Spring 1989: The Dreamers of Phi Mu Alpha (Founded by Kevin McMahon)

In the spring semester of 1989, Dreamers Director Kevin McMahon formed a small six man doo wop group from the membership of the Alpha Zeta Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha. They formed the group to perform on a Chapter Day recital and to sing one gig at Baby's in downtown State College. The Dreamers, who at the time were just known as the "50's doo wop singers," sang two songs at Baby's, "In The Still of the Night" and "At the Hop." Kevin told the fledgling group, "No commitments, guys. One gig and that's it."

Many commitments and thousands of gigs later, the Dreamers of Phi Mu Alpha have become Penn State's oldest a cappella group and the only all-male group. The Dreamers have gone through several directors and several musical style changes, all the while maintaining their integrity as the campus "Singing Valentines Guys." The Dreamers have performed at countless classrooms, dorms, and homes every February since 1990. Spring Break tours have reached thousands of young musicians at schools all over the northeast. The Dreamers have sung downtown after football games and football Sundays at SBS for most of their history. They've also sung such notable gigs as President Bush's visit to Old Main lawn, THON, the all a cappella show on a Boston radio station, and the semi-finals round of the 1997 Collegiate A Cappella Championships.

Dreamers Home  
Currently Active

Fall 1991: None of the Above (Founded by Robin Wynn)

None of the Above came to life when a graduate student from the U. of Binghamton came to Penn State and saw that only one group existed. Having directed the Binghamton Binghamtonics as an undergrad, Robin decided to form a coed a cappella group here at Penn State. Their first performance was as a prelude to the PSU University Brass' annual Christmas concert.

Since then NOTA has grown and evolved, and has now found their niche in 90's alternative pop/rock (with the occasional chart from other eras thrown in). They are currently the only group to be recognized officially as a Penn State organization, and their concerts have historically always benefited outside charities such as the Centre County Women's Resource Center.

http://www.clubs.psu.edu/nota  
Currently Active

Spring 1992: Four the Glory (founded by Jeff Lobdell and Tom West)

Four the Glory was the second vocal group to be sponsored by Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. They were created by Jeff Lobdell and Tom West, two Sinfonians with a love of barbershop music. They debuted at the Dreamers' concert that spring, and have had an on/off history ever since.

During the 1997-1998 school year, 4 The Glory, under the direction of Shawn Gable, made a comeback and had a fine year.

http://www.clubs.psu.edu/up/sinfonia/Ensembles/4tg/
Occasionally active

Summer 1993: The Pennharmonics (Founded by Shawn Pearce and Robert Edsall)

The Pennharmonics came about when Shawn, who had recently left the university, wanted to get back into a cappella. Having met Rob Edsall (a PSU graduate student who had directed the Kenyon College Chasers as an undergrad), the two got together and killed some time with several of their friends... as a "just for the summer" group. Five years later...

The Penns have achieved much over the years. They annually host Shamrockapella, a collegiate a cappella invitational that draws several groups a year, and have a recording, "Premiere", featuring several songs from the groups' early history. Musically, they perform an eclectic mix of songs from the 60's to the 90's...as long as it's fun for the group and the audience, they like to sing it. The Penns were also the first to perform at the Student Book Store downtown (They performed during Arts Festival that summer), starting a tradition that continues to this day.

http://www.pennharmonics.com/ 
Currently Active

Spring 1994: The Treblemakers (Founded by Dave Chapman and Erin Barch)

With an all-male group and two coed groups on PSU Campus at this time, it was only a matter of time before an all-female group was created. Thus the Treblemakers were born. Their most notable trait was that they were the first group to have a non-singing director (and given that Dave was their director, it would have been hard for him to sing with the women). The Trebs were known for their take-no-prisoners arrangements, crossing boundaries in both what was expected of female groups, and in terms of diversity of repertoire.

Inactive as of Spring 1996

Summer 1994: Section 8 (Founded Brian Panulla/Shawn Pearce)

Section 8 was another "summer" group, founded from the idea of taking representatives of all the existing a cappella groups and forming a "supergroup" to do small ensemble work. For the brief time they were in existence, Section 8 sung a diverse range of repertoire, and showed a propensity for humor and musicality that pushed the envelope for music at that time. After a brief attempt the following fall to keep it going when three members moved away, Section 8 quietly disbanded.

Inactive as of Spring 1995

Summer 1994: Out of Nowhere (Founded by Rob Edsall)

A group of friends from the previous summer's Pennharmonics grouping decide to get together and sing for the summer again...only this time they stay together beyond the summer. Made up mainly of graduate students and other older singers at first, Out of Nowhere had a more mature sound, both in the complexity of the arrangements and in the style of music they sang. They stayed together for two years in various incarnations, even performing some originals towards the end of their run before they decided to disband in the spring of 1996

Inactive as of Spring 1996

Summer 1994: The A Cappella Project (founded by Shawn Pearce)

The A Cappella Project was created for a specific purpose: To bring new singers into the world of a cappella. By taking several people who already sang a cappella during the year, and adding several new freshmen and others into the mix, it acted both as a musical outlet for the summer and as a recruiting tool for PSU A Cappella. After that first summer, four of the members new to the group sang with a full-time PSU ensemble that year.

Since it's inception, there have been about 15 people who came into Project having never sung a cappella before who have since joined various PSU groups, as well as over 25 past members of PSU groups that have performed in the Project over various summers, many more than once. They perform every year during the Central PA Arts Festival and have an end-of-summer concert yearly.

Active only during summer

Spring 1995: Northern Lights (founded by Joe DiMasi/Pete Frank)

Northern Lights is to date the only attempt at an all-male a cappella group at PSU other than the Dreamers...and even in their short lifespan, they made their mark. Focusing on small ensemble work, they created a very specific blend and style that to date hasn't been duplicated on PSU's campus. Unfortunately, losing three members to graduation and the real world was too much for the group, and they quickly folded shortly into the fall semester.

Inactive as of Fall 1996

Fall 1996: The Grace Notes (founded by Shawn Pearce)

The Grace Notes brought God to the a cappella community, with a focus on music that conveyed the Good News about Jesus Christ. They performed both distinctively Christian music and secular music with meanings that could be made specific to the Christian message. Since that time, they have become one of the most active of the a cappella groups, performing 10-15 performances a semester, not including their end of the semester campus concert. In the spring of 1997, they also hosted the Gospel Jam, featuring 7 Christian a cappella groups from campuses around the country.

http://members.truepath.com/gracenotes (link inactive)
Currently Active

Spring 1997: Savoir Faire (Founded by Ginger Robinson)

Recognizing a void left at PSU a cappella with the demise of the Treblemakers, Ginger Robinson, a former director of None of the Above, formed Savoir Faire. Those "chicks in ties" have been making music ever since, performing a concert at the end of each semester as well as various other locations on and off campus.

http://www.savoirfaireacappella.com/
Currently Active

Summer 1997: Seven and Seven (Founded by Brian Panulla and Ginger Robinson)

Seven and Seven was based on bringing seven members each of Savoir Faire and the Dreamers together to do a coed concert for the summer. Even though it didn't *quite* work out that way, they still got together and did some awesome music, closing the summer with a joint concert with that years' A Cappella Project. Their most notable moment was when they made the front page of the Collegian due to an incident at that years Arts Festival (They were stopped from singing by festival officials because they weren't officially part of the festival).

Inactive as of Summer 1997

Fall 1999: Rhythm of Faith

Rhythm of Faith is an A Cappella group from the Asian American Christian Fellowship. Founded in the fall of 1999, our mission is to share the message of God through the songs and lyrics of our music. The group has performed an array of selections which include gospel, contemporary Christian, and medleys from popular arists; old school and new.

http://www.clubs.psu.edu/up/rof/
Currently Active

Fall 2001: Carnivores with Hats

Carnivores with Hats has the distinction of being PSU's newest a cappella group, founded this September by its four core members, though we won't tell you which ones. Frankly, we wanted to be musical, and simultaneously do it on our own terms -- and thus, Carnivores with Hats were born. Why A Cappella, you ask? Well, we'll tell you -- we don't play any instruments. We support strange harmonies, banjo noises made with one's mouth, and the gratuitous consumption of beef and pork (except those of us who are vegetarian or keep Kosher -- but again, we're not telling).

If, ten years from now, you see a shabbily-dressed person wearing an immaculate fedora, sitting on the sidewalk with a sign that reads "Will Sing for Meat", you're probably looking at what's to become of any given member of Carnivores with Hats. To quote their mission statement: "We wear hats to protect ourselves from the sun. We eat meat to protect ourselves from anemia. We sing to protect vegetarians from themselves." Why are they PSU's newest a cappella group? Because no one had the gall to found another one. Where will they perform? Anywhere with good acoustics and bacon. Why do they even bother? Because without Carnivores, they'd just be Hats."

Inactive as of Spring '05

Fall 2003: Shades of Blue (Founded by Mark Lehnowsky)

It all started in fall 2003 when Mark Lehnowsky decided to find 7 other people who enjoyed singing a cappella as much as he did. We started as a non-performing group, just a couple people who got together every week to sing. We soon decided to share our music with some of our fellow students. And here we are today!

http://www.myspace.com/psushadesofblue
Currently Active

Fall 2008: The Leading Tones

The Leading Tones is an all-female 'a cappella' group consisting of members of the Sigma Alpha Iota professional music fraternity for women. Our mission is to encourage original music making in our sisterhood, and to bond through the excitement of 'a cappella.' We are a brand new group as of Fall of 2008, and look forward to performing and sharing our music and experiences with Penn State!

Contact: Business Manager: Dawn Gannon, Musical Director: Meagan Finnerty
Currently Active

Fall 2008: Blue in the FACE

Contact
Currently Active

(Note: Prior to the Dreamers, in the early 80's, existed a group called Doo Wopp, Inc. based out of PSU. One of the former members is now the head of Centretainment talent agency.)

Penn State A Cappella History courtesy of PSU Harmony A Cappella  

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Last modified on January 18, 2009 by Chase Tralka