Wyatt's Torch is Denver's newest bar ready and willing to open its doors to
college a
cappella.

Wyatt's Torch is close to I225 and Parker Rd.  Please go to
www.coloradoacappella.com/
projects to get exact directions.

September 6th will feature CU Boulder groups Mile 21 and Extreme Measures.  Both
have
competed on a national scale and are very very talented!

September 13th will feature CU Boulder group BufferZone.

September 27th will feature DU's Idiosingcrasies!

Biographies of all the groups performing at Wyatt's Torch are available at
www.coloradoacappella.com/members.

There is a $5 charge to see the show.  90% of the cover charges will go directly
to the
college groups to fund their upcoming 2007-2008 concerts and recordings.

When you are there make sure you thank the owners Barb and her husband for
opening
Wyatt's Torch to the wonderful world of college a cappella.

http://www.coloradoacappella.com

For Colorado a cappella fans

Messages In This Digest (1 Message)

1.

Fw: New Virus Alert From: Rol Sharette

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Message

1.

Fw: New Virus Alert

Posted by: "Rol Sharette" rjsharette@...   rjsharette

Sun Sep 16, 2007 6:30 pm (PST)

Please read this.

This has been checked out on snopes.com and appears to be the real thing! - see below and be aware!
Here is a link to the snopes page: http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp or

www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp

PLEASE SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU CAN!!
A new virus has just been discovered that has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive ever. This virus was discovered yesterday afternoon by McAfee . This virus simply destroys Sector Zero from the hard disk, where vital information for its functioning is stored.

This virus acts in the following manner:
It sends itself automatically to all contacts on your list with the title: "You've received a Post Card from a Family member".

As soon as the supposed virtual card is opened the computer freezes so that the user has to reboot. When the ctrl+alt+ del keys or the reset button are pressed, the virus destroys Sector Zero, thus permanently destroying the hard disk. In just a few hours this virus caused panic in New York, according to a news broadcast on CNN.

This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft itself.
So don't open any mails with subject: "A Post Card from ..." As soon as you get the mail, delete it!! Even if you know the sender !!!

Please pass on this mail to all of your friends.

Rol Sharette
Boulder, CO
888 949 2857

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Anyone interested in a cappella music needs to be at DU Oct 5th, 6th,7th!!

$50 for weekend pass including 2 concerts & 2 days of clinics

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday October 5th 730 pm: College Vocals Competition.

Every major college group in the state will be present including but not limited to:

Colorado College Back Row, UCD 7, CU Boulder's Mile 21, DU's Idiosingcrasies, & CSU's Resonant Ramblings.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased through the mail for will call or at the door.

Please see our article in CVJS Songster or download the form from http://www.coloradoacappella.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday Oct 6th: All day conference held at DU Campus

Clinics and classes all day including an open beatbox/vp competition.  1st one of its kind in the United States! 

To see it you have to register for a weekend pass!!

Clinicians include:

Joe Herbert - Principal Arranger for Groove Society

Matt Murphy - Best Vocal Percussionist at Rocky Mountain Harmony Sweeps

Norm Silver - Business Manager for 17th Ave All Stars

Tim Jones - Founded Moosebutter & brainchild of CASA originals podcast

Barry Brown - 17th Ave All Stars

Zack Freeman - Founder of Graffiti Tribe & America's Got Talent Contestant

Tony Huerta - Sonic Audio Productions

Check out the schedule online at http://www.coloradoacappella.com/conference

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oct 6th at 730 pm: Saturday Night Professional Showcase

Groove Society & Face!  Together!

Davis Auditorium on DU Campus

Tickets are $15

Get your ticket order form online at www.coloradoacappella.com

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Most Inclusive Gathering of Colorado A Cappella Amateurs and Professionals EVER

http:/www.coloradoacappella.com

---

Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:04:21 -0600
From: chris.schenk@...

Hello everyone!  We have here our finalized schedule and have the descriptions of all of our classes and bios for all of our clinicians.  Read on for a plethora of information regarding this awesome conference we're going to experience in less than two weeks!

We have been working hard to solidify all of the information below, but be warned that details may change between now and when the conference begins, but we will be sure to notify you of changes as soon as we know!

This information has not yet been updated on the website, but will be soon.
http://www.coloradoacappella.com/

If you are receiving this email and have no idea what I'm talking about, it could be I have typoed an address, so please let me know if you do not wish to receive further emails about this conference.  That also goes for anyone else.

**************************************************************************

Here is the outline of this email (it's extensive!):

1. Competition and Concert Tickets!
2. Schedule Online
3. Where is the Conference?

• Directions
  
• Parking
  

4. Volunteers Needed!
5. Friday Night Competition Logistics

• Check-in and sound-checks
• Sound Equipment
• Where competitors go during the competition
• Staging and timing during the competition
• Who goes first?  Who goes second?
• Judging and score tallying
• Prizes!
  
• Further information
  

6. Beatbox Competition on Saturday
7. Sunday One-on-One Sessions
8. Feedback about the 2007 Vocal Conference
9. Future Planning
10. Clinician Bios and Class Descriptions
11. Spread the Word!

**************************************************************************

Competition and Concert Tickets!
We are delighted to bring you guys Groove Society and Face for the Saturday night professional showcase!  They are going to totally rock the house along with the winners of the Friday night competition.  We have tickets available for both Friday and Saturday night, so talk to your family and friends and get them involved (especially for Friday night, as they can sway the vote in your group's favor!).

Friday night:  $10
Saturday night: $15

Our event coordinator James Cronk is heading up ticket sales, so please contact Jim directly to get your tickets today!

Contact Jim via:
email: James.Cronk@...
phone: 303-513-2399

Schedule Online

First off, the conference schedule is online at this location:
http://www.coloradoacappella.com/IMAGES/CA%20Schedule%202007.xls

Saturday is fairly self-explanatory.  Any extra details will be given out during the introduction session at the start of the day.  Exact descriptions of classes and bios for clinicians are at the bottom of this email.

Saturday night is also self-explanatory, just show up after dinner and enjoy the show!  However, the one group who will be opening for the professional groups will be needed for extra sound checks that night.

Where is the Conference?
The conference is being held at the University of Denver, near I-25 and University Blvd in Sturm Hall off E. Asbury Ave and S. Race Street.  Below is a map of the DU north-campus, and Sturm Hall is building number 12 on the map.

http://www.du.edu/maps/main_nw.html

Here is a Google map of the exact location of Sturm Hall:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=&daddr=39.679828,-104.963508&mrsp=1&sz=16&mra=mi&sll=39.679332,-104.959774&sspn=0.009777,0.018046&ie=UTF8&om=1&ll=39.680703,-104.962006&spn=0.009776,0.018046&z=16

Directions
Access to the conference is very easy and direct from I-25.  From I-25, take the University Blvd. exit Southbound, and take a right on Asbury (which is about 1/4 mile south of I-25, so it is fast).  Go ahead about one block on Asbury and you will see Sturm Hall on your left.

You can also use the Google Maps link above to get directions from any location.  Simply type in your starting address or intersection in the top-left directions box to have Google map the route for you.

Parking
Immediately north of Sturm Hall is a parking garage, and immediately west is a parking lot.  All lots are pay-to-park lots for $1/hour, so we recommend that you carpool as much as you can to the conference.  If you can manage to find parking on the street, it is free!

Volunteers Needed!
We are in need of volunteers to help with the conference as a whole.  A lot of the time is needed for the Friday and Saturday night shows, but we do need people for the entirety of Saturday and Sunday.  Volunteers do get to attend the two shows for free on Friday and Saturday night, as well as attend the clinics during the day if they are so inclined (as long as they aren't working during those times).

We need volunteers for the following:

• Ushers, checking tickets, sales, will-call
• Concessions, cd sales
• Stage crew, setup/tear-down of concerts
• Clinician/director assistants

Of course we would not be able to list everything we may need someone to do, but you get the idea.  If you know anyone who is interested, please have them contact me, Chris Schenk.

Contact Chris via:
email: Chris.Schenk@...
phone: 303-949-7020

Friday Night Competition Logistics
These details are very important for everyone to know, so read carefully.

Check-in and sound-checks
Check-in is at 4:45pm Friday afternoon.  Our wonderful sound engineer and clinician Tony Huerta will be explaining the rules of the sound equipment and how organizing sound-checks for each group.  If your entire group cannot be there at 4:45, you MUST have at least one representative from your group there at 4:45 to listen to Tony or your group will NOT be competing.  Sound checks follow immediately after Tony's explanation and go from 5:00-7:00pm, so make sure your entire group (or as many people as you can muster) are there at that time!  Sound checking is NOT time to rehearse, you need only to sing one song, or parts of a song to be balanced properly on the sound board.

Sound Equipment
No groups can bring any equipment to use in the competition, only sound equipment run by Tony will be used.  For microphone equipment, you will be using the following:

• Two Rode nt5 area microphones mounted on a stand in the center criss-crossed in an X pattern
• Two Shure sm58 microphones for solo singing
• One Shure sm58 for a bassist
• One VP mic, most likely an Audix D6, but Tony will have the final word on what's used

All groups will be EQ'd equally by Tony.

Where competitors go during the competiton
The competition is split into two halves, with 5 groups performing in the first half and 4 groups performing in the second half with a 15 minute intermission in between.  If you are performing in the first half, you will be downstairs on the first floor in our staging area in queue to go on stage and perform.  If you are performing in the second half of the show, you will have seats in the very top middle of the auditorium, the top five rows.  At intermission the groups swap, and those who were in the first half take seats in the top of the auditorium and the other groups go down to our staging area.  I will say this part explicitly, do not leave anything in your seats as you will be vacating those seats for other groups!

We will have two rooms for competitors on the first floor to stow your things with people watching them for you while you perform.  You will have the hallways and other empty rooms you can find to warm-up/rehearse before you perform.

Staging and timing during the competition
Groups will have a maximum of 10 minutes to perform their songs.  You will be cut off at 10 minutes regardless of whether or not you are finished with a song. 

The 40th Parallel is opening the competition with a single song, which means that the first group performing will go on stage at 7:45pm, so be ready at 7:30!  The groups who are next in line must be ready to go at the staging area in front of the door to the auditorium.  Time between groups is a maximum of 15 minutes, 10 minutes for performance and 5 minutes for entrace/exit/sound-board time, so if you are going third, you need to make sure you are at the door and queued up when group two is going on at 8:00pm!

Groups will enter stage-left and exit stage-right and walk back to the door in which they entered the auditorium and wait until intermission or the show is over.  If we have extra seats in the auditorium for people, we will have volunteer ushers take you to the seats, but we won't know the capacity of the auditorium until the night of the competition.

Who goes first?  Who goes second?
When groups arrive at check-in at 4:45, pieces of paper numbered 1-9 will be dropped into a hat and randomly selected by groups which will determine the order of performance for the evening.  Remember that groups 1-5 will be in the first half and groups 6-9 will be in the second half.

Judging and score tallying
We will have 3-4 professional people judging the performance of the groups.  The judges will judge on three criteria, to be explained when everyone arrives at the competition.  There is a fourth criteria for every group which is the voting done by the audience!

We will be handing out small voting pieces of paper that will have a single-line for a best/favorite group write-in.  At the end of the competition we will collect the papers from the audience and tally the votes while 40th Parallel closes the show.  Be sure to tell your family/friends to bring a pen or two so they can write-in their votes!

Remember, the winner of the Friday night show will get to open for the professional showcase on Saturday night!  We will be furiously tallying votes and scores to announce the winner after 40th Parallel is done singing so everyone will know who is Top-Dog!  Or Doggies!

Prizes!
I just wanted to remind everyone of what we have for prizes for the top three winners of the competition, and those are:

1. Five free hours of studio time at Sonic Audio Productions (with Tony Huerta, one of our fabulous clinicians and our sound engineer!)
2. Professional photo session for your group
3. Free admission into next year's conference
   

Futher information
If anyone has any extra questions about what is happening Friday night, please email all of the Colorado A Cappella board at info@....  This email goes to all of us who are in the know.

Beatbox Competition on Saturday
What A Cappella conference would be complete without a beabox competition?  The competition will occur at 12:00 after the third clinic on live sound taught by Tony.  Everyone will already be in Davis Auditorium, so you don't even have to go anywhere.

The competition will consist of individuals having two minutes to perform a beatbox solo.  Then the top three people will be selected and will perform in the Three-Way Beatbox Battle !  During this final round the vocal percussionists will be battling back and forth, directed by one of the judges to go back and forth, demonstrating interesting improv ability as well as giving a fantastic show to everyone in general.

We will have signups on Saturday morning for those who wish to compete for Top-Dog of the Vocal Percussion pack.  Sign-ups are first-come, first-serve because we will have limited time for the competition, so think about it and be prepared drop some sick beats on Saturday!

Sunday One-on-One Sessions
We are very excited about having our clinicians spend some quality one-on-one time with individuals and groups on Sunday.  We will have 30-minute slots for those vocal percussionists who want time with Zach Freeman, one amazing beatboxer.  Groups will sign up for 1-hour slots with a clinician.  We will all meet at 10:45am and then will break out into the first session at 11:00am.

Sign-ups will be all-day Saturday in a first-come, first-serve fashion.  We will not turn groups away from individual time with clinicians, but we do have limited clinicians, so groups who sign up late will be going the second hour.

Feedback about the 2007 Vocal Conference
Your feedback on the conference is absolutely crucial for us to hear.  Colorado A Cappella was founded by a small handful of singers who have no experience running a conference of any kind, but we've been working our butts off to make this as amazing as we can for everyone, and we want to hear what you think about it!

There are four ways you can give us feedback:

1. We will be placing a feedback form in the programs that are given out to everyone that anyone can fill out, even people simply coming to see the competition or professional showcase
   
2. Feedback on Sunday for the groups who are not involved in one-on-one sessions
3. Yell at us from down the hall letting us know just how awesome (or not) we are with whatever we did
4. Send us email at feedback@...

We created Colorado A Cappella specifically to give ourselves opportunities to sing more and interact with others who share in our passion for singing, so we want to do this right.  We want to hear back from everyone so we can improve upon what we do here and do an even better job next time.

Future Planning
Our imaginations may be too big for the world to handle, but we are already starting to plan for future events.  We already have a Christmas showcase for the season, and we are looking into venues as you are reading this.  Keep an ear open for more information on that event to come in December.

We are always open to other ideas for events people would like to see.  Let us know!  If you have an idea, please contact our event coordinator James Cronk:

email: James.Cronk@...
phone: 303-513-2399

Clinician Bios and Class Descriptions
Tim Jones - Vocality Singers

With a performing background that includes jazz/rock/ska/bluegrass/marching bands, orchestras, musical theater, street theater, improv comedy, mime (!), percussion ensembles, storytelling, and solo vocal gigs, Tim (aka moosetim, aka Mr. Tim, aka Ernie Stuckowitz, aka Patrick Armageddon) is a walking, talking resource for the performing arts.  His experience in teaching, conducting, design, marketing, music production, artistic direction, dance, and stage technology has proven valuable in working with performers around the country.  In addition to private coaching, group consultation and individual voice instruction, Tim has performed and taught classes at the East Coast and West Coast a cappella summits, SoJam, and for students from Boston to San Francisco.

In 1999 Tim created the comedy a cappella quartet moosebutter, which within four years had won first runner-up at the national Harmony Sweepstakes competition and established a reputation for wild, improvisatory, interactive shows and surprisingly decent musicality.  Since then Tim has created a multitude of popular and award-winning groups of varying configurations.

Tim has been composing music for as long as he has been performing, and is one of the world's foremost advocates for originality in a cappella performance.  He is the host of the Contemporary A Cappella Society's A Cappella Originals podcast, composes music for vocal and choral ensembles, corporate clients, and independent musicians, and crusades tirelessly in support of original and innovative vocal music.

In a stunning example of kharmic irony, Tim is currently the male vocalist for the Boulder, CO cover band, The Fever.

Tim teaches, writes, arranges, coaches, creates, directs, records, critiques, judges, and, of course, performs as much as (and sometimes more than) is humanly possible.  He is completing a Master's degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He also manages the Vocality Music Company, a representation and resource business for top a cappella talent in the Rocky Mountain region ( www.vocalitysingers.com).  He has a lovely wife, four disco-dancing children, and big hair.  That he keeps under the passenger seat of his minivan.  The hair, not the kids.

Classes taught by Tim:

• Be better NOW and WHO ARE YOU?
•  Easy things you can do RIGHT NOW to kick your group to another level at rehearsals, performances, marketing, getting an audience, and more!  Also, how have successful music acts branded themselves?  How, really, do you get people to show up at your concert?  What can you do to stand out from the crowd?   What is your image?  Who are you trying to attract?  WHO ARE YOU?
• A Cappella Originals -- a myth?
• "A Cappella Originals" is like a comic book superhero, fighting the evil forces of bad stereotypes and their bland cover lackeys." (Chad Bergeron, acapodcast.com)  Join Mister Tim, the host of the Contemporary A Cappella Society's A Cappella Originals Podcast, as he tells you how to write amazing songs today!  Also, tools of the trade, teaching songs to your group, recording original songs, parallels to other arts.
• Me, Bass.  You, Mortal.
• Come talk about bassy stuff -essential bass skills, exercises, skills, making bass-y noises, using your equipment for your advantage, bass cheats, bass and percussion, and more.  Including handy info gleaned from the best basses in the business.

Tony Huerta - Sonic Audio Productions/Take 6 Sound Engineer

Tony Huerta started his career as a professional singer for Elitch Gardens in 1990.  While attending the University of Northern Colorado and majoring in Vocal Music, he founded his first A Cappella group with Matthew Selby (LA, CA) called "Exact Change", which later moved to the Seattle area and became the popular vocal group, "M-Pact".
 
In 1998, Tony joined the groundbreaking A Cappella group called "The 17th Avenue Allstars" and performed for ten years as the Vocal Percussionist, Arranger, Recording Producer, and Baritone/Tenor, performing in about 70-80 concerts per year across the United States.

His performance credits include:  Opening for Orleans, Fire Fall, Royal Crown Review, The Temptations, The Persuasions (including a solo performance with the legendary Jerry Lawson), The Coasters, Three Dog Night, Grand Funk Railroad, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and Randy Bachman (Bachman Turner Overdrive), Leslie Gore, and Gary Puckett.  Huerta's national Anthem credits are: The Denver Nuggets (6 Years), The Broncos for all home games in 2005-2006, and The Colorado Avalanche 2004-2006 Back-up to Jake Schroeder.

Eko Recording Studio was founded in 1998.  Since 2000, Huerta has produced and engineered A Cappella CD Projects for: The "17th Avenue Allstars", "Groove Society", "Moosebutter", Vocality Music, "Face", DU "Idiosingcrasies", US Air Fore Academy "In the Stairwell", "Sound Of The Rockies", Skyline Chorus", "Storm Front", "Nexus", and "Ignition" (the Frontier Airlines Penguins).

In January 2007, Huerta changed his business name to Sonic Audio Productions to reflect a new direction as a mix engineer for live a cappella concerts.  His current clients include; "Face", "Groove Society", and exclusive Front of House Engineer for 10 time Grammy Award winners, "Take 6".

Huerta continues to tour with Take 6 and record a cappella music in his Lodo recording studio near Coors Field, furthering his passion for vocal music.  His website is: http://www.sonicaudiopro.com

Classes taught by Tony:

• Preparing for the Studio
• Avoid the pitfalls of wasted recording studio time.  Digging deep into preparation for recording a great CD of a cappella music is hard work; yet worth it.  This clinic also teaches skills to help your group tighten and become better in preparation for the studio and live performance.  Topics include: Are you really singing the right notes, style points = 0, Solo Prep, Beatbox prep, Background parts prep, Schedule and timing, and "What's that click and note in my ear?"
• Beatbox Sound with Zack Freeman
• Sound systems were not made to reproduce the human vocal percussionist and microphones are not made to spit into.  So where does that leave the Beatbox artist?  With Bad Sound.  I say, no longer!  Come hear and learn the distinct differences between good and bad, focusing on mic selection, EQ and technique.
• Live Sound 101
• It will be definitely more than a basics level class.  This will be a very detailed and "ears" on experience into the world of sound systems as they relate to vocal performance.  Topics include: Signal flow, EQ, compression, effects, room acoustics, channel settings, and over-all mixing techniques.
• Be a producer of a great CD
• Not all musicians can be Grammy award winning producers.  But, you can have the knowledge to produce your own CD's and have them knock people's "ears" off.  I'd say "socks" but they have nothing to do with vocal CD production.  There are secrets that the pros know.  There are well produced CD's and poorly produced CD's.  You'll hear the difference and have the tools to make your next product shine.  Topics include: Arranging for the CD, Tracking, Editing, Mixing, Mastering, and CD Duplication.
  

Joe Herbert - UNC Jazz Press Published Artist/Baritone of "Groove Society" a cappella

Joe Herbert is co-founder and co-director of Groove Society, and is currently Director of Vocal Jazz at Metropolitan State College of Denver.  He earned his Bachelor of Music degree in theory and composition from the University of Northern Colorado, and has worked as a clinician and adjudicator at jazz festivals, and jazz camps throughout the United States.  While singing with UNC's Grammy-nominated ensemble, Vocal Jazz 1, Joe won several prestigious Downbeat Magazine Awards.  Since then, his arrangements and originals have become widely popular with high school and college jazz choirs around the world.
 
Joe now spends much of his time creating a fresh sound for Groove Society; exploring new ways to exploit the human voice utilizing intricate rhythms and extended jazz harmonies. In addition to writing and arranging, Joe is also an accomplished jazz and Latin trumpeter in the Denver area, and draws on this instrumental background to enrich his writing and singing style.

Classes taught by Joe:

• Arranging
• The ability to take a popular song and make a purely vocal arrangement of it
  is an art that requires a great deal of imagination and creativity.  Learn
  the fundamentals of making arrangements that are fun and exciting to hear
  and perform.
• Improv and Circlesongs
• This clinic is an experience in creating CIRCLESONGS, and spontaneous
  polyphonic compositions as a vehicle for improvisation.  Learn the
  elements of CIRCLESONGS and participate in creating them on the spot!  Fun,
  challenging, out-of-the-box!

Matt Murphy - Vocal Percussionist of "Groove Society" a cappella

For as long as Matt can remember he had difficulty sitting still. Friends, family, teachers, and perfect strangers would plead with him to stop tapping on desks, drumming on knees, (mostly his own) and stomping rhythmically. Often these people would reward him for any effort he could muster to stop the incessant drumming "for five frigging minutes!" But alas, he could not. Weirdly enough, the irritating habit once controlled to some degree, eventually proved useful as the role of the Eagleview Middle School jazz drummer in Colorado Springs where he was born and raised.
 
At Air Academy High School under the direction of Dave Filsinger, Matt was asked to sing bass for the infamous Inflatable Misconceptions, an a cappella group locally famed (very locally) for its ability to procure uncontrollable screams from even the most subdued of high school girls. He then was placed into the mixed a cappella group, Out of Blue, where he had his first real exposure to jazz, vocal and otherwise. By the end of high school he was fortunate enough to have performed as a vocalist and drummer, in events as the Colorado All State Jazz Choir, as a finalist in CHSAA, (Colorado High School Arts Association) teen angsty garage bands, various variety shows and musicals, drum-line, formal percussion circles, and as a composer of an original live score to the Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

He now attends Denver University's Lamont School of Music majoring in jazz drums and mentoring in creative writing. This being his fourth year with reality creeping closer still, he plans on attending graduate school in the future. He feels privileged with a consistent drumming, singing, gigging, and rehearsing schedule with combos inside of school and out and is excited to be applying vocal percussion to Groove Society. He also personally enjoys pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, cliches, and feels a little strange referring to himself in the third person at the time of this writing.

Classes taught by Matt:

• Intro to Vocal Percussion/Beatbox
• Learn the basics of how to start in the wonderful world of vocal percussion.  Topics include: How to make your own sounds, anatomy of the human noise maker, what actually makes drums sound like drums?, and building the beat.

Zack Freeman - America's Got Talent/formerly of "Grafitti Tribe" A Cappella Beatbox

Zechariah Freeman started his a beatbox career at a young age. In the 90's Zack performed and toured with Denver based a cappella group Graffiti Tribe, opening up for Destiny's Child, being judged the "Best Vocal Percussionist" at the National Harmony Sweepstakes in 1997, and enjoying life on the road. Zack returned to Denver in 1999 and began using his Beatbox skills for the 17th Avenue Allstars including his featured performance on their self-titled release in 2000.

Zack's performance record is also where his influences come from. Playing with live drummers and DJ's has given him an excellent inner metronome and a unique style of beat box that drops the beat dead in the pocket. Zack is currently a member of the Denver and New York based CueZone Collective and an artist on the CueZone Record Label. Zack also plays with the Denver based, 17th Avenue Allstars during the summer festival season.

Zack produces breaks and hip-hop beats using a sequencer and ties it all together with vocal harmonies. With this combination, Zack delivers a savvy, super groove that is found in only one place. His mouth.

Zack Freeman is currently the Programming Coordinator for Quote …Unquote Inc. (the Cable access channel for Albuquerque NM.) He is also one of the music directors for Out ch'yonda art space in Barelas, NM. He recently performed on America's Got Talent and truly is a ground breaking Beatbox phenom!!

Classes taught by Zack:

• Advanced Beatbox
• What is this idea about drumming with your mouth? Topics include: Improvisation: learning to jam and groove with other instrumentation, Learning to apply fills, Feeling the structure of a jam and finding the head of a groove and learning to follow a band-leader, Cool noises vs. timekeeping, short discussion about the mixing of hip-hop and acapella, Looping and sampling: demonstration and group exercise with the electrix repeater and boss 505, Talking the beat: learning how to vocalize ideas and turn the ideas into beats.

Barry Brown - 17th Avenue Allstars, Baritone

Barry Brown is a director, choreographer, arranger, educator, adjudicator, past Sweepstakes host and judge and currently performing with the 17th Avenue All-Stars.  He was born and raised in Colorado, singing with the top vocal groups of his educational career as well as touring nationally and internationally with various performing groups. He spent his college years at University of Northern Colorado, graduating with a B.A. in music/theater.

During his years as a theater performer, he was introduced to the All-Stars through originating the role of "Barry" in their a cappella musical "up on the roof" playing 10 months at the Galleria Theater at the Denver Performing Arts Complex. He also performed at most of the major theater venues in Denver, including the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.  He has lead various workshops and master classes on topics such as improv, acting, stage presence, vocal production, and passionate performing.

Classes taught by Barry:

• Stage Performance & The Soloist
• What makes a performance hot?  What make sit absolutely cold and boring?  Make sure to bring your performance skills and an open mind to this class.  Topics include:  Stage presence, Staging, Movement for performance, vocal production, and passionate performing.

Norm Silver - Allstar Entertainment/17th Avenue Allstars

Norm Silver has been involved in the entertainment and film industry for over 30 years.  Silver received his B.S. in education and theater arts at Penn State University and attended the professional actor training program at Brandeis University. While in Los Angeles, he trained in film and commercial acting with coaches, Laura Rose and Hap Lawrence.

Norm has worked as a professional actor on stage at the Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts and the Denver Center, and has guest and co-starred in the Perry Mason series, Father Dowling Mysteries and Diagnosis Murder. He was featured in the miniseries Asteroid, the feature film Flashback, wrote an original song used in The Laramie Project and has done voice-overs for such national clients as Ford and McDonalds.

Trained as a professional teacher, Silver uses his education background to coach Denver actors in film and commercial performance. During his 20 years in Colorado, he founded The Acting Studio, Norm Silver Workshops and All-Star Entertainment a professional talent booking agency founded in 1993.  As a booking agent Norm has been responsible for bringing national acts to Denver including:  3 Dog Night,  Judy Collins,  Blood Sweat and Tears,  Juice Newton,  Kathy Matea, Chuck Maggione, and Spiro Gyra.  ASE also books local and regional corporate and public shows which include:  City of Golden, Glory Days at Old Lowry, and World Trade Center Concerts on the Plaza.

Norm Silver is a founding member of the nationally acclaimed 17th Avenue All-Stars, an award winning a cappella group with six successful CD's, 3 time Western Regional Championships and 1993 National Harmony Sweepstakes Winners.  They have opened for the Temptations, BB King, Robert Cray, America, Mel Torme, and The Fifth Dimension, performed at the Winter Park Jazz Festival, Chama Music Festival, Live Oak Festival in Santa Barbara and appeared in the feature film "The Laramie Project."

Classes taught by Norm:

• Business Management
• Everything you need to know about the business of running a professional or collegiate a cappella group.  Topics include:  Taxes, contracts, booking, agents, venue planning, networking, group dynamics, and pushing for a common goal.
• Getting the Gig
• How do I get my group hired and making money?  Marketing is a hard business especially when it's for an art form of music most people don't understand!!  Topics include: Building a marketable group, promo packs, Marketing and the Web, Email Blasts, getting the corporate gig, and how to find the right person for my group.

Spread the Word!
If you know anyone who would be interested in this conference, by all means forward this email to them or have them contact us.  We want to spread the word as much as possible about what we're doing to truly create a wonderful community of singers in Colorado.



Thanks,
--
Chris Schenk
Marketing Director
chris.schenk@...
303-949-7020
Colorado A Cappella - A non-profit organization

---

From: danmiller@...
To: tony@...
Subject: RE: [colorado-acappella] 2007 Colorado A Cappella Conference Schedule and Information!
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 22:43:11 -0600

sounds great--but I looked everywhere--did I miss the date?  I couldn't find it.

---

From: tony@...
To: tony@...
CC: rjsharette@...; colorado-acappella@yahoogroups.com
Subject: 2007 Colorado A Cappella Conference Schedule and Information!
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:35:08 -0700

Hello all of my friends in A Cappella!!
 
If you've been wondering where I am lately, here's the answer.  We've been working on something huge!!!!  Please read below and let me know if you are interested.
 
This email was written for all of the people who are already coming to the conference so it is very detailed.  Also, it gives all of the information on this great conference we are having!  If this is the first you are hearing about it, sorry.  It was a huge task to put his together for the first time and we finally have the details all worked out and planned.
 
If you love to sing and want to hang with a bunch of other a cappella geeks...  This is the place to do it. 
Don't worry, there will be cool people there too.

Sincerely,
Tony Huerta
Sonic Audio Productions
Take 6 Sound
(303) 778-0370 Studio
(303) 668-7229 Mobile
http://sonicaudiopro.com

PS.  I move into the new studio on Friday!!!  They just laid the carpet today!

 
The remaining email below is from the newly formed non-profit organization aimed at promoting the craft of a cappella singing in colorado.  So far we have about 10 college groups, 3-4 High School groups, and hundreds of other professional singers attending the conference.  We are called Colorado A Cappella and are on the web at www.coloradoacappella.com.  You might want to print this so you can really read it over...
 
We hope to see you there or at another planned a cappella event in the near future.
 
This is going to be fun!!!!

---

Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:04:21 -0600
From: chris.schenk@...

Hello everyone!  We have here our finalized schedule and have the descriptions of all of our classes and bios for all of our clinicians.  Read on for a plethora of information regarding this awesome conference we're going to experience in less than two weeks!

We have been working hard to solidify all of the information below, but be warned that details may change between now and when the conference begins, but we will be sure to notify you of changes as soon as we know!

This information has not yet been updated on the website, but will be soon.
http://www.coloradoacappella.com/

If you are receiving this email and have no idea what I'm talking about, it could be I have typoed an address, so please let me know if you do not wish to receive further emails about this conference.  That also goes for anyone else.

**************************************************************************

Here is the outline of this email (it's extensive!):

1. Competition and Concert Tickets!
2. Schedule Online
3. Where is the Conference?

• Directions
  
• Parking
  

4. Volunteers Needed!
5. Friday Night Competition Logistics

• Check-in and sound-checks
• Sound Equipment
• Where competitors go during the competition
• Staging and timing during the competition
• Who goes first?  Who goes second?
• Judging and score tallying
• Prizes!
  
• Further information
  

6. Beatbox Competition on Saturday
7. Sunday One-on-One Sessions
8. Feedback about the 2007 Vocal Conference
9. Future Planning
10. Clinician Bios and Class Descriptions
11. Spread the Word!

**************************************************************************

Competition and Concert Tickets!
We are delighted to bring you guys Groove Society and Face for the Saturday night professional showcase!  They are going to totally rock the house along with the winners of the Friday night competition.  We have tickets available for both Friday and Saturday night, so talk to your family and friends and get them involved (especially for Friday night, as they can sway the vote in your group's favor!).

Friday night:  $10
Saturday night: $15

Our event coordinator James Cronk is heading up ticket sales, so please contact Jim directly to get your tickets today!

Contact Jim via:
email: James.Cronk@...
phone: 303-513-2399

Schedule Online

First off, the conference schedule is online at this location:
http://www.coloradoacappella.com/IMAGES/CA%20Schedule%202007.xls

Saturday is fairly self-explanatory.  Any extra details will be given out during the introduction session at the start of the day.  Exact descriptions of classes and bios for clinicians are at the bottom of this email.

Saturday night is also self-explanatory, just show up after dinner and enjoy the show!  However, the one group who will be opening for the professional groups will be needed for extra sound checks that night.

Where is the Conference?
The conference is being held at the University of Denver, near I-25 and University Blvd in Sturm Hall off E. Asbury Ave and S. Race Street.  Below is a map of the DU north-campus, and Sturm Hall is building number 12 on the map.

http://www.du.edu/maps/main_nw.html

Here is a Google map of the exact location of Sturm Hall:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=&daddr=39.679828,-104.963508&mrsp=1&sz=16&mra=mi&sll=39.679332,-104.959774&sspn=0.009777,0.018046&ie=UTF8&om=1&ll=39.680703,-104.962006&spn=0.009776,0.018046&z=16

Directions
Access to the conference is very easy and direct from I-25.  From I-25, take the University Blvd. exit Southbound, and take a right on Asbury (which is about 1/4 mile south of I-25, so it is fast).  Go ahead about one block on Asbury and you will see Sturm Hall on your left.

You can also use the Google Maps link above to get directions from any location.  Simply type in your starting address or intersection in the top-left directions box to have Google map the route for you.

Parking
Immediately north of Sturm Hall is a parking garage, and immediately west is a parking lot.  All lots are pay-to-park lots for $1/hour, so we recommend that you carpool as much as you can to the conference.  If you can manage to find parking on the street, it is free!

Volunteers Needed!
We are in need of volunteers to help with the conference as a whole.  A lot of the time is needed for the Friday and Saturday night shows, but we do need people for the entirety of Saturday and Sunday.  Volunteers do get to attend the two shows for free on Friday and Saturday night, as well as attend the clinics during the day if they are so inclined (as long as they aren't working during those times).

We need volunteers for the following:

• Ushers, checking tickets, sales, will-call
• Concessions, cd sales
• Stage crew, setup/tear-down of concerts
• Clinician/director assistants

Of course we would not be able to list everything we may need someone to do, but you get the idea.  If you know anyone who is interested, please have them contact me, Chris Schenk.

Contact Chris via:
email: Chris.Schenk@...
phone: 303-949-7020

Friday Night Competition Logistics
These details are very important for everyone to know, so read carefully.

Check-in and sound-checks
Check-in is at 4:45pm Friday afternoon.  Our wonderful sound engineer and clinician Tony Huerta will be explaining the rules of the sound equipment and how organizing sound-checks for each group.  If your entire group cannot be there at 4:45, you MUST have at least one representative from your group there at 4:45 to listen to Tony or your group will NOT be competing.  Sound checks follow immediately after Tony's explanation and go from 5:00-7:00pm, so make sure your entire group (or as many people as you can muster) are there at that time!  Sound checking is NOT time to rehearse, you need only to sing one song, or parts of a song to be balanced properly on the sound board.

Sound Equipment
No groups can bring any equipment to use in the competition, only sound equipment run by Tony will be used.  For microphone equipment, you will be using the following:

• Two Rode nt5 area microphones mounted on a stand in the center criss-crossed in an X pattern
• Two Shure sm58 microphones for solo singing
• One Shure sm58 for a bassist
• One VP mic, most likely an Audix D6, but Tony will have the final word on what's used

All groups will be EQ'd equally by Tony.

Where competitors go during the competiton
The competition is split into two halves, with 5 groups performing in the first half and 4 groups performing in the second half with a 15 minute intermission in between.  If you are performing in the first half, you will be downstairs on the first floor in our staging area in queue to go on stage and perform.  If you are performing in the second half of the show, you will have seats in the very top middle of the auditorium, the top five rows.  At intermission the groups swap, and those who were in the first half take seats in the top of the auditorium and the other groups go down to our staging area.  I will say this part explicitly, do not leave anything in your seats as you will be vacating those seats for other groups!

We will have two rooms for competitors on the first floor to stow your things with people watching them for you while you perform.  You will have the hallways and other empty rooms you can find to warm-up/rehearse before you perform.

Staging and timing during the competition
Groups will have a maximum of 10 minutes to perform their songs.  You will be cut off at 10 minutes regardless of whether or not you are finished with a song. 

The 40th Parallel is opening the competition with a single song, which means that the first group performing will go on stage at 7:45pm, so be ready at 7:30!  The groups who are next in line must be ready to go at the staging area in front of the door to the auditorium.  Time between groups is a maximum of 15 minutes, 10 minutes for performance and 5 minutes for entrace/exit/sound-board time, so if you are going third, you need to make sure you are at the door and queued up when group two is going on at 8:00pm!

Groups will enter stage-left and exit stage-right and walk back to the door in which they entered the auditorium and wait until intermission or the show is over.  If we have extra seats in the auditorium for people, we will have volunteer ushers take you to the seats, but we won't know the capacity of the auditorium until the night of the competition.

Who goes first?  Who goes second?
When groups arrive at check-in at 4:45, pieces of paper numbered 1-9 will be dropped into a hat and randomly selected by groups which will determine the order of performance for the evening.  Remember that groups 1-5 will be in the first half and groups 6-9 will be in the second half.

Judging and score tallying
We will have 3-4 professional people judging the performance of the groups.  The judges will judge on three criteria, to be explained when everyone arrives at the competition.  There is a fourth criteria for every group which is the voting done by the audience!

We will be handing out small voting pieces of paper that will have a single-line for a best/favorite group write-in.  At the end of the competition we will collect the papers from the audience and tally the votes while 40th Parallel closes the show.  Be sure to tell your family/friends to bring a pen or two so they can write-in their votes!

Remember, the winner of the Friday night show will get to open for the professional showcase on Saturday night!  We will be furiously tallying votes and scores to announce the winner after 40th Parallel is done singing so everyone will know who is Top-Dog!  Or Doggies!

Prizes!
I just wanted to remind everyone of what we have for prizes for the top three winners of the competition, and those are:

1. Five free hours of studio time at Sonic Audio Productions (with Tony Huerta, one of our fabulous clinicians and our sound engineer!)
2. Professional photo session for your group
3. Free admission into next year's conference
   

Futher information
If anyone has any extra questions about what is happening Friday night, please email all of the Colorado A Cappella board at info@....  This email goes to all of us who are in the know.

Beatbox Competition on Saturday
What A Cappella conference would be complete without a beabox competition?  The competition will occur at 12:00 after the third clinic on live sound taught by Tony.  Everyone will already be in Davis Auditorium, so you don't even have to go anywhere.

The competition will consist of individuals having two minutes to perform a beatbox solo.  Then the top three people will be selected and will perform in the Three-Way Beatbox Battle !  During this final round the vocal percussionists will be battling back and forth, directed by one of the judges to go back and forth, demonstrating interesting improv ability as well as giving a fantastic show to everyone in general.

We will have signups on Saturday morning for those who wish to compete for Top-Dog of the Vocal Percussion pack.  Sign-ups are first-come, first-serve because we will have limited time for the competition, so think about it and be prepared drop some sick beats on Saturday!

Sunday One-on-One Sessions
We are very excited about having our clinicians spend some quality one-on-one time with individuals and groups on Sunday.  We will have 30-minute slots for those vocal percussionists who want time with Zach Freeman, one amazing beatboxer.  Groups will sign up for 1-hour slots with a clinician.  We will all meet at 10:45am and then will break out into the first session at 11:00am.

Sign-ups will be all-day Saturday in a first-come, first-serve fashion.  We will not turn groups away from individual time with clinicians, but we do have limited clinicians, so groups who sign up late will be going the second hour.

Feedback about the 2007 Vocal Conference
Your feedback on the conference is absolutely crucial for us to hear.  Colorado A Cappella was founded by a small handful of singers who have no experience running a conference of any kind, but we've been working our butts off to make this as amazing as we can for everyone, and we want to hear what you think about it!

There are four ways you can give us feedback:

1. We will be placing a feedback form in the programs that are given out to everyone that anyone can fill out, even people simply coming to see the competition or professional showcase
   
2. Feedback on Sunday for the groups who are not involved in one-on-one sessions
3. Yell at us from down the hall letting us know just how awesome (or not) we are with whatever we did
4. Send us email at feedback@...

We created Colorado A Cappella specifically to give ourselves opportunities to sing more and interact with others who share in our passion for singing, so we want to do this right.  We want to hear back from everyone so we can improve upon what we do here and do an even better job next time.

Future Planning
Our imaginations may be too big for the world to handle, but we are already starting to plan for future events.  We already have a Christmas showcase for the season, and we are looking into venues as you are reading this.  Keep an ear open for more information on that event to come in December.

We are always open to other ideas for events people would like to see.  Let us know!  If you have an idea, please contact our event coordinator James Cronk:

email: James.Cronk@...
phone: 303-513-2399

Clinician Bios and Class Descriptions
Tim Jones - Vocality Singers

With a performing background that includes jazz/rock/ska/bluegrass/marching bands, orchestras, musical theater, street theater, improv comedy, mime (!), percussion ensembles, storytelling, and solo vocal gigs, Tim (aka moosetim, aka Mr. Tim, aka Ernie Stuckowitz, aka Patrick Armageddon) is a walking, talking resource for the performing arts.  His experience in teaching, conducting, design, marketing, music production, artistic direction, dance, and stage technology has proven valuable in working with performers around the country.  In addition to private coaching, group consultation and individual voice instruction, Tim has performed and taught classes at the East Coast and West Coast a cappella summits, SoJam, and for students from Boston to San Francisco.

In 1999 Tim created the comedy a cappella quartet moosebutter, which within four years had won first runner-up at the national Harmony Sweepstakes competition and established a reputation for wild, improvisatory, interactive shows and surprisingly decent musicality.  Since then Tim has created a multitude of popular and award-winning groups of varying configurations.

Tim has been composing music for as long as he has been performing, and is one of the world's foremost advocates for originality in a cappella performance.  He is the host of the Contemporary A Cappella Society's A Cappella Originals podcast, composes music for vocal and choral ensembles, corporate clients, and independent musicians, and crusades tirelessly in support of original and innovative vocal music.

In a stunning example of kharmic irony, Tim is currently the male vocalist for the Boulder, CO cover band, The Fever.

Tim teaches, writes, arranges, coaches, creates, directs, records, critiques, judges, and, of course, performs as much as (and sometimes more than) is humanly possible.  He is completing a Master's degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He also manages the Vocality Music Company, a representation and resource business for top a cappella talent in the Rocky Mountain region ( www.vocalitysingers.com).  He has a lovely wife, four disco-dancing children, and big hair.  That he keeps under the passenger seat of his minivan.  The hair, not the kids.

Classes taught by Tim:

• Be better NOW and WHO ARE YOU?
•  Easy things you can do RIGHT NOW to kick your group to another level at rehearsals, performances, marketing, getting an audience, and more!  Also, how have successful music acts branded themselves?  How, really, do you get people to show up at your concert?  What can you do to stand out from the crowd?   What is your image?  Who are you trying to attract?  WHO ARE YOU?
• A Cappella Originals -- a myth?
• "A Cappella Originals" is like a comic book superhero, fighting the evil forces of bad stereotypes and their bland cover lackeys." (Chad Bergeron, acapodcast.com)  Join Mister Tim, the host of the Contemporary A Cappella Society's A Cappella Originals Podcast, as he tells you how to write amazing songs today!  Also, tools of the trade, teaching songs to your group, recording original songs, parallels to other arts.
• Me, Bass.  You, Mortal.
• Come talk about bassy stuff -essential bass skills, exercises, skills, making bass-y noises, using your equipment for your advantage, bass cheats, bass and percussion, and more.  Including handy info gleaned from the best basses in the business.

Tony Huerta - Sonic Audio Productions/Take 6 Sound Engineer

Tony Huerta started his career as a professional singer for Elitch Gardens in 1990.  While attending the University of Northern Colorado and majoring in Vocal Music, he founded his first A Cappella group with Matthew Selby (LA, CA) called "Exact Change", which later moved to the Seattle area and became the popular vocal group, "M-Pact".
 
In 1998, Tony joined the groundbreaking A Cappella group called "The 17th Avenue Allstars" and performed for ten years as the Vocal Percussionist, Arranger, Recording Producer, and Baritone/Tenor, performing in about 70-80 concerts per year across the United States.

His performance credits include:  Opening for Orleans, Fire Fall, Royal Crown Review, The Temptations, The Persuasions (including a solo performance with the legendary Jerry Lawson), The Coasters, Three Dog Night, Grand Funk Railroad, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and Randy Bachman (Bachman Turner Overdrive), Leslie Gore, and Gary Puckett.  Huerta's national Anthem credits are: The Denver Nuggets (6 Years), The Broncos for all home games in 2005-2006, and The Colorado Avalanche 2004-2006 Back-up to Jake Schroeder.

Eko Recording Studio was founded in 1998.  Since 2000, Huerta has produced and engineered A Cappella CD Projects for: The "17th Avenue Allstars", "Groove Society", "Moosebutter", Vocality Music, "Face", DU "Idiosingcrasies", US Air Fore Academy "In the Stairwell", "Sound Of The Rockies", Skyline Chorus", "Storm Front", "Nexus", and "Ignition" (the Frontier Airlines Penguins).

In January 2007, Huerta changed his business name to Sonic Audio Productions to reflect a new direction as a mix engineer for live a cappella concerts.  His current clients include; "Face", "Groove Society", and exclusive Front of House Engineer for 10 time Grammy Award winners, "Take 6".

Huerta continues to tour with Take 6 and record a cappella music in his Lodo recording studio near Coors Field, furthering his passion for vocal music.  His website is: http://www.sonicaudiopro.com

Classes taught by Tony:

• Preparing for the Studio
• Avoid the pitfalls of wasted recording studio time.  Digging deep into preparation for recording a great CD of a cappella music is hard work; yet worth it.  This clinic also teaches skills to help your group tighten and become better in preparation for the studio and live performance.  Topics include: Are you really singing the right notes, style points = 0, Solo Prep, Beatbox prep, Background parts prep, Schedule and timing, and "What's that click and note in my ear?"
• Beatbox Sound with Zack Freeman
• Sound systems were not made to reproduce the human vocal percussionist and microphones are not made to spit into.  So where does that leave the Beatbox artist?  With Bad Sound.  I say, no longer!  Come hear and learn the distinct differences between good and bad, focusing on mic selection, EQ and technique.
• Live Sound 101
• It will be definitely more than a basics level class.  This will be a very detailed and "ears" on experience into the world of sound systems as they relate to vocal performance.  Topics include: Signal flow, EQ, compression, effects, room acoustics, channel settings, and over-all mixing techniques.
• Be a producer of a great CD
• Not all musicians can be Grammy award winning producers.  But, you can have the knowledge to produce your own CD's and have them knock people's "ears" off.  I'd say "socks" but they have nothing to do with vocal CD production.  There are secrets that the pros know.  There are well produced CD's and poorly produced CD's.  You'll hear the difference and have the tools to make your next product shine.  Topics include: Arranging for the CD, Tracking, Editing, Mixing, Mastering, and CD Duplication.
  

Joe Herbert - UNC Jazz Press Published Artist/Baritone of "Groove Society" a cappella

Joe Herbert is co-founder and co-director of Groove Society, and is currently Director of Vocal Jazz at Metropolitan State College of Denver.  He earned his Bachelor of Music degree in theory and composition from the University of Northern Colorado, and has worked as a clinician and adjudicator at jazz festivals, and jazz camps throughout the United States.  While singing with UNC's Grammy-nominated ensemble, Vocal Jazz 1, Joe won several prestigious Downbeat Magazine Awards.  Since then, his arrangements and originals have become widely popular with high school and college jazz choirs around the world.
 
Joe now spends much of his time creating a fresh sound for Groove Society; exploring new ways to exploit the human voice utilizing intricate rhythms and extended jazz harmonies. In addition to writing and arranging, Joe is also an accomplished jazz and Latin trumpeter in the Denver area, and draws on this instrumental background to enrich his writing and singing style.

Classes taught by Joe:

• Arranging
• The ability to take a popular song and make a purely vocal arrangement of it
  is an art that requires a great deal of imagination and creativity.  Learn
  the fundamentals of making arrangements that are fun and exciting to hear
  and perform.
• Improv and Circlesongs
• This clinic is an experience in creating CIRCLESONGS, and spontaneous
  polyphonic compositions as a vehicle for improvisation.  Learn the
  elements of CIRCLESONGS and participate in creating them on the spot!  Fun,
  challenging, out-of-the-box!

Matt Murphy - Vocal Percussionist of "Groove Society" a cappella

For as long as Matt can remember he had difficulty sitting still. Friends, family, teachers, and perfect strangers would plead with him to stop tapping on desks, drumming on knees, (mostly his own) and stomping rhythmically. Often these people would reward him for any effort he could muster to stop the incessant drumming "for five frigging minutes!" But alas, he could not. Weirdly enough, the irritating habit once controlled to some degree, eventually proved useful as the role of the Eagleview Middle School jazz drummer in Colorado Springs where he was born and raised.
 
At Air Academy High School under the direction of Dave Filsinger, Matt was asked to sing bass for the infamous Inflatable Misconceptions, an a cappella group locally famed (very locally) for its ability to procure uncontrollable screams from even the most subdued of high school girls. He then was placed into the mixed a cappella group, Out of Blue, where he had his first real exposure to jazz, vocal and otherwise. By the end of high school he was fortunate enough to have performed as a vocalist and drummer, in events as the Colorado All State Jazz Choir, as a finalist in CHSAA, (Colorado High School Arts Association) teen angsty garage bands, various variety shows and musicals, drum-line, formal percussion circles, and as a composer of an original live score to the Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

He now attends Denver University's Lamont School of Music majoring in jazz drums and mentoring in creative writing. This being his fourth year with reality creeping closer still, he plans on attending graduate school in the future. He feels privileged with a consistent drumming, singing, gigging, and rehearsing schedule with combos inside of school and out and is excited to be applying vocal percussion to Groove Society. He also personally enjoys pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, cliches, and feels a little strange referring to himself in the third person at the time of this writing.

Classes taught by Matt:

• Intro to Vocal Percussion/Beatbox
• Learn the basics of how to start in the wonderful world of vocal percussion.  Topics include: How to make your own sounds, anatomy of the human noise maker, what actually makes drums sound like drums?, and building the beat.

Zack Freeman - America's Got Talent/formerly of "Grafitti Tribe" A Cappella Beatbox

Zechariah Freeman started his a beatbox career at a young age. In the 90's Zack performed and toured with Denver based a cappella group Graffiti Tribe, opening up for Destiny's Child, being judged the "Best Vocal Percussionist" at the National Harmony Sweepstakes in 1997, and enjoying life on the road. Zack returned to Denver in 1999 and began using his Beatbox skills for the 17th Avenue Allstars including his featured performance on their self-titled release in 2000.

Zack's performance record is also where his influences come from. Playing with live drummers and DJ's has given him an excellent inner metronome and a unique style of beat box that drops the beat dead in the pocket. Zack is currently a member of the Denver and New York based CueZone Collective and an artist on the CueZone Record Label. Zack also plays with the Denver based, 17th Avenue Allstars during the summer festival season.

Zack produces breaks and hip-hop beats using a sequencer and ties it all together with vocal harmonies. With this combination, Zack delivers a savvy, super groove that is found in only one place. His mouth.

Zack Freeman is currently the Programming Coordinator for Quote …Unquote Inc. (the Cable access channel for Albuquerque NM.) He is also one of the music directors for Out ch'yonda art space in Barelas, NM. He recently performed on America's Got Talent and truly is a ground breaking Beatbox phenom!!

Classes taught by Zack:

• Advanced Beatbox
• What is this idea about drumming with your mouth? Topics include: Improvisation: learning to jam and groove with other instrumentation, Learning to apply fills, Feeling the structure of a jam and finding the head of a groove and learning to follow a band-leader, Cool noises vs. timekeeping, short discussion about the mixing of hip-hop and acapella, Looping and sampling: demonstration and group exercise with the electrix repeater and boss 505, Talking the beat: learning how to vocalize ideas and turn the ideas into beats.

Barry Brown - 17th Avenue Allstars, Baritone

Barry Brown is a director, choreographer, arranger, educator, adjudicator, past Sweepstakes host and judge and currently performing with the 17th Avenue All-Stars.  He was born and raised in Colorado, singing with the top vocal groups of his educational career as well as touring nationally and internationally with various performing groups. He spent his college years at University of Northern Colorado, graduating with a B.A. in music/theater.

During his years as a theater performer, he was introduced to the All-Stars through originating the role of "Barry" in their a cappella musical "up on the roof" playing 10 months at the Galleria Theater at the Denver Performing Arts Complex. He also performed at most of the major theater venues in Denver, including the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.  He has lead various workshops and master classes on topics such as improv, acting, stage presence, vocal production, and passionate performing.

Classes taught by Barry:

• Stage Performance & The Soloist
• What makes a performance hot?  What make sit absolutely cold and boring?  Make sure to bring your performance skills and an open mind to this class.  Topics include:  Stage presence, Staging, Movement for performance, vocal production, and passionate performing.

Norm Silver - Allstar Entertainment/17th Avenue Allstars

Norm Silver has been involved in the entertainment and film industry for over 30 years.  Silver received his B.S. in education and theater arts at Penn State University and attended the professional actor training program at Brandeis University. While in Los Angeles, he trained in film and commercial acting with coaches, Laura Rose and Hap Lawrence.

Norm has worked as a professional actor on stage at the Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts and the Denver Center, and has guest and co-starred in the Perry Mason series, Father Dowling Mysteries and Diagnosis Murder. He was featured in the miniseries Asteroid, the feature film Flashback, wrote an original song used in The Laramie Project and has done voice-overs for such national clients as Ford and McDonalds.

Trained as a professional teacher, Silver uses his education background to coach Denver actors in film and commercial performance. During his 20 years in Colorado, he founded The Acting Studio, Norm Silver Workshops and All-Star Entertainment a professional talent booking agency founded in 1993.  As a booking agent Norm has been responsible for bringing national acts to Denver including:  3 Dog Night,  Judy Collins,  Blood Sweat and Tears,  Juice Newton,  Kathy Matea, Chuck Maggione, and Spiro Gyra.  ASE also books local and regional corporate and public shows which include:  City of Golden, Glory Days at Old Lowry, and World Trade Center Concerts on the Plaza.

Norm Silver is a founding member of the nationally acclaimed 17th Avenue All-Stars, an award winning a cappella group with six successful CD's, 3 time Western Regional Championships and 1993 National Harmony Sweepstakes Winners.  They have opened for the Temptations, BB King, Robert Cray, America, Mel Torme, and The Fifth Dimension, performed at the Winter Park Jazz Festival, Chama Music Festival, Live Oak Festival in Santa Barbara and appeared in the feature film "The Laramie Project."

Classes taught by Norm:

• Business Management
• Everything you need to know about the business of running a professional or collegiate a cappella group.  Topics include:  Taxes, contracts, booking, agents, venue planning, networking, group dynamics, and pushing for a common goal.
• Getting the Gig
• How do I get my group hired and making money?  Marketing is a hard business especially when it's for an art form of music most people don't understand!!  Topics include: Building a marketable group, promo packs, Marketing and the Web, Email Blasts, getting the corporate gig, and how to find the right person for my group.

Spread the Word!
If you know anyone who would be interested in this conference, by all means forward this email to them or have them contact us.  We want to spread the word as much as possible about what we're doing to truly create a wonderful community of singers in Colorado.



Thanks,
--
Chris Schenk
Marketing Director
chris.schenk@...
303-949-7020
Colorado A Cappella - A non-profit organization

The new A Cappella Originals podcast is up -
http://www.casa.org/content/view/552/166/ - or search for 'a cappella
originals' at iTunes.

Tony Huerta of Sonic Audio Productions filled in the voice for me as
I've been nasty sick for a week!  But don't worry, I'm getting better,
and excited to see all of you at the Colorado A Cappella Vocal
Conference this weekend!

This podcast features music from Four Shadow, Groove Society,
moosebutter, spiralmouth, the House Jacks, and Eclipse.

Let me know what you think of the podcast!

Mr. Tim
Host, CASA's A Cappella Originals Podcast

We are a group of experienced singers looking for a male Tenor who is comfortable singing lead and a female able to sing lead in the soprano and alto ranges. Both singers also need to be able to blend real well in harmony with the group and have excellent pitch. We had a successful gig this summer and can't wait to get out to do another one. We actually were pursued to do another gig and need to fill these positions with people who are serious enough to eventually go into a studio to make a CD recording. We are an Octet that sings a  variety of music to include: rock (not hard) , folk, world music, jazz, broadway and original music. Please contact Michelle at mdrc99@...  for an audition.

Is there a group who is open to accepting a 58 year old bass into
their group? The one I am in is not dedicated enough to gain
sufficent proficiency to perform in any meaningful way. Too much
turnover to make any headway.  I like to jam and have fun, but I
like having a goal that is not too far in the future (weeks/months
instead of years). I a range from C below bass clef to about F above
middle C. A little Bass percussion and/or dynamic harmonies to lead
is where I can assist.

I know most groups in the Teller and El Paso county areas are college
or 20 somethings, so it is hard for a guy like me to join in, even
though I have no problem singing with young singers. I am retired
(easy to rehearse & travel) and have a large PA system & mics.


Contact me if you have any ideas or possibilities.

Val Carr
719-686-8228
Woodland Park, CO 80863

If you want to see a picture of me I am shown at the bottom of this
web site in a cowboy hat next to the juke box.
www.rampartrocknjazz.com

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the colorado-acappella
group.

   File        : /COsngstrExtra-vocalconf.pdf
   Uploaded by : rjsharette <rjsharette@...>
   Description : Vocal Conference Report

You can access this file at the URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/colorado-acappella/files/COsngstrExtra-vocalconf.p\
df

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/files

Regards,

rjsharette <rjsharette@...>

Always wondering what to do on a boring Tuesday evening? Well, the answer is to come to Nissi's tomorrow night and see Groove Society perform. We have an eclectic range of music to present and we would love to see you!

Where:        NISSI'S

Address:      2675 North Park Drive
Lafayette, CO 80026

                   MAP 

When:         Tuesday, October 23rd

Time:           7:30-9:30PM

Tickets:       $8/person in advance

                   $10/person at the door

                   Call 303-665-2757 (after 4 pm)

                   CLICK HERE TO ORDER