The Stanford Mendicants are an all-male a cappella group at Stanford University. The group is Stanford University's first a cappella group. Since its founding in 1963, the group's size has varied from 6 to 19 members. Although they are strictly an a cappella group today, they have performed with instruments in previous generations. The group prides itself on singing a wide range of songs, from gospel to barbershop to pop tunes and original compositions. The Mendicants are known around Stanford's campus for their red blazers and romantic serenades.
History and Accolades
The Stanford Mendicants was founded in 1963 by Hank Adams, a transfer student from Yale University, with a group of five undergraduate men. The group originally rehearsed only a single song before breaking into the dining commons of Branner Hall, an all-women's dormitory at the time, and performing their song during lunch. Adams often recalled, himself tearing up, that during their performance, the women wept, and there was literally "not a dry eye in the house". Having only rehearsed the one song, they quickly fled through an open window and went immediately back to rehearsal.
Their 1998 album Besides What You See received a 4.2 rating from the Recorded A Cappella Review Board (rarb.org), which is the group's highest album score to date.
The group was Runner-Up in three categories in the inaugural Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs) in 1992. As of 2020, they have been nominated for six more recording awards since then: in 1999, 2001, 2005, and 2019.
Mendicant songs were selected for Varsity Vocals' "Best of Collegiate A Cappella" compilation album in both 2001 and 2005.
On February 2, 2019, The Stanford Mendicants finished in first place in the ICCA Northern California Quarter-Finals in Redwood City, CA. The Mendicants also took home two individual awards, including Outstanding Soloist, for Austin Zambito-Valente, and Outstanding Choreography, for Khoi Le and Gabe Wieder.
Notable alumni
Chris Ayer, Singer and Songwriter Jordan Gelber, actor from the Broadway run of Avenue Q Founding Mendicant Dick Grant, Director of the Pacific Mozart Ensemble Founding Mendicant John Frohnmayer, Politician and Professor at Oregon State University Joseph Siravo, actor with The Sopranos and Jersey Boys National Tour.
Discography
Untitled (1964) Untitled (1965) A Fellow Needs a Girl (1966) Untitled (1967) Untitled (1969) Untitled (1973) Untitled (1975) Untitled (1977) Untitled (1979) Clean-Cut and Slightly Frayed (1981) Somewhere in Hawaii (1982) Take You Back (1986)
Pretending to Care (1987) Aquapella (1989) Just Like That (1991) Feline Casanova (1992) Back For Seconds (1994) Beggars Can't Be Choosers (1996) Besides What You See (1998) Room to Grow (2000) Best Laid Plans (2002) Mendication (2004) Beggar's Dozen (2006) Roses In My Hand (2008) Sh-Boom (2012) Just a Group of Guys (2013) Mendicants At Large (2015) For the Long Haul (2018) Trailblazer (2019) Detour (2021) Horizon (2023) Unlucky (2025)
Awards and nominations
| rowspan="3" | 1992 | rowspan="3" | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards | Best Male Collegiate Album | Just Like That | style="background: #F4F2B0" | | rowspan="3" | |- | Best Male Collegiate Song | "Long Train Runnin'" | style="background: #F4F2B0" | |- | Best Male Collegiate Arrangement | "Brown Eyed Girl" | style="background: #F4F2B0" | |- | rowspan="3" | 1999 | rowspan="3" | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards | Best Male Collegiate Album | Besides What You See | style="background: #F4F2B0" |
| Best Male Collegiate Song | "Drive" | | rowspan="2" | |- | Best Male Collegiate Soloist | Brandon Singleton
| 2001 | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards | Best Male Collegiate Song | "Happy Together"
| 2005 | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards | Best Male Collegiate Song | "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" from Mendication
| rowspan="2" | 2019 | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards | Best Male Collegiate Song | "Control" from For the Long Haul
| A Cappella Video Awards | Best Male Collegiate Video | "Kiss the Sky" | style="background: #F4F2B0" |
ICCA results
The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) first judged live a cappella performance competitions in 1996.
Year Level Category Recipient(s) Result Points Citation 1998 West Region Quarterfinal #2 Best Solo Brandon Singleton for "Reach Out" 2002 West Region Quarterfinal #3 Best Soloist Eric Tanner 2017 Northwest Quarterfinal #4 Best Group Mendicants Northwest Semifinal Best Group Mendicants 2018 West Quarterfinal #4 Best Group Mendicants 2019 West Quarterfinal #3 Best Group Mendicants Outstanding Soloist Austin Zambito-Valente for "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood/How Long" Outstanding Choreography Gabe Wieder and Khoi Le for the entire set 2020 West Quarterfinal #5 Best Group Mendicants Outstanding Soloist Austin Zambito-Valente for "Dig Down" Outstanding Arrangement Chris Kaya for the entire set
See also List of Stanford University a cappella groups
References
External links Stanford Mendicants Official Website Stanford Mendicants YouTube