The Stanford Mendicants are an all-male a cappella group at Stanford University. The group is Stanford University's first a cappella group. Since its founding in 1963, the group's size has varied from 6 to 19 members. Although they are strictly an a cappella group today, they have performed with instruments in previous generations. The group prides itself on singing a wide range of songs, from gospel to barbershop to pop tunes and original compositions. The Mendicants are known around Stanford's campus for their red blazers and romantic serenades.[citation needed]
The Stanford Mendicants | |
|---|---|
 The Mendicants performing at the 2011 State of the Valley Conference in San Jose | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Stanford, California, USA |
| Genres | A Cappella |
| Years active | 1963—present |
| Website | www.StanfordMendicants.com |
History and Accolades
The Stanford Mendicants was founded in 1963 by Hank Adams, a transfer student from Yale University, with a group of 5 undergraduate men. The group originally rehearsed only a single song before breaking into the dining commons of Branner Hall, an all-women's dormitory at the time, and performing their song during lunch. Adams often recalled, himself tearing up, that during their performance, the women wept, and there was literally "not a dry eye in the house". Having only rehearsed the one song, they quickly fled through an open window and went immediately back to rehearsal.[editorializing]
Their 1998 album Besides What You See received a 4.2 rating from the Recorded A Cappella Review Board (rarb.org), which is the group's highest album score to date.
The group was Runner-Up in three categories in the inaugural Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs) in 1992. As of 2020, they have been nominated for six more recording awards since then: in 1999, 2001, 2005, and 2019.
Mendicant songs were selected for Varsity Vocals' "Best of Collegiate A Cappella" compilation album in both 2001 and 2005.
On February 2, 2019, The Stanford Mendicants finished in first place in the ICCA Northern California Quarter-Finals in Redwood City, CA. The Mendicants also took home two individual awards, including Outstanding Soloist, for Austin Zambito-Valente, and Outstanding Choreography, for Khoi Le and Gabe Wieder.
Notable alumni
- Chris Ayer, Singer and Songwriter
- Jordan Gelber, actor from the Broadway run of Avenue Q
- Founding Mendicant Dick Grant, Director of the Pacific Mozart Ensemble
- Founding Mendicant John Frohnmayer, Politician and Professor at Oregon State University[citation needed]
- Joseph Siravo, actor with The Sopranos and Jersey Boys National Tour]]
Discography
- Untitled (1964)
- Untitled (1965)
- A Fellow Needs a Girl (1966)
- Untitled (1967)
- Untitled (1969)
- Untitled (1973)
- Untitled (1975)
- Untitled (1977)
- Untitled (1979)
- Clean-Cut and Slightly Frayed (1981)
- Somewhere in Hawaii (1982)
- Take You Back (1986)
- Pretending to Care (1987)
- Aquapella (1989)
- Just Like That (1991)
- Feline Casanova (1992)
- Back For Seconds (1994)
- Beggars Can't Be Choosers (1996)
- Besides What You See (1998)
- Room to Grow (2000)
- Best Laid Plans (2002)
- Mendication (2004)
- Beggar's Dozen (2006)
- Roses In My Hand (2008)
- Sh-Boom (2012)
- Just a Group of Guys (2013)
- Mendicants At Large (2015)
- For the Long Haul (2018)
- Trailblazer (2019)
- Detour (2021)
- Horizon (2023)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards | Best Male Collegiate Album | Just Like That | Runner-up (tie) | |
| Best Male Collegiate Song | "Long Train Runnin'" | Runner-up (tie) | |||
| Best Male Collegiate Arrangement | "Brown Eyed Girl" | Runner-up | |||
| 1999 | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards | Best Male Collegiate Album | Besides What You See | Runner-up | |
| Best Male Collegiate Song | "Drive" | Nominated | |||
| Best Male Collegiate Soloist | Brandon Singleton | Nominated | |||
| 2001 | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards | Best Male Collegiate Song | "Happy Together" | Nominated | |
| 2005 | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards | Best Male Collegiate Song | "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" from Mendication | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards | Best Male Collegiate Song | "Control" from For the Long Haul | Nominated | |
| A Cappella Video Awards | Best Male Collegiate Video | "Kiss the Sky" | Runner-up |
ICCA results
The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) first judged live a cappella performance competitions in 1996.
| Year | Level | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Points | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | West Region Quarterfinal #2 | Best Solo | Brandon Singleton for "Reach Out" | Runner‑up | — | |
| 2002 | West Region Quarterfinal #3 | Best Soloist | Eric Tanner | Won | — | |
| 2017 | Northwest Quarterfinal #4 | Best Group | Mendicants | 2nd | 399 | |
| Northwest Semifinal | Best Group | Mendicants | 3rd | 361 | ||
| 2018 | West Quarterfinal #4 | Best Group | Mendicants | 3rd | 334 | |
| 2019 | West Quarterfinal #3 | Best Group | Mendicants | 1st | 389 | |
| Outstanding Soloist | Austin Zambito-Valente for "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood/How Long" | Won | — | |||
| Outstanding Choreography | Gabe Wieder and Khoi Le for the entire set | Won | — | |||
| 2020 | West Quarterfinal #5 | Best Group | Mendicants | 2nd | 343 | |
| Outstanding Soloist | Austin Zambito-Valente for "Dig Down" | Won | — | |||
| Outstanding Arrangement | Chris Kaya for the entire set | Won | — |