Mosaic Whispers

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Mosaic Whispers
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
GenresA Cappella
Years active1991–present
LabelsCollegiate
WebsiteOfficial website

Mosaic Whispers (also known as "The Whispers") is a

Straight No Chaser, received a number of CARA nominations
, and have been included on a number of national a cappella compilation albums.

History

The Mosaic Whispers was founded in 1991 by a group of students and first performed together at Washington University's Thurtene Carnival. It is the oldest mixed-gender group at the university. The original roster included P. Daniel Newman, Jason Coryell, Brian Stephenson, Liz Radford, Josh Einsohn, Devorah Rosner, and Lora Norback, with the group holding auditions in the fall of 1991. Many alumni return and join current students at the group's annual spring concert, known as Splash of Color.

The group has appeared on several compilation a cappella albums, including an appearance on the 2008 Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!.[2] The Whispers were selected after submitting a video of the group performing Folds' song "Still Fighting It" to Ben Folds' university a cappella competition.

The group released their 10th studio album, Wavelength, in the spring of 2015, and their first EP, ICCA 2016: The Extended Cuts, in the spring of 2017. Their most recent album, titled Oasis, was released in 2018.

One notable alumna is Eliotte Henderson ('10) who has toured internationally as a member of Taylor Swift's band.[3]

Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!

The Mosaic Whispers were selected to be featured on the album after submitting a video of the group performing Folds' song "Still Fighting It" to Ben Folds' university a cappella competition. Reviews for their rendition of "Still Fighting It" were positive,

Norwich Bulletin praising their performance.[6]

Mosaic Whispers and Ben Folds take a break from recording "Still Fighting It" for Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!

Andy Grammer Competition

In Spring 2012, The Whispers reached the final four in a competition to sing with

Studlife[7] and the St. Louis Metro social media staff.[8][9] While they won the popular vote (consisting of Facebook Likes, Tweets, and user account votes) in their final round, they ultimately lost to the professional a cappella group Six Appeal, who garnered the votes of both TopBlip
and Grammer himself.

International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella

Senior William Skubish solos on Harry Styles' "Music for a Sushi Restaurant" at the 2023 Midwest Semifinal. Photo by William Urdahl.

The group regularly competes in the Varsity Vocals International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA). In the spring of 2016, they were the Midwest Champions and advanced to the Finals round at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, NY.[10] There, they performed their award-winning set which included their arrangements of "Smooth" by Santana, "Elastic Heart" by Sia, "Tremors" by SOHN, and "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars. They also advanced to the Semifinals round of the competition in the spring of 2017.[10] Before the competition was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the group placed first at the 2020 Midwest Quarterfinal, where Samara Lillioja was awarded both Outstanding Arrangement and Outstanding Soloist for Yebba's "My Mind".[10] Most recently, Whispers won the 2023 Midwest Quarterfinal, where Natalie Feldstein was awarded Outstanding Choreography and Noah Maguigad was awarded Outstanding Arrangement, both for the entire set. They then advanced to the Midwest Semifinal, where Eli Cohen was awarded Outstanding Vocal Percussion and the group was awarded 3rd place.[10]

Notable performances

In Spring 2012, the Whispers sang "Change the World" for Bill Nye and Washington University's Board of Trustees, as a part of the dedication to WUSTL's new Earth, Planetary, and Space Science Center.

Recently, the Whispers sang for the launch of Washington University's Leading Together Campaign, a multibillion-dollar fundraiser to aid the expanding university. They also sang to help the Boatload of Toys fundraiser, a charity event for St. Louis children hosted by 93.7 St. Louis, with Mason and Remy. They have also sung for the WUSTL Founder's Day ball on multiple occasions, which has been attended by

John Huntsman, and Anderson Cooper
.

Albums

References

  1. ^ Hunter, Andie (26 March 2012). "Mosaic Whispers in their own Final Four, trying to bring Andy Grammer to WU". Student Life. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  2. ^ "FRONTRUNNERS". Washington University. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  3. ^ "From pre-med to international performer | The Source | Washington University in St. Louis". The Source. 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  4. ^ Brummet, Aaron. "Ben Folds | Presents: University A Cappella (Epic)". Playback STL. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  5. ^ Hair, Margaret. "CD Review of "Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella," by Various Artists and Ben Folds". Steamboat Today. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  6. ^ Varine, Patrick (May 7, 2009). "Album review: 'University A Cappella,' by Various Artists & Ben Folds". Norwich Bulletin. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Mosaic Whispers in their own Final Four, trying to bring Andy Grammer to WU". 26 March 2012.
  8. ^ Mosaic Whispers [@MosaicWhispers] (March 23, 2012). "@STLMetro We love Metro! Ride u everyday. Thx for following! We're competing to bring @AndyGrammer to #STL. Could u RT? http://t.co/5zH0DXqQ" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 January 2021 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ Mosaic Whispers [@MosaicWhispers] (March 26, 2012). "@STLMetro We're in a super close Final Four round (new video!) to bring @AndyGrammer to #STL. Could you RT again? Thx! http://t.co/lb114gLv" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 January 2021 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ a b c d "Results". Varsity Vocals. 2015-08-12. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  11. ^ "REVIEW: WU Mosaic Whispers - Watercolors". rarb.org. Archived from the original on 1999-11-11.
  12. ^ "REVIEW: WU Mosaic Whispers - 3 A.M. and Nowhere to Go". rarb.org. Archived from the original on 2001-06-29.
  13. ^ "RARB Review of Mosaic Whispers - Behind Bars". Rarb.org. Archived from the original on 2007-08-27.
  14. ^ "Mouth off: The weekly podcast about a cappella music » Mouth off 01.29.12". Archived from the original on 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  15. ^ "RARB Picks of 2018". Rarb.org.
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