Stanford Mendicants
Encyclopedia
The Stanford Mendicants is an all-male a cappella
group at Stanford University
. The group is Stanford University's oldest a cappella group. Since its founding, the group's size has varied from 6 to 18 members. Although they are strictly an a cappella group today, they started out performing some music with instruments in their early years.
, 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 seat in the house". Having only rehearsed the one song, they quickly fled through an open window and went immediately back to rehearsal.
Their 1998 album Besides What You See received a 4.2 rating 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.
Two Mendicant songs have been featured on the annual "Best of Collegiate A Cappella" Compilation.
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 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...
. The group is Stanford University's oldest a cappella group. Since its founding, the group's size has varied from 6 to 18 members. Although they are strictly an a cappella group today, they started out performing some music with instruments in their early years.
History and Accolades
The Stanford Mendicants was founded in 1963 by Hank Adams, a transfer student from Yale UniversityYALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, 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 seat in the house". Having only rehearsed the one song, they quickly fled through an open window and went immediately back to rehearsal.
Their 1998 album Besides What You See received a 4.2 rating 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
Contemporary A Cappella Society
The Contemporary A Cappella Society , or CASA, is a 501 charitable organization dedicated to fostering and promoting a cappella music of all styles around the world. CASA was cofounded in 1991 by Deke Sharon by incorporating the first a cappella directory, The List, founded in 1988 & distributed...
in 1992 and have been nominated for awards as recently as 2005.
Two Mendicant songs have been featured on the annual "Best of Collegiate A Cappella" Compilation.
Alumni
- Chris AyerChris AyerChris Ayer is a solo guitar artist. A graduate of Stanford University, where he studied philosophy and music, Chris began playing the guitar and writing songs when he was 18 years old. While at Stanford, Chris also sang with the Stanford Mendicants, an all-male a cappella group...
, Singer and Songwriter - Jordan GelberJordan Gelber-Broadway:He is known for originating the role of struggling comedian Brian in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Avenue Q. Gelber also performed on Broadway in Arthur Miller's All My Sons as Frank Lubey...
, actor from the BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
run of Avenue QAvenue QAvenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller... - Founding Mendicant Dick Grant, Director of the Pacific Mozart EnsemblePacific Mozart EnsembleThe Pacific Mozart Ensemble is a volunteer choral organization based in Berkeley, CA. The group was formed to provide a chorus of professional quality for highly-skilled and experienced singers who did not wish to make singing a full-time profession. It was to be large enough to perform the major...
- Former Musical Director John Livingston, actor and brother of Ron LivingstonRon LivingstonRonald Joseph "Ron" Livingston is an American film and television actor. His roles include a disaffected corporate employee in the film Office Space, a sardonic writer in a short-term relationship with Carrie Bradshaw in the TV show Sex and the City, and Captain Lewis Nixon in the miniseries...
- Founding Mendicant John Frohnmayer, Politician and Oregon State University Professor
- Brandon Singleton, actor with the Jersey BoysJersey BoysJersey Boys is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is a documentary-style musical, based on one of the most successful 1960s rock 'n roll groups, the Four Seasons...
Las Vegas production at the Palazzo Las Vegas-Resort Hotel Casino - Joseph SiravoJoseph SiravoJoseph Siravo is an Italian american actor and graduate of both Stanford and NYU. Among his most notable roles is that of "Johnny Boy" Soprano, father of Tony Soprano, on The Sopranos. He is credited as the voice of Carmine in the Disney film The Wild...
, actor with The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
and Jersey BoysJersey BoysJersey Boys is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is a documentary-style musical, based on one of the most successful 1960s rock 'n roll groups, the Four Seasons...
National Tour
Discography
- A Fellow Needs a Girl (1965)
- Untitled (1966)
- Untitled (1967)
- Untitled (1968)
- Untitled (1969)
- Untitled (1973)
- Untitled (1976)
- Untitled (1977)
- Untitled (1979)
- Clean Cut But 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)