Tonic Sol-fa
Encyclopedia
Tonic Sol-fa is an all-male a cappella
quartet from the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. With a largely pop-music
-oriented repertoire, their CDs have sold over 1,000,000 copies, and the group has toured throughout the US and abroad.
Tonic Sol-fa began at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, with baritone Mark McGowan and lead vocalist Shaun Johnson, while both were students in the mid-1990s. Shortly after forming the group, the two auditioned for a local entertainment agency which helped organize their performance and appearance schedule. Tenor Greg Bannwarth and bass Jared Dove joined soon after. The quartet received national attention with appearances on NBC’s Today Show and in Newsweek magazine. They have shared the stage with a number of well-known performers including Jay Leno, Jeff Foxworthy and Lonestar, among others, and in 2004 were part of Garrison Keillor’s 30th anniversary celebration of A Prairie Home Companion.
The group had to overcome a number of obstacles, including a resistance to a cappella acts by individuals in the music industry, and having a name that was anything but catchy (a system of naming the notes of the scale, usually do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, developed to teach singing). Still, the group persevered, recording and manufacturing its own CDs and selling them to fans via the Internet, in the lobby of the theaters where they performed, and now through national distribution.
Tonic Sol-fa's recordings contain only four voices and occasional percussion. This distinctive blend has resulted in multiple Contemporary Acappella Recording Awards and NACA entertainer of the year nominations. Their music appears on a popular seasonal DVD, The 12 Dogs of Christmas.
Tonic Sol-fa released their first television holiday special in 2007, which aired over 1800 times in forty-seven states and Canada. The television special will be broadcast through 2010. In 2008 it began to be distributed worldwide, continuing to spread the group's unique sound.
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...
quartet from the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. With a largely pop-music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-oriented repertoire, their CDs have sold over 1,000,000 copies, and the group has toured throughout the US and abroad.
History
In their twelve years together, Tonic Sol-fa has become a much in-demand vocal quartet. In addition to substantial CD sales of its own independent releases, the group has toured extensively, performing at festivals and private shows that eventually led to sold-out tours of theaters and small arenas.Tonic Sol-fa began at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, with baritone Mark McGowan and lead vocalist Shaun Johnson, while both were students in the mid-1990s. Shortly after forming the group, the two auditioned for a local entertainment agency which helped organize their performance and appearance schedule. Tenor Greg Bannwarth and bass Jared Dove joined soon after. The quartet received national attention with appearances on NBC’s Today Show and in Newsweek magazine. They have shared the stage with a number of well-known performers including Jay Leno, Jeff Foxworthy and Lonestar, among others, and in 2004 were part of Garrison Keillor’s 30th anniversary celebration of A Prairie Home Companion.
The group had to overcome a number of obstacles, including a resistance to a cappella acts by individuals in the music industry, and having a name that was anything but catchy (a system of naming the notes of the scale, usually do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, developed to teach singing). Still, the group persevered, recording and manufacturing its own CDs and selling them to fans via the Internet, in the lobby of the theaters where they performed, and now through national distribution.
Tonic Sol-fa's recordings contain only four voices and occasional percussion. This distinctive blend has resulted in multiple Contemporary Acappella Recording Awards and NACA entertainer of the year nominations. Their music appears on a popular seasonal DVD, The 12 Dogs of Christmas.
Tonic Sol-fa released their first television holiday special in 2007, which aired over 1800 times in forty-seven states and Canada. The television special will be broadcast through 2010. In 2008 it began to be distributed worldwide, continuing to spread the group's unique sound.
Members since 2000
- Shaun Johnson - tenor (founding member)
- Mark McGowan - baritone (founding member)
- Greg Bannwarth - tenor
- Jared Dove - bass
Former members
- Cheston Lance - tenor (founding member)
- Tim Hoback - bass
- Greg Terhaar - tenor (founding member)
- Steve Smith - bass (founding member)
Self Produced Releases
- Greatest Time of Year DVD (2010)
- Greatest Time of Year Compact Disc (2010)
- Just One of Those Days Compact Disc (2009)
- Christmas Companion Compact Disc (2008)
- On Top Of The World (Holiday) Compact Disc (2007)
- Christmas DVD (2006)
- By Request Compact Disc (2004)
- Red Vinyl Compact Disc (2003)
- Sugarue (Holiday) Compact Disc (2002)
- Style Compact Disc (2001)
- Carol (Holiday) Compact Disc (1997)
- Left Turns in Cross Traffic Compact Disc (1996)
- 4 hours and 12 days Compact Disc (1995)