User:Zak107107/Shmacapella

Shmacapella is an all male, Jewish a cappella musical group formed in 2007 in Baltimore. Their name is derived from the Hebrew word "שמע" (which means "listen" or "hear") and "a cappella". The name is also a play on words, as in "A capella, shmacapella." They sing covers of English pop songs and Hebrew standards. The band mostly performs in the Baltimore area, although they have been welcomed by the University of Maryland Hillel. The band has released one self-titled album.

Formation and first year (June 2007 - August 2008)
Shmacapella was formed in 2007, when Evan Margolis' mother needed a singing group to perform at her son's bar mitzvah. Zak, Spencer, Josh, Evan and Adam all attended high school together at the Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community High School in Pikesville, Maryland, and already had experience performing in shows with one another. Mrs. Margolis approached the boys and asked them to sing a few songs at the bar mitzvah party. After the performance, several attendees asked Shmacapella if they were available for future gigs. Originally, the boys had no intention of doing more than one performance, but demand was so high that they decided to become an official a capella group. For the next three months, Shmacapella performed regularly at birthday parties, bar/bat mitzvahs, and other celebrations. In September of 2007, Spencer (who is a year older than the other members) began college at the University of Maryland. The other four members were still located in Baltimore, and Spencer found it too difficult to continue traveling with Shmacapella. Shortly after beginning college, Spencer quit Shmacapella. From that point on, Shmacapella would only be made up of Zak, Josh, Evan, and Adam.

College Years (September 2008 - March 2012)
After graduating high school, the four remaining members of Shmacapella all began attending the University of Maryland. Due to the group's Jewish orientation, Shmacapella was quickly welcomed by the university's Hillel organization. They also gained recognition when a Jewish newspaper in Baltimore published an article about Shmacapella. Although they perform regularly on campus, Shmacapella is not recognized as an official University of Maryland a capella choir. Official university choirs are required to hold auditions and accept new members each semester, which Shmacapella has not done. Due to the success they found at college, Shmacapella decided to record a self-titled CD. When their CD, Shmacapella was released, Beth Tfiloh wrote an article on their website to congratulate the members. During the second semester of their junior year of college, three out of the four members of Shmacapella studied abroad. Zak went to Sydney, Australia; Josh went to Rome, Italy; and Adam went Bilbao, Spain. The following semester, Evan studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain. As such, Shmacapella was unable to perform during these two semesters.

Current activity (April 2012 - present)
After all four members returned to College Park, they were unsure if they would ever officially reform Shmacapella. They received several requests for gigs, but were not confident enough to accept any of them. Finally, in April 2012, a family friend of Evan's was in desperate need for a group to sing at her son's bar mitzvah, so Shmacapella agreed. Much like Shmacapella's first gig, they received several requests after performing. Due to the renewed demand for Shmacapella, the members decided to begin performing once again. They are currently performing around the Baltimore and College Park areas.

English Songs
Lean on Me (Bill Withers) Stay with You (John Legend) Every Morning (Sugar Ray) Kiss from a Rose (Seal) For the Longest Time (Billy Joel) My Girl (The Temptations)

Hebrew Songs
Lo Alecha Yom Zeh Mechubad Dror Yikrah Nachamu Pitchu Li Adon Olam Anim Zmirot Na'ar Hayiti

Other
Siya Hamba (South African Hymn)