Many of these groups welcome Concert and Benefit appearance opportunities - put some fun a cappella into your event!

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Full-Time Professional a cappella groups

Amateur and Semi-professional a cappella groups

  • +4db, Sunnyvale (David Duran, 408-732-8158, fax: 408-516-9983), S. Peninsula. Dig the a cappella quintet that swings and surprises with a repertoire that ranges from straight-ahead jazz to contemporary pop.
  • The Bettys (Lisa, 650-726-0446), female quartet based in Half Moon Bay covering all styles of music--jazz, madrigals, R&B, pop, World Beat, etc. Perform a lot in HMB and Palo Alto areas.
  • BOHICA, (sing@bohica-acappella.com, (650) 756-5781), a 4 person co-ed acappella group that performs all over the San Francisco Bay Area. Their arrangements and performances have drawn praise from luminaries such as Edmund P. Walrustitty and the Earl of Fop. Recent accomplishments include creating life in a petri dish, knitting the worlds largest scarf, and holding our breath for 4 days straight. If the price is right, we will sing anywhere and anytime, without regard for our personal safety. So if you have a problem, and no one else can help, and if you can find us, maybe you can hire, BOHICA.
  • Bophadem, San Jose (Chris Wilder, (415) 922-3335), "the Epitome of DooWop".
  • Brotherhood (San Francisco and Fremont areas)
  • Boyz Nite Out, 1995 Bay Area Harmony Sweepstakes Champs from Sacramento
  • Dilemma -- Take the power of rock, the grit of blues, and the smooth groove of R&B. Add commanding vocal percussion, an impressive bass line, a compelling vocal and stylistic range and you have the 5-woman group -- DILEMMA! Rahela Abbas, 650-327-8728.
  • The Eclectic Company, a 9-voice multi-style (rock, jazz, E. European, classical, originals...). Features four writer/arrangers, four music teachers, two members blest with perfect pitch. Call Santa Cruz (831)457-0910 or e-mail jpaul@ix.netcom.com
  • Ellusive, (ellusivefan@hotmail.com), a young a capella singing group (ages 14-17) in the San Jose area.
  • ESTHER, 20-member women's ensemble blending a refined musicality with a zany attitude.
  • Flying Without Instruments (Caia (415) 824 4011, info@flyingwithoutinstruments.com), founded December 1996, 9 mixed voices, sing and perform all styles of a cappella music from several centuries, "from Byrd to the B-52's."
  • High Five, 5 females singing anything from pop to classical to holiday music. Somehow (we're not sure how) we've managed to specialize in weddings, but our favorite thing is singing at holiday parties.
  • Hookslide, (info@hook-slide.com) A five part, four person, all-male vocal band, featuring a repetoire of rock, pop, funk, and r&b covers and originals.
  • Huzzah!, San Jose (Pandora Simmons, 408.298-4467), an early music vocal sextet.
  • IMPROVOX, an SF group blending a cappella and theatre improvisation. Doni, 415-267-3034 or humorwrx@sirius.com. Note: they are NOT a comedy group, although the work does inspire a lot of laughs.
  • Kinsey Sicks, (415) 882-1142, ksicks@aol.com -- "America's Favorite Dragappella Beautyshop Quartet" (Winner, SF regional sweeps audience favorite, 1999)
  • KITKA Women's Vocal Ensemble (Oakland, (510) 444-0323, staff@kitka.org)
  • The Loose Canons (SF/Oakland): a 10 voice womens a cappella ensemble, sings intriguing songs from all over. Rehearse Sunday evenings from 6:30-9pm. Contact Jillian Tallmer, 415-668-2284, or YIDL@peoplepc.com.
  • MadriGals, all-queer-male a capella singers seek additional voices for fun and song, especially counter-tenors and tenors who are willing to perform in public. Location is San Francisco Bay Area. dzechman@prodigy.net
  • Making Waves -- Singing Out Truth in 5-part Harmony. Original women's acapella ensemble. Currently auditioning new members. irinarivkin@hotmail.com, Irina Rivkin, 510-524-3545
  • Mary Schmary
  • montereyvoice, Monterey: a small acappella group that invites people to come and sing with them. helene@sbcglobal.net
  • Musaic, A men's vocal ensemble dedicated to musical excellence and to exploring exciting music which expands the limits of a cappella singing.
  • Naked Voices (Carolyn Stark, (831) 475-9151, cjstark@cats.ucsc.edu), singing a wide variety of a cappella music ranging from R&B, Rock, Gospel and Swing, has been together for the last 9 years.
  • Mostly Motets sing a cappella sacred music from the Renaissance and earlier. We are looking for a couple of more singers.
  • New Originals, Berkeley
  • New Trix: Quartet in Sacramento since 1990, singing the best of jazz, big band era songs, pop, musical theater and spirituals. New Trix specializes in programs for lodges, clubs, conventions and other private groups, but does occasional public concerts.
  • O-Face! started on a fateful cold day in October of 2001, when a couple of veterans of Bay Area musical groups grew tired of lugging heavy equipment to innumerable gigs. The 5 members of O-Face! come from a variety of non-musical backgrounds: a lawyer, a photographer, a student, a CPA, and a database designer. What they have in common is a love of singing. Their eclectic a cappella repertoire includes straight-ahead rock and roll and the syncopations of a Latin groove, but theyıre at their best when they indulge their sense of humor: screaming Argonauts attack, a jilted boyfriend performs surgery on himself, and winsome bullfrogs are wooed. The broadly appealing result is what O-Face! calls "ear-catching entertainment" for everyone. O-Face! has brought their vocal mayhem to festivals, charity events, and venues of just about every kind around Northern California.
  • One of Each, a 4 member group located in the south bay.
  • Out On A Clef, a lesbian a cappella quartet that sings swing, barbershop, jazz with twisted lyrics to old songs, plus their own original works. Fun and satirical, they perform all over the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Janet Rachel, 510-654-4088, jardsp@uclink4.berkeley.edu
  • OutBurst, the a cappella octet performance group of the Silicon Valley Gay Menıs Chorus.
  • Red Shift, Redshift, an eight-person mixed group singing a capella arrangements of pop, rock, and jazz. Contact Stephen Nelson, steven@jubal.com
    • .
  • The Richter Scales are a baker's dozen of gentlemen songsters, all residents of the San Francisco Bay Area. We perform selections from a wide variety of genres, including American standards, Broadway, Motown, and contemporary music. We rehearse in San Francisco. Loren, (415) 440-3797
  • Rolls Voyce (SF, W. Sutton, days 707-257-0408, eves 707-226-5927). Gershwin, Cole Porter, oldies, originals.
  • Ro Sham Bo, Berkeley (roshambosings@yahoo.com)
  • San Francisco Sacred Harp Singing Group (non-performing), Carolyn Deacy, (415) 585-4773
  • Savina Women's Folk Choir, (510) 530-1567
  • Smorgaschord \'smOr-gas-kord\ n. 1: a variety of tones and rhythms spread out on a buffet table; 2: a group of entertaining singers of a cappella music who enjoy a wide range of styles and can often be found near a buffet table. 3. people who answer email sent to smorgaschord@yahoogroups.com
  • Solstice, founded in 1996, is a female vocal ensemble specializing both in music written by women and for women's voices. Our music spans many different genres, including classical, world, pop, jazz, and gospel. We are also committed to performing new works for female voices and regularly compose, commission, and arrange new songs. solstice@sirius.com, (415) 364-3065.
  • speedzoo, a fun, contemporary 1 woman/4 men group. Eclectic repertoire including rock/pop and other styles. Ken Purchase, (650) 965-4832
  • Spontaneous Combustion, 4 man a cappella quartet specializing in attack serenades.  Spontaneous Combustion is based in the Bay Area on the Penninsula but goes most places for singing engagements.  They sing everything from doo-wop to contemporary a cappella.  They've been called "better than Phil Donahue!"  Bill Lapcevic, Business manager, 650-954-9692.
  • The Starry Knights are are an all-male quintet, based in San Francisco, that performs the vocal group classics from the 50's and 60's. A quote from the judges at the 2003 SF Bay Area Cabaret Competition states: "What rhythm and emotional delivery...highly technical in the harmonizing...tight as a snare drum...really picked up the energy."
  • Sweet Deliverance, Christian A Cappella Vocal Band. Has been performing on a part-time basis for over 20 years.
  • Talk of da Town, Oakland
  • Total Chaos, Santa Rosa.
  • Three 5 and 6, audience favorite at the 2001 Harmony Sweepstakes Semifinals in San Francisco. Based in Sacramento.
  • Threshold Choirs, (Kate Munger, (415) 669-1413), several groups of women who are called to sing at the bedsides of people who are dying. There are choirs in San Francisco, Marin County, Sonoma County, the East Bay, Bolinas, Contra Costa County and Placerville, with choirs starting soon in Palo Alto, Santa Cruz, and more out-of-state.
  • Voci del Tesoro is a Bay Area-based touring choir of professional singers dedicated to the prayerful presentation of the Catholic Church's finest music through sacred concerts and liturgies. We sing all periods of serious repertoire from Gregorian Chant to the 21st century. Most, but not all music is acappella, and we specialize in early music.
  • VocaMotion, Santa Cruz (Jonathan Arthur)
  • Wicki 6, a mixed sextet with vocal percussion and a pop repertoire of original songs and arrangements ranging from R&B to classic rock with stops at jazz, 80's and grunge.

Amateur and Semi-Professional Choirs

Additional Bay Area choruses listed on this site: Choruses of Northern California

  • Bay Area Showcase, BASC@juno.com, (408) 973-1555, San Jose
  • California Bach Society -- Warren Stewart, Artistic Director; 30-voice choir performing historically informed interpretation> of Renaissance and Baroque choral music as it might have been performed in the original liturgical settings.
  • Berkeley Community Chamber Chorus (a sub-group of the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra)
  • Baroque Choral Guild Chorus (Palo Alto/Berkeley): 70-member amateur choir. Repertoire ranges from baroque masterpieces to under-performed modern works. March concerts feature a cappella music. (650) 969-4095
  • Chancel Choir of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
  • The Choral Project, Founded in 1996 by Artistic Director Daniel Hughes, The Choral Project has performed throughout Northern California, Washington, D.C., Mexico, Costa Rica and most recently Scotland, England and Wales where they won 2nd Place in Mixed Choral Competition at the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales. The ensemble has recorded four compact discs, most recently completing a critically-acclaimed recording entitled "Water & Light," featuring the music of Eric Whitacre as well as selections by Lauridsen, Clausen, Tavener and others.
  • Contra Costa Chorale
  • Foothill College Concert Choir (Rafael Ornes, (415) 949-7010) - open to public
  • Choir at the Golden Gate Center For Spiritual Living, Corte Madera. growspurt@aol.com.
  • Golden Gate Men's Chorus, San Francisco (415-668-GGMC) singing a capella about 65% of the time; otherwise accompanied by everything from piano to African percussion. A gay chorus (although heterosexuals are welcome) with 40 male voices ranging from bass to soprano. Traditionally, they have sung mostly Western classical music from medieval to contemporary. Since their director Joseph Jennings (who also directs Chanticleer) joined them in 1996, they have also begun to do more popular and gospel music. Usually three concert seasons a year.
  • Marin A-cappella Singers (MAS), Sausalito on Monday nights 7-9, and Mill Valley on Wednesdays Afternoons 12-3. growspurt@aol.com.
  • Pacific Mozart Ensemble, Berkeley (Kathie Longinotti, 510-528-2959, 40 voices) serves the communities of Alameda and San Francisco Counties. The ensemble presents a wide range of choral musical styles, including, but not limited to, traditional choral literature, new works by contemporary composers and a cappella jazz and pop. They perform for local audiences and collaborate often with local performing arts groups and composers.
  • Pacific Empire Chorus - Sweet Adeline group
  • Peninsula Women's Chorus, (650)327-3095
  • Sacred & Profane, Oakland (music of all ages and lands)
  • San Francisco Bach Choir (Sharon Gustavson, 415-922-6562)
  • San Francisco Choral Artists, conducted by Magen Solomon, is a 22-voice chamber chorus that sings mostly a cappella, mostly classical music from Renaissance to contemporary times. We work closely with Bay Area composers and feature world premieres at almost every concert. info@sfca.org, 415-979-5779
  • San Francisco Lyric Chorus, conducted by Robert Gurney, 415-775-5111, 50-voice auditioned, mixed chorus performing both (mostly) classical choral works of all periods (mostly Romantic & modern), both a cappella and accompanied.
  • San Jose Peace Chorale, Spreading the message of peace and justice through song
  • Santa Clara Chorale
  • Saringhimig Singers is located at 540 Urbano Drive, San Francisco, 94127.
  • Schola Cantorum, Mountain View
  • Soli Deo Gloria (info@sdgloria.org)
  • Sunnyvale Singers
  • Viva la Musica!, Foster City, 50 voice, mixed choir specializing in classical and multicultural music. Contact Shulamit Hoffmann, Director at music@machutch.com, (650) 349-9918
  • Voci, Berkeley -- Women's group that performs all kinds of music.
  • Vocal InFusion, 408-374-5228, P.O. Box 32346, San Jose, CA, 95152. We are a women's chorus based in the South Bay. We sing a wide variety of both acappella and accompanied works. email is info@rainbowwomen.org
  • VOCI Women's Vocal Ensemble, VOCI rehearses Wednesday evenings from 7:30 to 10 PM in Orinda. Founded in 1991, recognized as one of the finest choral groups in the Bay Area. VOCI champions music by women and for women, from all parts of the world and every century. voci@angelfire.com
  • Voices: Bay Area Lesbian Choral Ensemble
  • Westwind Voices, Oakland (folk/world music)

Amateur and Semi-Professional Barbershop Groups

SPEBSQSA Chapters (Choruses)
SPEBSQSA Men's Quartets (most updated info is at Far Western District Site)
  • Bay Town Chord Company, 510-527-7862
  • Boyd Dewey Ringem and Howe, 408-247-8814
  • Buskers, 707-823-4977
  • Bygone Sound, 707-829-1387
  • Century Notes, 408-266-5548
  • Classichords, 707-7644-9028
  • Fault Finders, elwirt@svpal.org
  • Fault Line (contact thru Pleasanton Chorus, above)
  • Four 'Til Midnight, 408-3754-7455
  • Four Flights Up, 408-722-4435
  • Four The Fun of It, 415-461-5905
  • Freestyle (Sacramento), International-caliber men's quartet
  • Golden Gate Quartet, 415-692-2580
  • Good Times, (see San Jose Chapter Home Page)
  • Great Expectations, 510-447-2929
  • Half Past Eight, 408-779-1857
  • HHH cubed, orloffs@ix.netcom.com
  • In The Chips, 415-327-4785
  • The Incredibles, 510-228-0157
  • Kitchen Table Four (see San Jose Chapter Home Page)
  • Late Show, 408-377-4516
  • L'Attitude, women's barbershop quartet.
  • Mother's Favorite, 909-781-6474
  • Nightingale Square, 209-823-0400
  • Nostalgiatrics, 415-456-4822
  • Old Town Four, 415-897-7050
  • Olde Golde, 707-585-7628
  • On The Town, 415-368-9310
  • Out Of The Box -.far western district finalist quartet
  • Over The Hill Gang, 510-886-0270
  • Overtones, 707-253-8841
  • Pacific Heights, 415-387-5442
  • Pacific Sounds, 408-268-3593
  • Plus Four, 408-624-1343
  • Rocky Butte Boys, 805-481-8291, jstaley@slonet.org
  • Sound Investors, 408-371-5066
  • Sound Solution, 510-376-6968
  • Sound Track, 415-924-0425
  • South Valley Barbershop Harmony Company, 408-268-0361
  • Stage Crew Quartet, 408-247-8814, Stage_Crew@pobox.com
  • Three Good Friends Et Al., 415-329-9831
  • Time Be Four, 510-653-7664
  • TOC PWR MWR Racing Team, 415-456-3963
  • Vocal Security, 415-368-5418
  • Who Invited Them, 707-545-7423
  • Wine Country Cordials, 707-523-1468

    Most listings are from the Far Western District 1996 Directory based on area code, some quartets are inactive, some very active and quite good .
Sweet Adelines Chapters (Choruses)
Womens' Quartets
Mixed Harmony Barbershop Quartet Association (contact these quartets thru orloffs@ix.netcom.com)
  • Good Times
  • Half & Half
  • Hormonal Imbalance
  • Just 4 Fun
  • Mixed Metafour
  • Party of Four

Collegiate a cappella groups

Urban Harmony Movement A Cappella Choruses

Come sing with us. Urban Harmony is forming groups all over the San Francisco Bay Area where you can create the joy that is a cappella singing. Feel the excitement of harmony, share your favorite songs, and tingle with the thrill of performing! No experience is necessary, everyone is welcome and there are no auditions and no fees.

Email uhm@casa.org for more information, or stop by one of our rehearsals.

Adult Groups

  • San Francisco Harmony: rehearses on Mondays from 7 to 9 pm at YWCA Apartments (1st Floor), 940 Powell St. (between Sacramento & Clay)
  • East Bay Harmony: rehearses on Mondays from 7 to 9 pm at St. Paul's Church in Oakland, 116 Montecito (near Lake Merritt)
  • Peninsula Harmony: rehearses on Mondays from 7:30 to 9:30 pm at Christ Episcopal Church in Los Altos, 1040 Border Rd. (located just off Foothill Expressway, between El Monte and Magdalena)
  • North Bay Harmony: rehearses on Monday evenings from 7:30 to 9:30 at St. Vincent's School for Boys (off the Marinwood exit on 101). Ed Cohn, director.

Children's & High School Groups

  • Cantabile Children's Chorus of the Peninsula, for kids age 6 and up, Los Altos, (415) 967-8012
  • San Mateo: (Junipero Serra High School) The Eleven Dollar Quartet, a very accomplished group of seniors who pass on the tradition of the quartet to the juniors behind them. Contact Mr. Jay Jordan at 650-345-8207.
  • Monterey: (Santa Catalina High School) ECCO (Italian for "we are here"), consisting of 15 female high school students. (Adrienne Harris, Megan MacDonald). Contact Jaime Stevens.
  • Santa Cruz Alternative Family Education Homeschooling Choir, part of the Santa Cruz Schools, in the homeschooling program (AFE). It has over 40 members, with about 8 parents and the rest children ages 6 - 18.

Additions and Updates

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