Calendar

Apr
1
Fri
Single Singers Rehearsal
Apr 1 @ 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm

This rehearsal is for the Single Singers.

This open group is for any singer at any level who is willing to learn the material on his or her own, prior to coming to SingStrong, and willing to perform on stage after just one day together!

We won’t have time to plunk notes so make sure you know your part cold!

(You’ll also need a weekend pass or class pass to participate.)

Follow the instructions here ( http://dc.singstrong.org/singlesingersdc.html )  and get ready to sing your heart out!

ACA-IDOL Concert
Apr 1 @ 7:00 pm – 10:30 pm

ACA-Idol is a fast-paced competition with big money at stake! Groups perform for 10 minutes. A panel of judges gives live feedback.

You, the audience vote by cel phone to decide which group -College or Pro- wins $1,000! (Rules here).

Ten competitors each give their best 10 minutes. Bid at the Silent Auction too! Competors will all compete for your love and votes in this show!

Check out our Competitors!

Apr
2
Sat
HS Competition Registration Opens
Apr 2 @ 7:30 am – 8:00 am

HS Competitors arrive and get settled, warmed-up and ready to show the judges what they’ve got! Make sure to check out the HS Schedule!

HS Competition Welcome/Tier 1/Soundcheck
Apr 2 @ 8:00 am – 11:00 am

All high school competitors start off right here! HS Competitors should check out this special schedule.

Vivid Voices Improv and Musicality Workshop
Apr 2 @ 9:30 am – 11:00 am

Start this festival right by singing together! Vivid Voices leads a class filled with insights and lots of hands-on singing! From warm-ups to jam sessions, improv to vowel matching, this class is a joyful singing experience!

Winners of the German Choir Competition in 2014 and the Aarhus Vocal Festival in 2015, this contemporary a cappella “choir” hails from the Hannover School for Music (HMTMH) in Germany. Under the award-winning jazz singer and choir director Claudia Burghard, these 45 students showcase the best in European a cappella. Scandinavian ambient sounds combine with Brazilian Samba rhythms, driving swing, and pervasive pop influence. Each note, each phrase is carefully crafted to bring well worn lyrics fresh life and transport the listener to a new level. This marks Vivid Voices’ first tour of the United States and their SingStrong debut. Don’t miss this rare opportunity! [Performing Sat 7:00 and Sunday 2PM]

Single Singers SOUNDCHECK in the Main Theatre
Apr 2 @ 10:15 am – 10:55 am

Gather at 10:15 in the main theatre. And be silent as there are other sound checks occurring!

At 10:30 SHARP it will be YOUR turn to soundcheck! Follow the instructions of your director and the sound engineer and enjoy the massive sound system and multitudinous wireless microphones!

Click here for information on the Single Singers, SingStrong’s open group that anyone can join!

Songwriting with Julia Easterlin
Apr 2 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Julia Easterlin is an award-winning songwriter and one of the rare a cappella performers to have focused her career on original material. Come hear Julia’s thoughts on the creative process. And take careful notes! SingStrong is proud to partner with Cure Alzheimer’s Fund in announcing an original a cappella songwriting contest with a $2,500 prize!

The BUSINESS of Show with Kris Vicencio
Apr 2 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Sometimes we’re better at the “show” than the “business” but that’s OK! Kris Vicencio is here to set us straight! Lesson 1. self-marketing and promotion for the budding a cappella group. If no one knows about your incredible talents, they can’t throw bundles of money at you.  Lesson 2. a brief “behind-the-scenes” look at what it takes administratively to take your group to its full potential.

Kris lives just outside of Washington, DC,and currently studies law at American university. He studied musical theater and was a founding member of the men’s a cappella group at SUNY Oswego.  He received his bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from the University of Maryland, and has coordinated events for over a decade including collegiate and professional a cappella concerts, music festivals, weddings, military ceremonies, and non-profit fundraisers. He is currently the Volunteer Coordinator for SingStrong DC, a position he has held for several years.

Rockstar 101 w/ Diana Preisler, Star of TV’s Pitch Slapped coaching Coda Conduct & IVGotteN SuitCase!
Apr 2 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Diana Preisler says this: “They see you louder than they hear you.”

The Broadway performer, film actress (Oscar Nominated “Chico and Rita”), singer and manager of Blue Jupiter and star of TV’s “Pitch Slapped” on Lifetime will show you how to make that message work for you. Groups will hop on stage and have their performance crafted to perfection.

This seminar is one of our most popular! Have your group come ready to perform! Catch Coda Conduct & IVGotteN SuitCase!

Vocal Percussion and Beatbox Intro
Apr 2 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

There’s a lot more than “boots and cats!” to the art form of vocal percussion.  John David Maybury welcomes you and gives you practical knowledge, not just for the sounds of beatbox, but also the role they play in a contemporary a cappella ensemble.

Single Singers Rehearsal
Apr 2 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

This rehearsal is for the Single Singers.

This group is for any singer at any level who is willing to learn the material on his or her own, prior to coming to SingStrong, and willing to perform on stage after just one day together!

We won’t have time to plunk notes so make sure you know your part cold! (You’ll also need a weekend pass or class pass to participate.)

Contact your director  ( http://dc.singstrong.org/singlesingersdc.html ) for learning materials and get ready to sing your heart out!

Participation will cause you to miss a portion of the Saturday 2PM HS Finals in which the top 8 HS Groups compete.

You will be performing at this concert during the judge’s deliberations.

Spotlight Showcase Concert w Hall Pass, Empyrean Heights, RidgeSound, Maverick Elision
Apr 2 @ 1:00 pm – 1:40 pm

No special tickets required! Anyone with a ClassPass may attend!

Pro, Semi-Pro, Collegiate and sometimes even HS groups of all types strut their stuff in a casual, non-competitive showcase.

High School Competition Finals
Apr 2 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

The best High School groups get only 8 minutes of stage time to impress a team of a cappella experts as they compete for trophies. The Single Singers perform while the judges deliberate.

Take 6 on Performing, Arranging and More!
Apr 2 @ 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm

TAKE 6 is the most awarded a cappella group in history. They’ll discuss performance, arranging and more in this intimate seminar setting.

 

TAKE 6 boasts ten Grammy’s, ten Dove Awards (Gospel Music Awards), Best Jazz Vocal Group honors for seven consecutive years in Downbeat’s prestigious Reader’s and Critic’s Poll, a Soul Train Music Award, BRE (Black Radio Exclusive) Vocal Group of the Year, two NAACP Image Award nominations, induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and countless other musical and humanitarian citations.​ Known for dense jazzy chords and wondrously melismatic soloists, this gospel jazz sextet has been heard from New York’s famed Blue Note to the Montreux Jazz Festival, from PBS to ABC-TV specials​. Heralded by Quincy Jones as the “baddest vocal cats on the planet!”, TAKE 6 (Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, Joel Kibble, Dave Thomas, Alvin Chea and Khristian Dentley) boast performances on Saturday Night Live, the Oscars, the Grammys, and have had the honor of performing for four sitting U.S. Presidents. They remain the quintessential and pre-eminent a cappella group in the world. Although these days the group often performs with instruments in other venues, at SingStrong Take 6 returns to their purely a cappella roots. Take 6 performs two times on Saturday night, and the two shows will NOT be the same. Don’t miss this incredible glimpse into the genius of Take 6. [Performing Sat 7PM and Sat 9:30PM]

PRO SHOW 1 with Take 6, MAXX Factor, Vivid Voices, Uncommon and more!
Apr 2 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

7PM -8:30 with Take 6, MAXX Factor, Vivid Voices, Kaila Mullady and more!

See the best professional groups in fast-paced sets. Each Pro Show is different!

The Weekend’s Performers: http://dc.singstrong.org/performers.html

The Concert Schedule: http://dc.singstrong.org/concert-schedule.html

Doors open 30 minutes in advance. Stadium seating.

Silent Auction to Benefit the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund
Apr 2 @ 8:30 pm – 9:10 pm

The Silent Auction (which is actually quite loud) accepts bids from Saturday Morning onwards, but this is the the final 40 minutes of Silent Auction time! The crowds gather and bidding intensifies!

Get unbelievable deals as you bid on a plethora of packages, and every dollar goes right to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund!

Hotel get-aways? We’ve got em! Hard to find a cappella CDs? We’ve got em? Headshot and recording packages? We’ve got em! Local discounts for every day items? We’ve got those too!

Don’t miss this great chance to do well (for yourself) while you do good (for others)!

All conveniently placed in the cafeteria, between the end of the Sat. 7PM show and the beginning of the Sat. 9:30PM show!

Feel like donating a good or service? Fantastic! Contact Diana@SingStrong.org

Check out our FAQ for more info: http://dc.singstrong.org/faq.html

PRO SHOW 2 with Take 6, Julia Easterlin, Connect, Vox Pop and more!
Apr 2 @ 9:30 pm – 11:00 pm

9:30 with Take 6, Julia Easterlin, Connect, Vox Pop and more!

See the best professional groups in fast-paced sets. Each Pro Show is different!

The Weekend’s Performers: http://dc.singstrong.org/performers.html

The Concert Schedule: http://dc.singstrong.org/concert-schedule.html

Doors open 30 minutes in advance. Stadium seating.

Apr
3
Sun
Tag! You’re It! with Chorus of the Old Dominion!
Apr 3 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Harmony in the morning?! Yes please! Early birds will delight and late risers will get the blood going as the incredible, award-winning Chorus of the Old Dominion teach everyone a few tags! And, for non-barbershoppers, what are tags? They are the best part of the songs, the rich part, the part that sends it over the top. And YOU’LL be the one singing so pick your part and come out to this hands-on class!

Live Looping with Julia Easterlin
Apr 3 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Rearranging the Arrangement with Rob Redei
Apr 3 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Rearranging the Arrangement
Just as a recipe is not a meal, the notes on a page are not music.  At least not yet!  You, as a musician, bring the music to life! You are  obligated to make changes, substitutions and additions to make it work for your particular group, your singers, and your set of circumstances. Rob Redei, Director of Performing Arts and Choral Director Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart will walk you through the considerations for working through an arrangement the first time, as well as those that arise later in the rehearsal process.
Rob Redei is a composer, arranger and music educator, and has been working in the contemporary a cappella world for nearly two decades.  He is a former member of UPenn’s Off the Beat, where he won ICCA and CARA recognitions as an arranger and performer, had multiple BOCA appearances and, while still a student, directed one of the first middle school contemporary a cappella groups in the country.  Through the late 90s and early 2000s he worked for Deke Sharon’s Ultimate A Cappella Arranging Service, arranging hundreds of songs for groups around the country – a number of which landed on BOCA and BOHSA compilations and received ICCA recognitions. Over the last 12 years, he directed and arranged for the award-winning Berkeley Prep Mello Divas  (2014 ICHSA finalists; 2015 VoiceJam 2nd place.) Currently the Director of Performing Arts and Choral Director at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, he directs RidgeSound, a new middle school all girls’ ensemble.
Behind the Scenes of “Pitch Slapped” with Diana Preisler and Marty Gasper
Apr 3 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Meet Diana Preisler and Marty Gasper from the TV show Pitch Slapped on Lifetime TV! This is your chance to ask about the show and the experience of making a cappella reality television. Questions welcome!

Lifetime TV puts singing in the spotlight with “Pitch Slapped” (#PitchSlapped) Two rival a cappella groups from New Jersey work with the world’s best ACA-coaches, Deke Sharon (“Pitch Perfect”) and a cappella rockstar and performance coach Diana Preisler (“Blue Jupiter”). Viewers follow Highlands Voices every week as they face multiple ACA-challenges.

In this bit of reality TV, just how much was reality and how much was TV?

Competition Strategy with CONNECT
Apr 3 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Competition Strategy | Are you looking for guidance on how to take home the top prize at an a cappella competition? The most important information you’ll need to know is how to prepare and gain advantage in the months, weeks, days, and hours before your group takes the stage! Join Connecticut music educator and award-winning a cappella director/arranger Giselle Ziegler of CONNECT to uncover the secrets of success in a cappella competition. With not one, but two ACA-IDOL  championships under her belt, this is the source!

Spotlight Showcase Concert w NOTOCHORDS, Majors and Minors
Apr 3 @ 1:00 pm – 1:40 pm

No special tickets required! Anyone with a ClassPass may attend!

Pro, Semi-Pro, Collegiate and sometimes even HS groups of all types strut their stuff in a casual, non-competitive showcase.

PRO SHOW 3 w/ Connect, MAXX Factor, Julia Easterlin, Vivid Voices, Kaila Mullady, and more!
Apr 3 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Pro Show with Connect, Julia Easterlin, Vivid Voices, Kaila Mullady, and more!

See the best professional groups in fast-paced sets. Each Pro Show is different!

The Weekend’s Performers: http://dc.singstrong.org/performers.html

The Concert Schedule: http://dc.singstrong.org/concert-schedule.html

Doors open 30 minutes in advance. Stadium seating.