows, benefit concerts, holiday parties, and events for student organizations. In 2017, The Notes were semi-finalists in The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) contest. The group has a strong alumni network called The After Notes, as their motto is “once a Note, always a Note.”
Pitch, Please! is Northeastern University’s newest and fiercest a cappella group, formed in 2012 by two students who were looking to create a competitive vocal ensemble that challenged the standards of traditional collegiate a cappella. Pitch, Please! is a tight-knit, all-female a cappella group that likes to sing songs that empower women. Some of their unique traditions include wearing gold shoes to every performance and eating Asian food before big competitions. Last year, Pitch Please! won 1st place at the 22nd Annual Faneuil Hall Competition and 3rd place at the International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella’s Northeast Quarterfinal.
South Avenue is Plymouth South High School's first contemporary a cappella group. South Avenue is an audition-based ensemble consisting of 16 members. For many of the singers, Sing That Thing! will be their first time competing. While only in their third year as an ensemble, the group has performed in Salem’s one-day a cappella competition, Haunted Harmonies, Any Voices, and The Plymouth 400 Illuminate procession -- a global Thanksgiving event. Outside of their bi-weekly meetings, the group spends a lot of time together and considers themselves to be a close-knit family of goofballs.
Our Sing That Thing! Season 1 overall winners are back with an entirely new group of young voices. This talented group of singers come from the Boston Arts Academy (BAA), Boston’s only public high school for the visual and performing arts. The Spirituals Ensemble loves to sing gospel music and negro-spirituals. When selecting their repertoire, the group studies the historical context behind each piece to convey its message respectfully. The group emphasizes that their songs are more than notes on a page, as many of the pieces have coded messages rooted in slavery. The BAA Spirituals were selected for a GRAMMY Signature Schools Enterprise Award as one of only two schools in New England.
Appearing for the second time on Sing That Thing!, Starving Artists has been delighting audiences on- and off-campus for over 20 years with innovative arrangements. The group consists of 15 students that get together for 7-hour rehearsals each week. Starving Artists perform original and kinetic arrangements created by their music director, Ben Eisenstein. They often compete in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, taking home the Best Vocal Percussion Award two years in a row. The ensemble performs with different nonprofits throughout the year, as well as sing beside and mentor local high school groups.
Strawberry Fields is an auditioned a cappella ensemble from Bristol Eastern High School in Connecticut founded in the 1960s. This is their third time participating in Sing That Thing! The group enjoys singing a variety of genres but mostly leans towards popular pop songs. In 2016, Strawberry Fields won 3rd place at the International Championship of High School A Cappella Northeast Quarterfinal. The students from Strawberry Fields believe that music is a universal language that can promote social change. They strive to inspire their audience with powerful songs about change and civil rights.
Tonehenge was created in 2009 by a group of Boston area men who wanted to continue their passion for a cappella from their high school and college days. Tonehenge enjoys singing songs the men grew up with including Motown and rock and roll. Favoring 60s and 80s hits, the group jokes that their rule is to avoid singing anything written in the last thirty years. The members meet weekly while balancing family lives and a variety of professional careers, from landscape architecture and business development to the pharmaceutical industry. Last year, Tonehenge performed in Sing That Thing! Season 4 and are returning to the stage to up their game.
Univoz is a diverse group of musicians from around the world including Colombia, Ecuador, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Italy, Russia, Trinidad, and Turkey. The group was founded only a year ago by the decorated graduate from Berklee College of Music, Juan José Flores. Flores has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall and Boston Symphony Hall. Univoz mostly sings original compositions and arrangements by its own members. They recently performed in The Lotus Sound Project at Berklee, as well as throughout Central Mexico in an international debut tour. They plan to return to Mexico soon and hopefully tour Japan next.
The Zumbyes are the oldest premiere a cappella group at Amherst College (“The Singing College”). Since 1950, the group had been all-male, but this year they have accepted their first female singer Emma Ratshin. The Zumbyes recently performed at the 35th Silver Chord Bowl, the oldest collegiate a cappella showcase in the region. In 2018, The Zumbyes held a Christmas benefit concert that collected donations for the American Cancer Society.
