A cappella thoughts ...

A couple of weeks back, I had a great evening adjudicating at the New York Regional heat of the Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival. The panel were, from left to right: Debbi Burdett, Jimmy Hayes (one of the original 'Persuasions), Dave Revels (of the 'Drifters'), singer/actor Emily Borromeo, me, screenwriter Gerard Brown III and Garth Kravits, of San Francisco's 'The House Jacks':

The style and age of singer was very mixed, and included teenagers right through to school teachers. The level was generally incredibly high, and the winners were especially inspiring, a teen group called 'Quintessential Five', who did an especially original set which combined classical music , jazz and music from the Republic of Georgia. Here they are in Leipzig last year:

Good luck to them!

And speaking of talent, I just discovered the UK's Jacob Collier, who manages to be the ultimate triple threat as a pro-level singer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist at age 19. I found this Youtube video on Facebook, and, aside from being awestruck by the skills on show, am now convinced that the future of music and indeed a cappella singing is in safe hands. Enjoy!