Posts from — February 2010

We had callbacks last night and we’re happy to announce that we have two new “mutes” in Fundamentally Sound:

• Tyrell Harris
• Ryan Anderson

To those of you at callbacks who didn’t make, believe me when I say that this was one of the most impressive set of auditionees that the group has ever seen. Please stay involved with music and try out again in the future; our group has a lot of guys who auditioned more than once before making it. Joining one of UW-Madison’s choirs or taking voice lessons independently are both great ways to improve your voice.

"Delicate" by Damien Rice

Madison, WI – Fundamentally Sound performed alongside fellow Wisconsin A Cappella groups the MadHatters, Tangled up in Blue, and Redefined at a concert benefiting the American Cancer Society through UW-Madison’s Relay for Life event held April 16th at the Shell in Madison. This was the 3rd Annual Wisconsin A Cappella Showcase and was the first to feature a four-group opening piece as well as the usual closing round of “Varsity!”

"I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas

We had open auditions today and heard some amazingly talented singers and performers. Everybody who came out brought something really amazing to the table and making our selections for callbacks wasn’t easy. For those of you who didn’t make it, please stay involved with music and try out again; our group has a lot of guys who tried out more than once before making it in. For those of you who did make it, congratulations and we’ll see you on Tuesday night!

Callbacks are Tuesday night 8:30-10:30.

Madison, WI - Tomorrow’s 3rd Annual Wisconsin A Cappella Showcase was covered in an article by Jacqueline O’Reilly of the Daily Cardinal:

“There are several a cappella groups on campus, each with a distinctive sound and personality. This Saturday, the four groups—Fundamentally Sound, Tangled Up In Blue, MadHatters and Redefined —will team up to put on the A Cappella Showcase, a concert event featuring the groups both separately and together.

This is the third year UW’s various a cappella groups have teamed up…”

Read more…

Madison, WI – Fundamentally Sound will be holding open auditions for male UW singers on Sunday, February 21st, 2010 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM in the Humanities building on the UW campus.

To audition, please sign up on the choral board on the first floor of the Humanities building or just stop by during auditions and we’ll find a time for you to try out.

We are actively seeking basses, but singers of all voice parts are welcome and encouraged to audition.

For your audition, please be prepared to sing a verse and chorus of a song which highlights your voice.

"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" by Stevie Wonder

Madison, WI – Fundamentally Sound performed at the Student Activity Center on the UW-Madison campus last night at a birthday celebration for the building, which is one year old. The party was hosted the Associated Students of Madison (ASM), the official student government of UW-Madison. The party was a big hit with UW students!

"Lost" by Michael Buble

Madison, WI - Fundamentally Sound’s recent CARA nomination for “Best Male Collegiate Arrangement” was covered in a blog post by Lindsay Christians for 77 Square:

“Congratulations, Fundemantally Sound! The all-male UW-Madison a cappella group was recently nominated for an award by the Contemporary A Cappella Society (CASA).

Their original arrangement of Radiohead’s “High and Dry,” written by recent alumnus Bret Fanshaw, earned them a nod for “Best Male Collegiate Arrangement,” a category they share with more established groups like…”

Read more…

Madison, WI – Fundamentally Sound will perform at the Student Activity Center on the UW-Madison campus tonight to celebrate the SAC’s one year anniversary. Aside from the entertainment, ASM will be providing a lot of free food and you’ll have the chance to check out the student organizations housed in the building.

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 7:15 PM

Student Activity Center
333 East Campus Mall
Madison, WI 53715

Madison – Fundamentally Sound, an all-male student-run a cappella group at UW-Madison,  gained national recognition this week for an original arrangement of Radiohead’s “High and Dry” on their debut album Stratosphere.  The piece, written by recent alumnus Bret Fanshaw, was nominated for a Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA) for “Best Male Collegiate Arrangement” by the Contemporary A Cappella Society (CASA).  Each year, CASA receives submissions and judges a cappella groups from all around the world, including professional, collegiate, and high school groups.

“I honestly couldn’t believe it at first,” said Fanshaw, who graduated from UW in May 2009 with a B.A. in International Studies.  “We’ve all worked so hard to put this group together over the last 5 years, and it was truly incredible to see it pay off like that – especially on our very first album.”

Nationally, Fundamentally Sound was 1 of just 10 male collegiate groups and 1 of only 3 Midwestern collegiate groups nominated for a CARA this year.  Other male groups hailed from schools mostly on the East coast, such as the University of North Carolina, Brandeis University, Brown, and Clemson.  Among the nominees are recent American Idol contestant Anoop Desai for “Best Male Collegiate Solo” with the UNC Clef Hangers and the Tufts Beelzebubs, who received 4 nominations total and recently took second on NBC’s The Sing-Off, a nationally televised a cappella competition.

To see the full list of 2010 CARA nominees please visit http://www.casa.org/cara2010n

“Just to be recognized among some of the top groups and performers in the country is incredible for us,” said Michael Trevis, President of Fundamentally Sound and a student of film at UW. “It’s extremely flattering and makes me anxious to record again.”

Though this is Fundamentally Sound’s first CARA nomination, it is not UW-Madison’s first. Most recently, the UW MadHatters were nominated for “Best Male Collegiate Solo” for Mike Jurken’s performance on “I Believe” from their 2007 album Not for Credit.

Freddie Feldman of VOCOMOTION Studios in Skokie, IL worked with Fundamentally Sound to record, mix, and release Stratosphere, and is also a voting member of the Recording Academy (Grammys).

“Working on the Fundamentally Sound album was a pleasure. Unlike many collegiate a cappella groups, they know what they want and they smartly go about it,” said Feldman of FS.  “They also happen to be really cool guys, which makes it even more fun to work with them. It’s terrific to be recognized and they certainly deserve it.”

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Souper Bowl XIV

Madison, WI – This Saturday, February 6th, Fundamentally Sound will perform as part of Habitat for Humanity’s Souper Bowl XIV event held at Madison West High School. We are thrilled to be able to lend our voices to this, our first, Habitat for Humanity event! Though we are only performing from 7:00 PM to 7:50 PM, we encourage everyone to check out the entire event which will also feature appearances from Jessica Doyle and Bucky Badger and a performance from the UW Band.

Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at 7:00 PM

Madison West High School
30 Ash Street
Madison, WI 53726