Reverse Osmosis A Cappella
Encyclopedia
Reverse Osmosis is a seventeen-person mixed a cappella
group at the University of Southern California
founded in January 2001. Reverse Osmosis (RO) routinely performs on the USC campus, but has also toured the East and West Coast, performing in Times Square
in NYC
and Ghirardelli Square
on San Francisco Bay
. RO is a perennial competitor in the annual International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella
competition.
In the 2005-2006 ICCA competition, RO took first place overall in the Quarterfinal round held at USC's Bovard Auditorium. They also received special awards that night for best soloist (Jordan Koppelman for "Fix You") best arrangement (David Stal for "Fix You") best vocal percussion (Baraka May for "Fix You") and best choreography (Joey Payo and Melissa Joseph).
At the West Seminfal round, held at Stanford University
on March 18, 2006, RO placed 2nd overall. Due to a timing error, however, the judges missed a significant portion of Reverse Osmosis' performance. RO was then invited to the final round so that they could have a fair chance to perform their set in full for the ICCA judges, thus becoming the first group from USC to reach the ICCA Finals.
On April 29, 2006, RO performed their award-winning set at Lincoln Center
's Alice Tully Hall
in New York City. Once again, they were awarded best vocal percussion (Baraka May for "Fix You").
A documentary, Rock and R.O., was filmed about the group and has been screened at the Newport Beach
and Westwood Film Festival in Southern California
. The feature-length movie was shown most recently at Florida
's Delray Beach Film Festival
, where it was named Official Selection and won the Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary. On May 20, 2009, Reverse Osmosis opened for Ben Folds at the Hollywood Palladium
in Los Angeles.
In 2008, Reverse Osmosis was featured on BOCA (Best of Collegiate A cappella) with their rendition of "Call Me When You're Sober" (arranged by Baraka May, soloist Katherine Good). The track is the opening song on their latest album.
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
founded in January 2001. Reverse Osmosis (RO) routinely performs on the USC campus, but has also toured the East and West Coast, performing in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
in NYC
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Ghirardelli Square
Ghirardelli Square
Ghirardelli Square is a landmark with shops and restaurants in the Fisherman's Wharf area of San Francisco, California, USA. A portion of the area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Pioneer Woolen Mills and D. Ghirardelli Company....
on San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
. RO is a perennial competitor in the annual International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella
International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella
The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, originally the National Championship of Collegiate A Cappella , is an international competition that attracts hundreds of college a cappella groups each year...
competition.
In the 2005-2006 ICCA competition, RO took first place overall in the Quarterfinal round held at USC's Bovard Auditorium. They also received special awards that night for best soloist (Jordan Koppelman for "Fix You") best arrangement (David Stal for "Fix You") best vocal percussion (Baraka May for "Fix You") and best choreography (Joey Payo and Melissa Joseph).
At the West Seminfal round, held at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
on March 18, 2006, RO placed 2nd overall. Due to a timing error, however, the judges missed a significant portion of Reverse Osmosis' performance. RO was then invited to the final round so that they could have a fair chance to perform their set in full for the ICCA judges, thus becoming the first group from USC to reach the ICCA Finals.
On April 29, 2006, RO performed their award-winning set at Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
's Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
in New York City. Once again, they were awarded best vocal percussion (Baraka May for "Fix You").
A documentary, Rock and R.O., was filmed about the group and has been screened at the Newport Beach
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
and Westwood Film Festival in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. The feature-length movie was shown most recently at Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
's Delray Beach Film Festival
Delray Beach Film Festival
The Delray Beach Film Festival is an independent film festival that screens films and documentaries from all over the world.The first Delray Beach festival was held in 2006 in Delray Beach, Florida...
, where it was named Official Selection and won the Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary. On May 20, 2009, Reverse Osmosis opened for Ben Folds at the Hollywood Palladium
Hollywood Palladium
The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an 11,200 square foot dance floor with room for up to 4,000 people.-History:...
in Los Angeles.
CDs and tracks
Reverse Osmosis has released 5 CDs: Aural Pleasure in 2002, 50 Million Reverse Osmosis Fans Can't Be Wrong in 2003, Purity Guaranteed in 2005, and Reverse Osmosis, in 2006. A fifth CD, You Can't Spell ROck without RO, was released in February 2009.In 2008, Reverse Osmosis was featured on BOCA (Best of Collegiate A cappella) with their rendition of "Call Me When You're Sober" (arranged by Baraka May, soloist Katherine Good). The track is the opening song on their latest album.
Aural Pleasure
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Fifty Million Reverse Osmosis Fans Can't Be Wrong
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Purity Guaranteed
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Reverse Osmosis
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You Can't Spell ROck without RO
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