Amazin' Blue is the oldest existing inclusive mixed-voice a cappella

Collegiate a cappella

Collegiate a cappella ensembles are student-run and -directed singing groups that perform entirely without instruments. Such groups can be found at many colleges and universities in the United States, and increasingly worldwide....

 ensemble affiliated with University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. The school colors of University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 are maize and blue; "Amazin' Blue" is a pun on these colors. Amazin' Blue numbers one hundred eighty-two total members, past and present.http://euclid.nmu.edu/~apoe/acappella/AmazinBlue/index.html The group is a committee of the University Activities Center and a member of the Michigan A Cappella Council. The active members of Amazin' Blue are: Elisabeth Evans, Bethany Felder, Lance Fletke, Glenn Healy, Ariel Kaye, Chris Kendall, Marita May, Allyse McGrath, Madeline Sharton, Travis Ward-Osborne, Jeffrey White, and Ian Williams.

Origins

Amazin' Blue was founded by graduate student Mike Wang at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. Wang had been a member of the Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 Mixed Company

Mixed Company of Yale

Mixed Company of Yale is an a cappella singing group at Yale University. Founded in 1981, Mixed Company was originally formed as a group specializing in both sketch comedy and a cappella. Today, the group focuses primarily on singing, though the group often performs skits and other comedy at its...

 as an undergraduate and wanted to organize a mixed-voice a cappella

Collegiate a cappella

Collegiate a cappella ensembles are student-run and -directed singing groups that perform entirely without instruments. Such groups can be found at many colleges and universities in the United States, and increasingly worldwide....

 ensemble at UMICH

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. Wang graduated at the end of the Winter 1987 semester, making him an active member of the group for only a single semester.

Discography

Amazin' Blue has recorded twelve albums. Several of these albums have won awards in the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards. These awards are listed beneath the corresponding album.http://www.casa.org

• Amazin' Blue—Little Black Box (1989)
• Amazin' Blue—Coed Naked A Cappella (1991)
  • CARA Awards: Mixed Collegiate Best Album, Mixed Collegiate Best Song (Found Your Home), Mixed Collegiate Best Arrangement Runner Up (Taco Bell Canon)
• Amazin' Blue's Compact Disc (1992)
  • CARA Awards: Mixed Collegiate Best Song Runner Up (Englishman in New York). This album was disqualified from the Best Album category due to it being a compilation album.
• Amazin' Blue Is A Little Crazy ... (1994)
  • CARA Awards: Best Album Runner Up, Best Arrangement (Kyrie)
• Amazin' Blue—Earidescence (1996)
• Amazin' Blue—Allnighter (1998)
• Amazin' Blue—Raising The Bar (2000)
  • CARA Awards: Best Song Runner Up (Millennium)
• Amazin' Blue—South U. And State (2002)
• Amazin' Blue—<Self Titled> (2004)
• Amazin' Blue—Shades Of Blue (2006)
• Amazin' Blue—Lost In Sound (2008)
• Amazin' Blue—The Blue Album (2010)

Best of Collegiate A Cappella

Amazin' Blue has been a featured artist on almost all of the albums in the BOCA series (tracks on these albums are chosen from hundreds of submissions each year)http://varsityvocals.com/boca:

• BOCA 1995: Englishman in New York
• BOCA 1996: Kyrie
• BOCA 1997: Drive
• BOCA 1998: Precious Things
• BOCA 1999: Crazy Love
• BOCA HUMOR: Taco Bell Canon
• BOCA 2001: Millennium
• BOCA 2002: She
• BOCA 2004: China
• BOCA 2005: Angel

Only one collegiate a cappella group has tracks on more albums in this series than Amazin' Blue: Off the Beat from The University of Pennsylvania.

International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella

Amazin' Blue has been involved in this live performance competition since its inception in 1996.http://www.varsityvocals.com Here is the list of awards Amazin' Blue has won. Note that the 1998 win in the Midwest Semi-Finals allowed Amazin' Blue to compete in the final round at Carnegie Hall.

• 1998 MidWest Quarter-Final: Champion, Best Soloist (Jim Daly, Time After Time)
• 1998 MidWest Semi-Final: Champion, Best Soloist (Jim Daly), Best Arrangement Runner Up (Jeremy Fisher, Time After Time)
• 2000 MidWest Quarter-Final: 1st. Place, Best Soloist (Darryl Semira)
• 2000 MidWest Semi-Final: 3rd. Place, Best Solo (Maddy Wyatt)
• 2001 MidWest Quarter-Final: 2nd. Place, Best Arrangement (Anna Gleichauf, Forgiveness)
• 2001 MidWest Semi-Final: 3rd. Place, Best Solo Runner Up (Marie Cheng)
• 2002 MidWest Quarter-Final: 3rd. Place, Best Soloist (Mike Hondorp), Best Arrangement Runner Up (David Reiser, America Medley)
• 2003 MidWest Quarter-Final: 2nd. Place, Best Soloist (Noah Miller)
• 2003 MidWest Semi-Final: 2nd. Place, Best Soloist Runner Up (Alexis Sims)
• 2004 MidWest Quarter-Final: 2nd. Place, Outstanding Choreography (Harder to Breathe)
• 2004 MidWest Semi-Final: Outstanding Arrangement (Jeff Blim, The Pink Panther Theme)
• 2005 MidWest Division: 3rd. Place, Outstanding Soloist (Tanya Komblevitz)
• 2010 MidWest Quarter-Final: 1st. Place
• 2011 MidWest Quarter-Final: 1st. Place, Outstanding Soloist (Elise Amato, Lance Fletke)
• 2011 MidWest Semi-Final: 3rd. Place