The UC Men's Octet, sometimes termed the ''Cal Men’s Octet'' or the ''UC Berkeley Men’s Octet'', is an eight-member male a cappella group at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. Founded in 1948 as a member of the UC Choral Ensembles, the group's broad repertoire features several genres of music including barbershop, doo-wop, pop and alternative, and a healthy dose of Berkeley fight songs. The Octet has recorded over a dozen albums and is one of only three multiple-time champions of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA)—the other two being USC's

SoCal VoCals The SoCal VoCals are the first of nine a cappella groups from the University of Southern California. Founded in 1996, the group's signature achievement is being the only a cappella group to win five titles in ICCA, which it accomplished in 2008, ...

and

Berklee Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

's Pitch Slapped—having won the competition in both 1998 and 2000.ICCA Finals 2000
Varsity Vocals While the Octet performs regularly around the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

for both alumni and the public, the group has toured all around the world including China, Australia, Europe and extensively throughout the United States. They also perform for Cal students every Wednesday during the academic year at one o’clock on Berkeley's

Sproul Plaza Sproul Plaza (pronounced ) is one center of student activity at the University of California, Berkeley. It is divided into two sections: Upper Sproul and Lower Sproul. They are vertically separated by and linked by a set of stairs. History S ...

. The group hosts a series of annual concerts. In the Fall, there is the ''West Coast A Cappella Showcase '', where several groups from all over the country are invited to perform at Berkeley. Past guest groups in this concert have included former ICCA Champions Brigham Young University's Noteworthy and

Vocal Point BYU Vocal Point is a nine-member, male a cappella group at Brigham Young University (BYU). Founded by two students, Bob Ahlander & Dave Boyce, in 1991, Vocal Point is under the direction of Emmy award-winning director and former member, McKay Cro ...

as well as groups from Stanford,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, USC, Mt. San Antonio College, and the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. The group's other annual concert performances include the ''UC Men’s Octet Spring Show '' and the year-end ''Unbuttoned Show ''.

Discography

The UC Men's Octet has recorded over a dozen albums. Among them: * ''High Octane'' (2009) * ''Octopella'' (2003) * ''Gold'' (2000) * ''Eight Misbehavin''' * ''Octogen'' * ''All Sing Blue And Gold'' * ''We Eight Too Much'' (1994) * ''Eight is Enough'' (1993) * ''Takin' the Joke too Far'' (1991) * ''Better Eight Than Never'' (1989) * "1948-1988" (1988) * ''Around the World in Eight Days'' * ''Eight Times the Fun'' * ''Octa-Brew'' * ''The University of California Men’s Octet''.

Honors and awards

* 1998. International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) Champions * 2000. International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) Champions

The Octet in the media

Over the years, the Men's Octet has been cited in several California Bay Area publications such as The Daily Review, the San Jose Mercury News, and the Contra Costa Times. The Men's Octet has also made several appearances in other media. From annual appearances on the San Francisco/San Jose radio station

KFOG KNBR-FM (104.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Francisco, California, serving the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Owned by Cumulus Media, KNBR-FM features a sports radio format in a simulcast with co-owned KNBR. Both stati ...

to appearing on the

WCAU WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jer ...

News in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, the Men's Octet have been heard nationwide. The Octet has even recorded a public health service announcement with the California Department of Health Services entitled “Wash Your Hands” as part of the Immunization Branch's campaign against the spread of the flu. The group also recorded a nationally aired radio commercial for Coors beer to promote "The Pigskin Can".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:University Of California Men's Octet Collegiate a cappella groups University of California, Berkeley Musical groups established in 1948 University musical groups

Discography

Honors and awards

The Octet in the media

See also

References

External links