Stanford Harmonics

The Stanford Harmonics are a co-ed a cappella group from Stanford University. Known for their alternative rock repertoire and award-winning recordings, the Harmonics have garnered international recognition for their performances and have been featured on BOCA, Sing, and Voices Only a cappella compilations. The Harmonics are one of the few collegiate a cappella groups that own their own wireless microphone equipment and have developed a live performance style that includes the use of electronic distortion and sound effects.

History
The group's third release, Insanity Laughs (1999), was received as a "breakthrough album" for the unprecedented mixing of its drum-like vocal percussion.

In 2009, their landmark studio album, Escape Velocity, won three Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards, including Best Mixed Collegiate Album, and was selected by the Recorded A Cappella Review Board as one of their Picks of the Decade.

In 2010, the Harmonics won the A Cappella Community Awards for Favorite Mixed Collegiate Group and Favorite Scholastic Album.

In 2020, the album "Signal Lost" by the Harmonics won Best Rock Album from the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards.

As of 2024, they are recording their newest album, a concept album centered around grief, to be released in 2025.

Recordings
The Stanford Harmonics have released ten full-length albums, one "greatest hits" album, and one extended play, alongside numerous singles.


 * The Greatest Hits of Pitchpipe (1995)
 * Escalator Music (1997)
 * Insanity Laughs  (1999)
 * Phonoshop (2001)
 * evolut10n (2002) - 10 Year Anniversary "Greatest Hits" Album
 * Rock Beats Scissors (2003)
 * Shadowplay (2005)
 * Escape Velocity (2008)
 * Midnight Hour (2013)
 * The Messes of Men (2015) - EP
 * Fault of Imagination (2017)
 * Signal Lost (2019)

Awards and nominations

 * 1998
 * Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Album
 * Escalator Music
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="2" | 2000
 * rowspan="2" | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Album
 * Insanity Laughs
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="2" |
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement
 * Jonathan Pilat
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="2" | 2002
 * rowspan="2" | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Album
 * Phonoshop
 * Nominated
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement
 * Jonathan Pilat for "We Are In Love"
 * style="background: #F4F2B0" | Runner-up
 * 2004
 * Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Song
 * "Lady Marmalade" from Rock Beats Scissors
 * style="background: #F4F2B0" | Runner-up
 * rowspan="2" | 2006
 * rowspan="2" | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Album
 * Shadowplay
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="2" |
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Solo
 * Bryan Tan for "The Memory Remains"
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="4" | 2009
 * rowspan="4" | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Album
 * Escape Velocity
 * Won
 * rowspan="4" |
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Song
 * "The Sound of Silence"
 * Won
 * rowspan="2" | Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement
 * Charlie Forkish for "The Sound of Silence"
 * Won
 * Charlie Forkish for "Imagination"
 * style="background: #F4F2B0" | Runner-up
 * rowspan="4" | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Album
 * Escape Velocity
 * Won
 * rowspan="4" |
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Song
 * "The Sound of Silence"
 * Won
 * rowspan="2" | Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement
 * Charlie Forkish for "The Sound of Silence"
 * Won
 * Charlie Forkish for "Imagination"
 * style="background: #F4F2B0" | Runner-up
 * Charlie Forkish for "Imagination"
 * style="background: #F4F2B0" | Runner-up
 * style="background: #F4F2B0" | Runner-up


 * 2010
 * Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Song
 * "Spiel Met Mir" from Sing Six: Sunny Side Up
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="3" | 2014
 * rowspan="3" | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Album
 * Midnight Hour
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="3" |
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Song
 * "Somebody to Love"
 * Nominated
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement
 * Evan Smith for "Somebody to Love"
 * Nominated
 * 2018
 * Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards
 * Best Electronic / Experimental Album
 * Fault of Imagination
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="3" | 2020
 * rowspan="3" | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards
 * Best Rock Album
 * Signal Lost
 * Won
 * rowspan="1" |
 * Best Rock Song
 * "Zombie" from Signal Lost
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="2" |
 * Best Mixed Collegiate Album
 * Signal Lost
 * Nominated
 * 2022
 * Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards
 * Best Mixed Voices Collegiate Solo
 * Mitchell Zimmerman for "Ever After" (Single)
 * Nominated
 * 2022
 * Best of College A Cappella
 * Featured Single ‘Bad Liar’
 * Single
 * Won
 * 2022
 * Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards
 * Best Mixed Voices Collegiate Solo
 * Mitchell Zimmerman for "Ever After" (Single)
 * Nominated
 * 2022
 * Best of College A Cappella
 * Featured Single ‘Bad Liar’
 * Single
 * Won
 * Featured Single ‘Bad Liar’
 * Single
 * Won

ICCA results
The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) first judged live a cappella performance competitions in 1996.

Notable members

 * Singer/songwriter Vienna Teng
 * Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA) President Julia Hoffman and Board Member Ariel Glassman
 * Hookslide singers Jon Pilat and George Hoffman
 * Former Skritch lead Bryan Tan
 * Icon Parthiv Krishna
 * Gautam Raghavan, Deputy Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office
 * Jade Nguyen