Stanford Mendicants

The Stanford Mendicants are an all-male a cappella group at Stanford University. The group is Stanford University's original a cappella group. Since its founding in 1963, the group's size has varied from 6 to 19 members. Although they are strictly an a cappella group today, they have performed with instruments in previous generations.[1][2] The group prides itself on singing a wide range of songs, from gospel to barbershop to pop tunes and original compositions. The Mendicants are known around Stanford's campus for their red blazers and romantic serenades.

The Stanford Mendicants
The Mendicants performing at the 2011 State of the Valley Conference in San Jose
Background information
OriginStanford, California, USA
GenresA Cappella
Years active1963—present
Websitewww.StanfordMendicants.com

History and Accolades

The Stanford Mendicants was founded in 1963 by Hank Adams, a transfer student from Yale University, 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 eye in the house". Having only rehearsed the one song, they quickly fled through an open window and went immediately back to rehearsal.[3]

Their 1998 album Besides What You See received a 4.2 rating[4] 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 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs) in 1992.[5] As of 2020, they have been nominated for six more recording awards awards since then: in 1999, 2001, 2005, and 2019.[6][7][8][9]

Mendicant songs were selected for Varsity Vocals' "Best of Collegiate A Cappella" compilation album in both 2001 and 2005.[10]

On February 2, 2019, The Stanford Mendicants finished in first place in the ICCA Northern California Quarter-Finals in Redwood City, CA.[11] The Mendicants also took home two individual awards, including Outstanding Soloist, for Austin Zambito-Valente, and Outstanding Choreography, for Khoi Le and Gabe Wieder.[11]

Notable alumni

Discography
2011 Musical Director De Wei Koh editing a track for Sh-Boom
  • Untitled (1964)
  • Untitled (1965)
  • A Fellow Needs a Girl (1966)
  • Untitled (1967)
  • Untitled (1969)
  • Untitled (1973)
  • Untitled (1975)
  • Untitled (1977)
  • Untitled (1979)
  • Clean-Cut and 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)
  • Sh-Boom (2012)
  • Just a Group of Guys (2013)
  • Mendicants At Large (2015)
  • For the Long Haul (2018)
  • Trailblazer (2019)

Awards and nominations
Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
1992 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards[lower-alpha 1] Best Male Collegiate Album Just Like That
Runner-up (tie)
 [5]
Best Male Collegiate Song "Long Train Runnin'"
Runner-up (tie)
Best Male Collegiate Arrangement "Brown Eyed Girl"
Runner-up
1999 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Male Collegiate Album Besides What You See
Runner-up
 [17][18]
Best Male Collegiate Song "Drive" Nominated [6]
Best Male Collegiate Soloist Brandon Singleton Nominated
2001 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Male Collegiate Song "Happy Together" Nominated [7]
2005 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Male Collegiate Song "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" from Mendication Nominated [8]
2019 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Male Collegiate Song "Control" from For the Long Haul Nominated [9]
A Cappella Video Awards Best Male Collegiate Video "Kiss the Sky"
Runner-up
 [19]
  1. Prior to 1992, there were no awards organizations related to a cappella. The Contemporary A Cappella Society announced Recording Awards for the first time in 1992. The ICCAs introduced live a cappella performance competitions in 1996.

ICCA results

The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) first judged live a cappella performance competitions in 1996.

Year Level Category Recipient(s) Result Points Citation
1998 West Region Quarterfinal #2 Best Solo Brandon Singleton for "Reach Out"
Runner‑up
—
[20]
2002 West Region Quarterfinal #3 Best Soloist Eric Tanner Won
—
[21]
2017 Northwest Quarterfinal #4 Best Group Mendicants
2nd
399
[22]
Northwest Semifinal Best Group Mendicants
3rd
361
[23]
2018 West Quarterfinal #4 Best Group Mendicants
3rd
334
[24]
2019 West Quarterfinal #3 Best Group Mendicants
1st
389
[25]
Outstanding Soloist Austin Zambito-Valente for "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood/How Long" Won
—
Outstanding Choreography Gabe Wieder and Khoi Le for the entire set Won
—
2020 West Quarterfinal #5 Best Group Mendicants
2nd
343
[26]
Outstanding Soloist Austin Zambito-Valente for "Big Down" Won
—
Outstanding Arrangement Chris Kaya for the entire set Won
—
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See also

References
  1. Weinstein, Dave (2003-10-17). "Stanford group celebrating 40 years of song". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
  2. Wykes, S.L. (2003-10-17). "Mendicants Magic". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
  3. "The Mendicants Turn 40". Stanford Magazine. November–December 2003. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  4. "Review of Besides What You See". RARB. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  5. "1992 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Winners". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  6. "1999 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 15 June 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  7. "2001 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  8. "2005 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  9. "2019 Contemporary A Cappella Awards Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  10. "BOCA & BOHSA Albums". Varsity Vocals. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  11. "Results". Varsity Vocals. 2015-08-12. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  12. "Review of Best Laid Plans". RARB. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  13. Shin, Laura. "Where He Belongs". STANFORD Magazine. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  14. "Pacific Mozart Ensemble: Director Profile". PME. Archived from the original on 2007-05-31. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  15. Silvius van Löben Sels, Marilyn. "Class Notes 1966". STANFORD Magazine. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  16. "Dressing The Part". STANFORD Magazine. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  17. "1999 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Winners". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  18. Daly, Bobby (8 April 1999). "Unaccompanied recognition: Stanford groups win national a cappella prizes". The Stanford Daily. 215 (34). p. 1.
  19. Ardell, Shane (10 February 2019). "2019 A Cappella Video Award Results". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  20. "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (1998)". University of California, Berkeley: Varsity Vocals. 1998. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  21. "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2002)". University of California, Berkeley: Varsity Vocals. 2002. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  22. "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2017)". Fox Theatre (CA): Varsity Vocals. 25 February 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  23. "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2017)". The Elsinore Theatre: Varsity Vocals. 25 March 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  24. "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2018)". Fox Theatre (CA): Varsity Vocals. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  25. "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2019)". The Fox Theatre (CA): Varsity Vocals. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  26. "Official Results for the ICCA (2020)". The Fox Theatre (CA): Varsity Vocals. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
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