The 2012 Roster of Singers

Those lucky enough to live in New England have learned to enjoy all of the pleasures of the four seasons. While each has its fans, few don’t have summer near the top of their list. After a sleepy winter and messy spring, the many pleasures of summer are welcomed and appreciated.

Part of the Cape Cod experience since 1994 is Hyannis Sound, a talented group of college-aged men, dressed in New England prep and singing a capella on a street corner or church basement.

Capella has seen a resurgence in popularity thanks to the popularity of the fictional group, The Warblers from Fox’s hugely popular television show, Glee.

Hyannis Sound prides itself not only on the quality of the voices of their singers but also the broad range of music they sing, appealing to everyone from the hip younger set to older people who enjoy pop to folk and show tunes.

Hyannis Sound see themselves as not simply a singing group but as a group of entertainers. Each summer they have a regular concert schedule singing both indoors and out in towns throughout the Cape. They also hold three special concerts – the Extravaganza held on July 4th weekend, the Reunion show held the first weekend in August, where members of the previous year’s group perform and the Final show, where the boys perform and share the experiences and adventures of a summer “on the road.”

Kevin Pidgeon, a Cape native who is in his third year with the group and currently also serves as Business Manager, describes living in a house with nine other guys 24/7 for the entire summer.   He says that the proximity of their living situation causes a special relationship to form that directly affects the music they make and the personality of the performance.

“Getting so close to guys who may be quite different in many respects and then bonding with them in performance provides a unique growth experience.   It all gets pretty personal”, says Kevin.

Because membership in the group is limited to those either entering college or in college, auditions are held in Boston every year for new members to replace those that have left college and are no longer eligible to be part of the group.

New members are selected not only on the basis of their musical ability but also on whether their personality and attitudes reflect the wholesome brand that Hyannis Sound has come to represent.   Many alumni of the group remain active in music and some like Ed Boyer, who is music producer for Glee and NBC’s Sing Off, are still very active in the music industry.

Hyannis Sound was the brainchild of Townsend Belisle who was part of a capella group on Martha’s Vineyard for two summer seasons.   In 1992, he recognized that the island environment imposed limits on the number of venues where the group could perform.

Looking to form a summer group that would perform all over Cape Cod and beyond, he took it on himself to visit fifteen different colleges and audition singers from their capella groups.   In 1994, Hyannis Sound held its first summer season with all the young men holding day jobs and squeezing in rehearsal and performances.

Things have changed. Hyannis Sound is now a self sufficient organization relying on sponsors, like Vineyard Vines who supply all the performance clothing, and revenue raised through public concerts, private performances and the sale of their numerous CDs.

Hyannis Sound has proven to be a terrific experience for the young men who are selected for membership and an incredibly enjoyable one for those that hear them.

Details:

The roster for Hyannis Sound for Summer 2012 is: Mark Whittington, Mike Hilliker, Brandon Borror-Chappell, Kevin Pidgeon, Andy Degan, Jim Hogan, Mike Hubbard, Brendon Mason, Joe Whitney and Colin Egan.

Kevin Pidgeon, Business Manager

(508) 560-7752

kevin@hyannissound.org

Townsend Belisle, Producer

(917) 975-8686

t@hyannissound.org

http://www.hyannissound.com/