Crank Up The A Cappella!

Oct. 7, 2016

Vocalosity at the City Opera House

Behind every great show is a great director. The a cappella pop show Vocalosity, coming to the City Opera House in Traverse City, hit the jackpot with their director, who also created the show and serves as its producer and arranger.

Deke Sharon is widely known as the father of contemporary a cappella, the style of music that relies solely on voices, with no other musical accompaniment. Sharon, who started singing as a youth, said he still doesn’t know if he chose to pursue music or if it chose him.

“It’s when I heard vocal harmony that the clouds parted, and I was hit with the proverbial shaft of light,” he said with a chuckle. “I started collecting pro and collegiate a cappella records in high school, never expecting that one day my collection would form the core of the Contemporary A Cappella Society’s library.”

For decades, a cappella music was considered the territory of church choirs, collegiate groups, and barbershop quartets alone.

But while Sharon was in college, he started working with a cappella vocals in a different way, using the voices as instruments to create layers of sound and rhythm that transcended mere vocal harmony.

“It was more like a pop recording,” he said. “And audiences went crazy! I knew I had lightning in a bottle, but whenever I told someone about my dream career, they either snickered or asked me what I was going to do for money. I didn’t let that stop me, and now 25 years later I’m an overnight success.”

As word got out about Sharon’s innovative a cappella work, interested singers and vocal groups started calling him for his music-arranging services.

Soon, the likes of Disney, Universal, and NBC came calling, and Sharon found himself named music director for the films Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2 and as a coach on TV series The Sing-Off, working with groups like Penn Masala and Pentatonix. “Before this explosion of interest in a cappella, I thought, ‘If this is all I ever do — work with school groups, tour around performing — I’m perfectly happy! I’m living my dream!’ And then things went crazy,” he said.

Dori Armor from IMG Artists reached out to Sharon to inquire if he thought a cappella music would work on the theatrical circuit. “We hit it off, laughed a lot — and before we both knew it, we were designing the perfect group and show together!” Sharon said. “Pitch Perfect and YouTube videos by Pentatonix are wonderful and beloved, but they’re on a screen and cannot compare to the incredible power of hearing vocal harmony live.”

The result of their collaboration is, of course, Vocalosity, a group of ten singers selected from The Sing-Off and The Voice shows, Broadway plays and national performing tours. The group performs together as one vocal orchestra, and each member also steps out into smaller spotlight performances.

The show’s musical style covers everything from madrigals, barbershop songs, and sea ballads to The Beatles, Motown, and current pop tunes by the likes of Bruno Mars and Ariana Grande. One of the most remarkable things about the group is how members seamlessly execute 10-part harmonies together — and then wow the crowd with solos. Choreography from original Stomp cast member Sean Curran adds to the showmanship.

“The joy is in hearing how they execute these songs,” Sharon said. “Wait until you hear the voices of Vocalosity — each and every one is an all-star!” For many years, performing as a singer was Sharon’s goal, but he said he’s at a stage now where he can reach more people by producing shows like Vocalosity, and that’s what matters to him. “Spreading harmony, inspiring others to sing, and making the world a more harmonious place,” he said. “I know it sounds crazy, but I’m the kid who heard the ‘I’d like to teach the world to sing’ Coca-Cola jingle and took it as career advice!”

Vocalosity, under the direction of Deke Sharon, will perform at the City Opera House in Traverse City on Thursday, Oct. 13. For tickets and more information, visit cityoperahouse. org or call 231-941-8082.