South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center and Culture Shock Miami Present Vocalosity in Program Spanning 7 Centuries of A Cappella Music
Miami, Florida (PRWEB) January 17, 2017 -- South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center and Culture Shock Miami present Vocalosity, the all-new live a cappella concert event from the creative mind of artistic producer Deke Sharon (Pitch Perfect, The Sing-Off). The ensemble takes the Main Stage of the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center on Friday, February 3, 2017 at 8:00 PM.
Vocalosity is a fast-paced production featuring an all-star ensemble of diverse young vocalists singing some of today’s chart-topping hits in brand-new arrangements in the tradition of 10-part harmony.
The 10-member vocalists that comprise the new all-star a cappella group are James C. Jones, Hannah Juliano, Kelli Koloszar, Cheeyang Ng, Nattalyee Randall, Tracy L.J. Robertson, Bryant Vance, Nicole Weiss, Amy Whitcomb and RJ Woessner. Vocalosity’s self-titled debut album from Universal Music Classics is now available nationwide via Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble and Spotify.
The a cappella performers showcase a wide range of genres, from tenth century Gregorian chant and classical choral to barber shop quartet and bouncing doo-wop all the way to an exploration of the current sound of a cappella with music from The Beatles, Bruno Mars and more. The production is directed and choreographed by Sean Curran (Stomp original cast member.)
Watch a video teaser!
https://youtu.be/wnqzwpOYdkw
“Over the past few years, a cappella has grown from what was once considered a stuffy Ivy League activity to a pop culture phenomenon beloved by people of all ages,” says Deke Sharon, who serves as artistic director, music director and co-creator of the production. “Vocalosity is my dream team, an all-star ensemble of diverse young singers each with a unique style and personality. Most vocal groups aspire to create one sound and style, homogenizing the character of their singers, but this group is the exact opposite, weaving a variety of tapestries from different combinations of voices and characters.”
Hailed as “the father of contemporary a cappella” by Entertainment Weekly, Sharon has served as on-site music director and vocal producer for the smash hit films Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2 as well as vocal producer of NBC’s The Sing-Off.
$5 tickets are available to 13-22 year olds and one accompanying guest, exclusively through CultureShockMiami.com. $5 Culture Shock Miami tickets are not sold through the SMDCAC Box Office or through SMDCAC.org. Culture Shock Miami ticket sales for this performance end on Thursday, February 2, 2017 at 11:59 PM. Student ID and TicketWeb confirmation is required when picking-up tickets at will call.
Full price tickets are $20 to $49. These tickets are available online at SMDCAC.org or through the SMDCAC box office by calling 786-573-5300. $10 student tickets for ages 12 and under are available only through the SMDCAC box office with student ID.
WHO’S WHO IN THE COMPANY
JAMES C. JONES (Bass) has been singing in a cappella groups for over 10 years. Highlights of his a cappella career include opening the V show in Las Vegas as well as headlining several events and festivals across the country with Boston-based vocal band, Ball in the House. They were the voices of the Cool-Whip jingle, the Amazon Prime Day jingle (which James co-wrote) and shared the stage with artists such as Gladys Knight, Kool and the Gang, Nick Jonas and Jessica Simpson. James has performed hundreds of shows with them while helping produce three albums and winning APCA band of the year. Outside of a cappella, James has performed with BYU's premiere vocal jazz ensemble that placed 2nd nationally. He also attained credits as dancer working on High School Musical and other projects with names such as Flavor Flav, Danny Trejo and YouTube personality Miranda Sings.
HANNAH JULIANO (Alto, Associate Music Director) is an accomplished arranger, vocalist, producer and director. She attended Berklee College of Music, majoring in Contemporary Writing and Production and Professional Music. While studying at Berklee, Hannah directed the two-time ICCA champions Pitch Slapped, and also took them to the stage of NBC’S The Sing-Off. She appeared a second time with all-female powerhouse group Delilah. She has toured as a performer and educator, both on her own, and with Delilah and Musae. Hannah currently resides in New York, NY, where she works extensively as a vocalist, arranger and vocal producer. Her work includes Pepsi, Mazda, MTV, and she heads the music division at Borderlight Entertainment. She thanks her family, friends, Deke and her sweetheart for their unconditional love, support, and understanding.
KELLI KOLOSZAR (Soprano) is thrilled to be back with her Vocalosity family for another touring season! She has a BFA in Musical Theatre from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, and is currently a New York-based actress. Kelli has had the pleasure of performing at a variety of venues, from traveling the world singing on the high seas for Holland America Line, touring with internationally acclaimed cirque performers as a lead singer with Cirque Productions, and sharing the stage with the legendary Rockettes, singing as Mrs. Claus on the Radio City Christmas Spectacular tour. Much love to Evan and her family for their unconditional support in all of her performing endeavors!
CHEEYANG NG (Tenor) is thrilled to be touring with Vocalosity. Born and raised in Singapore, he has performed across Asia, including Superstar Avenue (CTV Taipei) and crowned the first winner of Campus Superstar (Mediacorp Singapore), Singapore's Mandarin version of American Idol. He has also been featured in the Inaugural Youth Olympic Games Ceremonies and other major events in Singapore. His journey in the U.S. included performing at David Geffen Hall (formerly Avery Fisher Hall) alongside Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Carole King and Renee Fleming. He also participated in the 10th Broadway Backwards fundraiser at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway. Regionally, he has been featured in musicals like Godspell (Totem Pole), Miss Saigon (North Shore), Shrek (Wheelock), Working (Lyric Stage) and Millie (Stoneham). As a composer, he is working on Eastbound, recently presented at the Musical Theatre Factory, directed by Joe Barros (Gigi, Beaches, King Kong).
NATTALYEE RANDALL (Alto) currently lives in NYC but is originally from Springfield, IL (Land of Lincoln). Nattalyee has a degree in Music and English Education (Western Illinois University) and has recently reignited her passion for a cappella music thanks to Deke! Nattalyee has also been seen in different national commercials (MTV, Philips). Nattalyee has performed at the world famous Apollo Theater in Harlem five times, winning Amateur Night two times! Recently Nattalyee wrote a musical called Miseducation which you can get more info about on Facebook @MiseducationTheMusical. Some of Nattalyee's favorite theatre credits: Dreamgirls, Effie White (Portland Center Stage); The Color Purple, Church Lady Jarene (White Plains Performing Arts Center, New York Regional Premiere); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Narrator (The Municipal Opera); Rent, Joanne (Springfield Theater Center); Nunsense, Sister Hubert (CAST); Avenue Q, Gary Coleman (GST); and Hair, Dionne (Hainline Theater). Prov 24:10. Much love to LNT.
TRACY L.J. ROBERSTON (Vocal Percussion). LA-based singer, director, multi-instrumentalist and vocal percussionist Tracy L.J. Robertson enjoys working in a variety of musical settings. While studying at Berklee College of Music, he performed with and eventually directed the two-time ICCA winning a cappella group Pitch Slapped, and performed in ensembles of global influence ranging from Balkan, to contemporary Indian, to Latin, to Western Jazz and Classical. His predilection and impartiality with music has placed him on stage with the likes of Bobby McFerrin, Jose Merce, Victor Wooten, Valarie Simpson, and Dream Theater to name a few. Currently, Tracy works as a freelance musician and tours with the a cappella groups Overboard, M-pact and Vocalosity as he spreads his passion for life through music as a clinician, arranger, and performer. Tracy is also an avid outdoorsman and spends as much time as he can appreciating mother nature.
BRYANT VANCE (Bass) is an actor, voiceover artist and bass vocalist from New York, NY. After earning a BA in Theatre from Messiah College, his a cappella debut was with Voca People performing off-Broadway for an extended 14-month run, followed by a world tour of 18 countries over 3 years. Shortly after, he became a member of the internationally acclaimed A Cappella All-Stars, performing with Andrea Bocelli at Celebrity Fight Night in Florence, Italy, in the company of names such as Lionel Richie, George Clooney and David Foster. Most recently he has been performing with the long time a cappella group Rockapella, as their bass-man! He is very excited to have found a home in Vocalosity and thanks his family for the love and support!
NICOLE WEISS (Mezzo) earned her BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch, where she performed with the award-winning a cappella group The N'Harmonics. She has since performed at Joe's Pub, Ars Nova, The Beacon, Avery Fisher Hall, Sleep No More's Manderley, The Edinburgh Fringe, and probably your wedding. Nicole's recording work includes vocals for such artists as AVAN LAVA and Shaina Taub. She writes and performs with several projects, including The Shirtwaist Sisters and Roslynn.
AMY WHITCOMB (Soprano) is a family-loving, beach-going fitness enthusiast who has been in love with music since she was three years old when she begged her mom to let her take piano lessons. In middle school, she began developing a passion for popular music and wrote her first song at 14. Amy graduated from Brigham Young University in April 2011 with a degree in Commercial Music and has since released two EPs with her rock band, The Whits, who opened for Brad Paisley and David Archuleta at Freedom Festival’s Stadium of Fire in 2011. Amy has appeared on NBC’s The Sing-Off with the a cappella groups Noteworthy and Delilah, with whom she has toured internationally to both Asia and Europe. In 2013, she was spotted on NBC’s The Voice, Team Adam! She has since co-hosted TV shows, large corporate events, and starred in various stage productions including Lythgoe’s A Snow White Christmas and Deep Love: A Ghostly Rock Opera, which was just featured at the New York Musical Theater Festival 2015. These experiences in TV, music, and theater have been a source of inspiration for Amy’s solo ventures, including her debut solo EP (now available on iTunes)! When she’s not at the gym, soaking up the sun, performing or recording, Amy works as a vocal and performance coach.
RJ WOESSNER (Tenor) is a Brooklyn-based actor, voiceover artist and musician. He earned his BM in Contemporary Writing & Production at Berklee College of Music and has performed background vocals for Bastille, Paula Cole, Lalah Hathaway and Jim Carrey. TV highlights include The Sing-Off (with Berklee's Pitch Slapped), Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with David Letterman, Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve, and One Life To Live. RJ is an active motion capture performer at a NY animation company as well as a busy voice actor, having worked on dozens of spots for TV, radio and the web. Some recent voiceovers include Fun Home (on Broadway), Yahoo! Fantasy Football, and narrations for My Kid's Obsession (TLC), to name a few. He also has originated numerous roles in NYC theater productions. RJ is immensely grateful to get to do what he loves for a living.
DEKE SHARON (Music Director, Arranger & Artistic Producer) Born in San Francisco, California, Deke Sharon has been performing professionally since the age of 8 and as a child toured North America and shared the stage in operas with the likes of Pavarotti. Heralded as "the father of contemporary a cappella," he is responsible for the current sound of modern a cappella, having created the dense vocal-instrumental sound in college, subsequently spreading it around the world. Deke produces The Sing-Off worldwide (USA, Netherlands, China, South Africa), which had the highest ratings of any new, unscripted television show in the US in 2009, and was the third highest rated show on NBC in 2010. In addition, Deke served as arranger, on-site music director and vocal producer for Universal's Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2 starring Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson. As the founder, director and arranger for the House Jacks, the original "Rock Band Without Instruments," Deke has shared the stage with countless music legends, including Ray Charles and James Brown.
Deke founded the Contemporary A Cappella Society while in college and is responsible for founding many seminal a cappella programs, including the CARAs (Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards), ICCAs (International Championship of College A Cappella), and BOCA (Best of College A Cappella Compilation). He is also contemporary a cappella's most prolific arranger, having arranged over 2,000 songs, with many of them in print worldwide with Hal Leonard/Contemporary A Cappella Publishing. He has written 3 books: Acappella Arranging (2012), A Cappella (2015) and The Heart of Vocal Harmony (2016). Deke is the vocal arranger / orchestrator for Broadway’s first a cappella musical In Transit, opening December 2016.
SEAN CURRAN (Director & Choreographer) began his dance training with traditional Irish step dancing as a young boy in Boston, Massachusetts and went on to make his mark on the dance world as a leading dancer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company (1983 – 1993) and as a performer in the original New York City cast of STOMP (1994 – 1998). His own dance troupe, the Sean Curran Company, tours internationally and he has created work for companies as diverse as Trinity Irish Dance Company, ABT II and Denmark’s Upper Cut Company. Opera figures heavily into his work, and he has directed notable productions including Salome for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, San Francisco Opera, and Opera Montreal, Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for The Shakespeare Theatre, the twentieth anniversary production of Nixon in China, Street Scene, Daughter of the Regiment and The Pirates of Penzance at Opera Theater of Saint Louis. He recently directed Ariadne on Naxos and choreographed the world premiere of Salmon Rushdie's Shalimar the Clown, both for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Other choreography credits include numerous works for New York City Opera, the Playwrights Horizons’ production of My Life with Albertine, Shakespeare in the Park’s As You Like It, and the Metropolitan Opera production of Romeo and Juliette. Curran’s work has also appeared on Broadway in James Joyce’s The Dead for Playwrights Horizons and The Rivals at Lincoln Center Theater.
A graduate and faculty member of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Curran now serves as Chair of the Department of Dance. He has over 20 years of teaching experience in modern technique, improvisation, body percussion and composition as a visiting artist at the American Dance Festival, Harvard Summer Dance Center, Bates Dance Festival, The Boston Conservatory, and over 100 U.S. university dance departments. He is thrilled to bring his diverse palette to the world of a cappella!
WORK LIGHT PRODUCTIONS (Producer & General Manager) is a producing, general management and technical supervision company dedicated to creating and producing live entertainment. Productions include the national tours of Mamma Mia!, Avenue Q, Green Day’s American Idiot, In the Heights, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, The Gershwin’s Nice Work If You Can Get It, and Julie Andrews’ The Gift of Music. In addition to Vocalosity, productions for the 2016-17 season include the international tours of RENT and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Motown the Musical, Something Rotten and White Christmas.
IMG ARTISTS (Producer) is a global leader of performing arts management. For more than thirty years, the company has set the standard for excellence in the industry for artist management, touring, dance, attractions, festivals, events and cultural consulting. IMGA’s specialists in offices across three continents offer unparalleled international reach and depth of experience to the company’s artists, clients and partners. With the launch of new producing, presenting and technology initiatives designed to support and enhance our core business, IMG Artists remains the vanguard of the industry.
ABOUT SOUTH MIAMI-DADE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER
The SOUTH MIAMI-DADE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER, designed by an internationally-acclaimed design team that includes Arquitectonica International, Inc. (architects), Fisher Dachs Associates, Inc. (theater design), Artec Consultants, Inc. (acoustics), and AMS Planning & Research Corp. (theater management), provides, for the first time, a state-of-the-art cultural venue and community gathering place in the southern part of Miami-Dade County. Located at 10950 SW 211th Street in Cutler Bay, the Center is an integral part of the economic and cultural development of the area, offering quality artistic programming and community accessibility. The Center features prominent works of art created by Miami artist Robert Chambers who was commissioned by Miami-Dade County’s Art in Public Places program to design a kinetic light wall and sculptures for the theater.
The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center is managed by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, with funding support from the Office of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. The Center is dedicated to presenting and supporting arts and culture and providing access to the arts to the entire Miami-Dade County community. More information about the Center and its programs can be found at http://www.smdcac.org.
ABOUT CULTURE SHOCK MIAMI ( http://www.CULTURESHOCKMIAMI.COM )
CULTURE SHOCK MIAMI, a program of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, is designed to introduce the next generation of audience members to live arts and cultural experiences at the age when they are beginning to make their own entertainment decisions. Based on research that shows most people begin their appreciation for the arts at a young age, Culture Shock Miami is founded on the premise that when kids make the arts a regular entertainment choice, they are more likely to become full-price ticket buyers and subscribers of the future. Culture Shock Miami offers $5 tickets for students (ages 13-22) to performances provided by more than 100 organizations, including top music, theatre, dance, and performing arts presenters in Miami-Dade County. With each $5 student ticket, a second $5 ticket may be purchased for an accompanying guest of any age. Tickets are on sale now through CULTURESHOCKMIAMI.COM. In addition to performing arts, students can get two-for-$5 or free admission passes to many South Florida museums, landmarks, and cultural destinations. For more information about this exciting program, please call contact Christina Tassy-Beauvoir or Mary-Margaret Dale 305/375-1949.
The Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council develop cultural excellence, diversity and participation throughout Miami-Dade County by strategically creating and promoting opportunities for artists and cultural organizations, and our residents and visitors who are their audiences. The Department directs the Art in Public Places program and serves its board, the Art in Public Places Trust, commissioning, curating, maintaining and promoting the County’s art collection. The Department also manages, programs and operates the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, a campus of state-of-the-art cultural facilities in Cutler Bay, as well as Miami Dade County Auditorium, Joseph Caleb Auditorium and the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, all dedicated to presenting and supporting excellence in the arts for the entire community. Through staff, board and programmatic resources, the Department, the Council and the Trust promote, coordinate and support Miami-Dade County’s more than 1,000 not-for-profit cultural organizations as well as thousands of resident artists through grants, technical assistance, public information and interactive community planning. The Department receives funding through the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, The Children’s Trust, the National Endowment for the Arts, the State of Florida through the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Other support and services are provided by TicketWeb for the Culture Shock Miami program, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, the South Florida Cultural Consortium and the Tourist Development Council.
ADA / ACCESSIBILITY
It is the policy of Miami-Dade County to comply with all of the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request materials in accessible format, sign language interpreters, and/or any accommodation to participate in Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs sponsored programs or meetings, please contact Francine Andersen at 305-375-4634, at least five days in advance to initiate your request. TTY users may also call 711 (Florida Relay Service.)
Stephen Belth, Culture Shock Miami, http://CultureShockMiami.com, +1 (516) 359-2548, [email protected]
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