The Stanford Harmonics are a co-ed a cappella group from Stanford University. Known for their alternative rock repertoire and award-winning recordings, the Harmonics have garnered international recognition for their performances and have been featured on BOCA, Sing, and Voices Only a cappella compilations. The Harmonics are one of the few collegiate a cappella groups that own their own wireless microphone equipment[citation needed] and have developed a live performance style that includes the use of electronic distortion and sound effects.

Stanford Harmonics
Stanford Harmonics, January 2022
Stanford Harmonics, January 2022
Background information
OriginStanford, California, USA
GenresA cappella
Years active1991–present
Websitewww.stanfordharmonics.com

History

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The group's third release, Insanity Laughs (1999), was received as a "breakthrough album" for the unprecedented mixing of its drum-like vocal percussion.[1]

In 2009, their landmark studio album, Escape Velocity, won three Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards, including Best Mixed Collegiate Album,[2] and was selected by the Recorded A Cappella Review Board as one of their Picks of the Decade.[3]

In 2010, the Harmonics won the A Cappella Community Awards for Favorite Mixed Collegiate Group and Favorite Scholastic Album.[4]

In 2020, the album "Signal Lost" by the Harmonics won Best Rock Album from the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards.

As of 2024, they are recording their newest album, a concept album centered around grief, to be released in 2025.

Recordings

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The Stanford Harmonics have released ten full-length albums, one "greatest hits" album, and one extended play, alongside numerous singles.

  • The Greatest Hits of Pitchpipe (1995)
  • Escalator Music (1997)
  • Insanity Laughs (1999)
  • Phonoshop (2001)
  • evolut10n (2002) - 10 Year Anniversary "Greatest Hits" Album
  • Rock Beats Scissors (2003)
  • Shadowplay (2005)
  • Escape Velocity (2008)
  • Midnight Hour (2013)
  • The Messes of Men (2015) - EP
  • Fault of Imagination (2017)
  • Signal Lost (2019)

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
1998 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Album Escalator Music Nominated [5]
2000 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Album Insanity Laughs Nominated [6]
Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement Jonathan Pilat Nominated
2002 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Album Phonoshop Nominated [7]
Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement Jonathan Pilat for "We Are In Love"
Runner-up
[8]
2004 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Song "Lady Marmalade" from Rock Beats Scissors
Runner-up
[9]
2006 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Album Shadowplay Nominated [10]
Best Mixed Collegiate Solo Bryan Tan for "The Memory Remains" Nominated
2009 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Album Escape Velocity Won [2]
Best Mixed Collegiate Song "The Sound of Silence" Won
Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement[a] Charlie Forkish for "The Sound of Silence" Won
Charlie Forkish for "Imagination"
Runner-up
2010 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Song "Spiel Met Mir" from Sing Six: Sunny Side Up Nominated [11]
2014 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Album Midnight Hour Nominated [12]
Best Mixed Collegiate Song "Somebody to Love" Nominated
Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement Evan Smith for "Somebody to Love" Nominated
2018 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Electronic / Experimental Album Fault of Imagination Nominated [13]
2020 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Rock Album Signal Lost Won [14]
Best Rock Song "Zombie" from Signal Lost Nominated [15]
Best Mixed Collegiate Album Signal Lost Nominated
2022 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Voices Collegiate Solo Mitchell Zimmerman for "Ever After" (Single) Nominated [16]
2022 Best of College A Cappella Featured Single ‘Bad Liar’ Single Won [17]
  1. ^ Charlie Forkish was named both the winner and the runner-up (against himself) for these two arrangements on Escape Velocity.

ICCA results

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The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) first judged live a cappella performance competitions in 1996.

Year Level Category Recipient(s) Result Points Citation
1996 West Region Semifinal Best Solo Zareen Poonen for "Change in My Life'
Runner-up
N/A
2000 West Region Quarterfinal #1 Best Group Harmonics
2nd
2002 West Region Quarterfinal #2 Best Soloist Morgan Reed
Runner-up (tie)
N/A
Best Arrangement Jon Pilat for "Lady Marmalade"
Runner-up (tie)
N/A
2003 West Region Quarterfinal #3 Best Group Harmonics
3rd
Best Arrangement Marcella White Campbell for "Porcelain"
Won
N/A
2004 West Region Quarterfinal #1 Outstanding Vocal Percussion Ben D'Angelo and Daniel Hobert
won
N/A
2021 West Region Quarterfinal #3 Best Group Harmonics
3rd
312

Notable members

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  • Singer/songwriter Vienna Teng
  • Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA) President Julia Hoffman and Board Member Ariel Glassman
  • Hookslide singers Jon Pilat and George Hoffman
  • Former Skritch lead Bryan Tan
  • Icon Parthiv Krishna
  • Gautam Raghavan, Deputy Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office
  • Jade Nguyen

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Mickey Rapkin (2012). Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory. Penguin. ISBN 9781592408214. Retrieved 2018-01-04. The breakthrough album, he says, was the 1999 Stanford Harmonics disc, Insanity Laughs. 'That's when vocal percussion really started to sound more like a drum set than vocals,' Bill says.
  2. ^ a b "2009 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Winners". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ "RARB". RARB Picks of the Decade. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  4. ^ "CASA". 2010 A Cappella Community Award Winners. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  5. ^ "1998 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "2000 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ "2002 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ "2002 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Winners". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ "2004 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Winners". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 11 August 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ "2006 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ^ "2010 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ "2014 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ "2018 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ^ Chen, Jessica (5 April 2020). "2020 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Results". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  15. ^ Chen, Jessica (17 February 2020). "2020 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  16. ^ "2022 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  17. ^ "2022 Best of College A Cappella 2022 Collection". Best of College A Cappella. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (1996)". University of California, Berkeley: Varsity Vocals. 1996. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  19. ^ "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2000)". University of California, Berkeley: Varsity Vocals. 2000. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  20. ^ "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2002)". Brigham Young University: Varsity Vocals. 2002. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  21. ^ "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2003)". University of California, Berkeley: Varsity Vocals. 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  22. ^ "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2004)". University of California, Berkeley: Varsity Vocals. 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  23. ^ "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2021)". Varsity Vocals. 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
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