The Stereotypes' Brief Biography

There once were two wise men, Goldwasser and Fleisher, that wandered forth from Solomon's temple, aghast at the state of song in the ancient land. Brave despisers of all things ordinary, they vowed to fell the tired tenet of imitation and bound forth into the flowing rock that was… all-male a cappella. With leaps of joy, they raised their arms and said, "Huzzah, The Stereotypes!" And it was good.

Awards and Recognition

2012

• First place at the Midwest quarterfinal round of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA)
• Outstanding vocal percussion at the Midwest semifinal round of ICCA
• Outstanding choreography at the Midwest quarterfinal round of ICCA
• "If You're Out There" selected as track 14 on Voices Only 2012

2011

• Third runner-up at the final round of ICCA
• Outstanding arrangement at the Midwest quarterfinal round and the national final round of ICCA
• Outstanding soloist at the Midwest quarterfinal round of ICCA
• Outstanding choreography at the Midwest quarterfinal round of ICCA

2010

• First runner-up at the Midwest semifinal round of ICCA
• Outstanding vocal percussion at the Midwest quarterfinal round of ICCA
• Outstanding soloist at the Midwest semifinal round of ICCA
• Outstanding choreography at the Midwest semifinal round of ICCA
• First runner-up of the first international wildcard round of ICCA
• Voted the best a cappella group on campus by Student Life

2009

• First place at the Midwest quarterfinal round of ICCA
• Outstanding solo at the Midwest quarterfinal round of ICCA
• Outstanding vocal percussion at the Midwest quarterfinal round of ICCA
• Outstanding choreography at the Midwest quarterfinal round of ICCA

2008

• Second runner-up at the Midwest quarterfinal round of ICCA
• Outstanding choreography at the Midwest quarterfinal round of ICCA

Our Philosophy

Excellence in all areas

The Stereotypes like to do it all (and do it all well, preferably). We emphasize out-of-the-box thinking because we are committed to breaking new ground in a cappella performance, arranging and singing. Every member of the group has his own vision and strengths; if one of our guys is driven to do something, they inspire the rest of us! This ideal extends to even the smallest endeavors, like marketing campaigns and web design. Anything less would be a disservice to ourselves and to you!

The Stereotypes Constitution

The Student Union requires all groups at Washington University to maintain a Constitution defining the operating ideals and defining characteristics of the group. Because the Stereotypes are funded in part by Student Union, we too have a formal constitution! Check it out here.

What makes us different?

Singing and Making Music

Stereotypes rehearsals are exciting, fast-paced, and sometimes a bit unruly. But behind our joking, every member of the Stereotypes has an abiding love and respect for music. When we perform, it is every bit as much for ourselves as it is for our audience. Music can be funny, thoughtful, bombastic, and emotionally charged; our goal is to entertain, but also to inspire those around us.

Also, singing is fun. Like, really really fun. Whenever the Stereotypes are together, there's a good chance of us bursting into song: at parties, walking to class, in the bathroom, etc.   We love singing, and we are shameless about it.

But seriously, we really do sing in the bathroom. Great acoustics.

Concerts

Every group on campus has some sort of annual concert, but our approach is unique, extravagant, and maybe even a little crazy. See, the Stereotypes are the only group on campus to put on two fully produced a cappella shows every year! And more than that: when we produce a show, we want it to be an experience: choreography, lights, set changes, costume changes, audience participation, skits, man-pageants, a cappella karaoke, raffle prizes, trivia battles, relay races, pin the tie on the Stereotype...
Music and singing remain the foundation of every Stereotypes event, but we want our fans to have the time of their lives! A little wacky fun never (permanently) hurt anybody.

Repertoire

The Stereotypes' core repertoire is similar to that of most groups on campus: top 40 hits, pop, rock, rap, 80s nostalgia, indie, etc.   But our repertoire extends far beyond typical a cappella fare.

• The Stereotypes are one of the few groups that include choral pieces in their repertoire. Most recently, we performed a setting of "How Can I Keep From Singing" composed by alumnus Kevin Nicoletti. One of our all-time favorites is Franz Biebl's "Ave Maria."
• We sing folk music and barbershop. Doo wop and disney. Musical theatre and Hindi.
• The Stereotypes frequently break off into smaller groups to sing in trios, quartets, and quintets. Quite simply, our members' creative energy spills over into self-motivated small ensembles, still representative of the group as a whole.
• Because we have two full-scale concerts every year, The Stereotypes learn and perform more new songs each semester than most of the other a cappella groups on campus.

Arrangements

Stereotypes arrangements are fun to sing, period. Even the most talented soloists spend the majority of their time singing in the background, and we all want to enjoy ourselves no matter where we're standing on the stage! Therefore, you will never find yourself singing "jin jin jin jin" over and over with the Stereotypes. The block parts are written to be lyrical and engaging, so even when you're not the soloist, you're not stuck singing a transposed guitar strum. Our current members and alumni have a lot of experience writing vocal music, and through collaboration we have produced award-winning arrangements.

Competition

Our unique approach to performance, choreography and arranging has earned us repeated recognition at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella. The Stereotypes are the only group at Wash U to have consecutively competed in ICCA for the past five years, and the only group to advance past the quarterfinal round during that time as well. We made it to semifinals in 2009 and 2010, and in 2011 we became the only Wash U group to ever make it to the final round of competition in New York City. We've also won several caption awards along the way for our arrangements, choreography, soloists, and vocal percussion -- in fact, we have more ICCA caption awards then every other group on campus combined!
Competing challenges us to think outside the box and to hone our live performing skills, both as individuals and as a group, to a level of precision not often found at traditional college a cappella shows. We're proud of our accomplishments, but know that there's always room for improvement!

All-Male A Cappella

We're an all-male group. That makes us different from all but one of the other groups on campus. And, there are some really amazing benefits to singing in a group like the Stereotypes:

• A blended sound that can only happen when all the voices are male
• Men's groups can produce the most incredible overtones
• We can perform close, tight harmonies, since our vocal ranges are similar

Touring

The Stereotypes tour extensively (lately we've been in the habit of touring every year), and we really value the opportunity to travel together and strengthen our family ties.  Current members have traveled to Chicago, the Northeast (Philadelphia, New York City, Boston), the Baltimore/DC metropolitan area, and experienced some of that good ol' Southern hospitality (Little Rock, Austin, Houston).

When touring, we place utmost importance on performance opportunities, especially when it allows us to perform alongside like-minded musicians, from whom we can always learn something. Performing for high schools, youth organizations and charities is another significant priority.

Recording CDs

Every couple of years, we pick out our best tracks (audience favorites, competition songs, etc.) and take them into the studio to have them professionally recorded, mixed, and mastered. Not only is this SUPER FUN, but it also gives us a chance to preserve a snapshot of our ever-evolving group sound. We think that's pretty cool because it gives us a way to share our music beyond our usual live performances, and it can be a yearbook of sorts for our alumni (except with way better audio quality than an actual paper yearbook).

Becoming a Stereotype

Check out our auditions page if you're interested in trying out. You'll find the answers to some frequently asked questions there. If you have other questions, feel free to email any of us, or just stop and talk when you see us around campus. We're nice, really.