Stanford Mendicants
 | Parts of this article (those related to Current Members section) need to be updated. (March 2018) |
The Stanford Mendicants | |
|---|---|
 The Mendicants performing at the 2011 State of the Valley Conference in San Jose | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Stanford, California, USA |
| Genres | A Cappella |
| Years active | 1963—present |
| Website | www.StanfordMendicants.com |
The Stanford Mendicants are an all-male a cappella group at Stanford University. The group is Stanford University's original a cappella group. Since its founding in 1963, the group's size has varied from 6 to 19 members. Although they are strictly an a cappella group today, they have performed with instruments in previous generations.[1][2] The group prides itself on singing a wide range of songs, from gospel to barbershop to pop tunes and original compositions. The Mendicants are known around Stanford's campus for their romantic serenades.
History and Accolades
The Stanford Mendicants was founded in 1963 by Hank Adams, a transfer student from Yale University, with a group of 5 undergraduate men. The group originally rehearsed only a single song before breaking into the dining commons of Branner Hall, an all-women's dormitory at the time, and performing their song during lunch. Adams often recalled, himself tearing up, that during their performance, the women wept, and there was literally "not a dry eye in the house". Having only rehearsed the one song, they quickly fled through an open window and went immediately back to rehearsal. [3]
Their 1998 album Besides What You See received a 4.2 rating [4] from the Recorded A Cappella Review Board (rarb.org), which is the group's highest album score to date.
The group was Runner-Up in three categories in the inaugural CARA Awards in 1992 and have been nominated for awards as recently as 2005.[5] [6]
Two Mendicant songs have been featured on the annual "Best of Collegiate A Cappella" Compilation.[7]
Current Members
Current members of the Stanford Mendicants include:
Top Trent Sandland, Tim Sherlock, Walker Phillips, Dexter Simpson
Lead Trey Hale, John Sholar, Austin Zambito-Valente, Tim Isaacs, Ben Simon, Zach Ryan
Baritone Robert Haag, Kris Kaya, Chris Adusei-Poku, Khoi Le, Nate Lee, Eli Goodman
Bass Stefan Swaans, Gabe Wieder, Josh Adamson, Nathan Gugel, Ryland Pampush
Notable alumni
- Chris Ayer, Singer and Songwriter [8]
- Jordan Gelber, actor from the Broadway run of Avenue Q [9]
- Founding Mendicant Dick Grant, Director of the Pacific Mozart Ensemble[10][11]
- Former Musical Director John Livingston, actor and brother of Ron Livingston [12]
- Founding Mendicant John Frohnmayer, Politician and Oregon State University Professor
- Brandon Singleton, actor with the Jersey Boys Las Vegas production at the Palazzo Las Vegas-Resort Hotel Casino [13]
- Joseph Siravo, actor with The Sopranos and Jersey Boys National Tour [13]
Discography
- Untitled (1964)
- Untitled (1965)
- A Fellow Needs a Girl (1966)
- Untitled (1967)
- Untitled (1969)
- Untitled (1973)
- Untitled (1975)
- Untitled (1977)
- Untitled (1979)
- Clean-Cut and Slightly Frayed (1981)
- Somewhere in Hawaii (1982)
- Take You Back (1986)
- Pretending to Care (1987)
- Aquapella (1989)
- Just Like That (1991)
- Feline Casanova (1992)
- Back For Seconds (1994)
- Beggars Can't Be Choosers (1996)
- Besides What You See (1998)
- Room to Grow (2000)
- Best Laid Plans (2002)
- Mendication (2004)
- Beggar's Dozen (2006)
- Roses In My Hand (2008)
- Sh-Boom (2012)
- Just a Group of Guys (2013)
- Mendicants At Large (2015)
- For the Long Haul (2018)
See also
References
- ^ Weinstein, Dave (2003-10-17). "Stanford group celebrating 40 years of song". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
- ^ Wykes, S.L. (2003-10-17). "Mendicants Magic". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
- ^ "The Mendicants Turn 40". Stanford Magazine. Nov–December 2003. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Review of Besides What You See". RARB. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
- ^ "1992 CARA Winners". CARA. 1992. Archived from the original on October 28, 2009. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "2005 CARA Nominees". CARA 2005 via RARB. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
- ^ "Official BOCA Track Lists". BOCA. Archived from the original on 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
- ^ "Review of Best Laid Plans". RARB. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
- ^ Shin, Laura. "Where He Belongs". STANFORD Magazine. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
- ^ "Pacific Mozart Ensemble: Director Profile". PME. Archived from the original on 2007-05-31. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
- ^ Silvius van Löben Sels, Marilyn. "Class Notes 1966". STANFORD Magazine. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
- ^ "John Livingston's Bio". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
- ^ a b "Dressing The Part". STANFORD Magazine. Retrieved 2007-08-02.