Harvard Singing Groups Earn Award Nominations

Members of two Harvard singing groups have been nominated for Contemporary A Capella Recording Awards--known by some as the "Grammys of the a capella world."

Erika T. Rhone '01 of the Callbacks has been nominated for Best Mixed-Group Soloist for her performances of "The Roof" and "Turn Back Time" on the group's latest compact disc "Don't Look Down." And the Krokodiloes' 2000 CD "Black Tie Affair" has been nominated for the Best Male-Group Album.

The awards are given annualy by the Contemporary A Capella Society, a non-profit group founded in 1990 to promote a capella music. The society gives two sets of awards each year--to both professional and collegiate singing groups--and produces annual CD compilations featuring the year's best a capella recordings.

The Harvard nominees will learn the results of the competition later this semester.

Both Rhone and members of the Krokodiloes said they were not nervous about the awards.

"I don't know that any of the Kroks are biting their fingernails," said F. Perry Wilson '01, the group's general manager, of their nomination. "We're probably more concerned with the concert coming up on the twenty-third [of Feb.]."

"Black Tie Affair," the group's latest release, features fast swing tunes, rock 'n' roll songs and slow ballads. Wilson speculated that the diversity of songs--which included "I Wanna Like You" from the movie Junglebook and "Loch Lomond," the group's signature tune--impressed the competition's judges.

Likewise, Rhone said she thinks the diversity of her offerings likely factored into her selection as a finalist for best soloist.

"The Roof," one of the two songs for which she was nominated, is a stylized rhythm and blues tune made famous by Mariah Carey.

The other song, "Turn Back Time," was originally recorded by the Danish group Aqua. In contrast to the group's bubble gum tune "Barbie Girl," Rhone said her rendition of "Turn Back Time" is "serious" and "pretty."

The Callbacks, founded in 1986, were nominated in 1997 for the Best Mixed-Group Song award. In addition to Rhone, soloists from Northwestern's Purple Haze, Stanford's Mixed Company and Tutfs' Amalgamates are up for Best Soloist Awards.

CDs by the Dartmouth's Aires, Iowa State's Shaggy Boys and Virginia Tech's Juxtaposition have been nominated for Best Male-Group Album.