Sons of Serendip is a

classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the United States) when a song appears on two or more of the record charts which track differ ...

ensemble consisting of musicians Kendall Ramseur (cellist), Cordaro Rodriguez (pianist), Mason Morton (harpist), and Micah Christian (lead vocalist). The quartet met in graduate school at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

, while completing degrees in Cello Performance (Ramseur), Law (Rodriguez), Harp Performance (Morton), and Theology (Christian). A year after finishing their graduate education, the group formed in 2014 specifically for the reality competition, America's Got Talent (season 9), where they finished in fourth place.

''America's Got Talent''

Overview

Sons of Serendip gained national attention in 2014 when they appeared on the 9th season of '' America's Got Talent''. Celebrity judges Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, '' The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terr ...

voted them through the audition round and Judgement Week, and into the Quarterfinals. During the live performance rounds, viewers voted the quartet through several rounds and into the Top 6 (Finals). During the finale, which aired on September 17, 2014, they performed their arrangement of "Drops of Jupiter" with

Train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

. They placed fourth in the competition.

Performances/results

America's Got Talent Holiday Spectacular

In December 2016, Sons of Serendip joined a cast of America's Got Talent alumni for the first ever ''

America's Got Talent Holiday Spectacular ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global Got Talent, ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (company), F ...

''. They performed "

The Christmas Song "The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. The Nat King Cole Trio fir ...

" in collaboration with the

Silhouettes A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...

(the runner-up from season 6).

America's Got Talent: The Champions

In 2019, Sons of Serendip was one of 50 acts selected from the global

Got Talent ''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's SYCOtv company. It has spawned spin-offs in over 69 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Fremantle ...

franchise to compete in the first season of '' America's Got Talent: The Champions''. The season premiered on January 7, 2019, on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. On February 4, 2019, the quartet performed "

Somewhere Only We Know "Somewhere Only We Know" is a song composed and performed by English alternative rock band Keane, officially released as the first single from their debut album, ''Hopes and Fears'' (2004). The single peaked at number three on the UK Singles C ...

," and finished in the top three for the episode.

Live performances

Following the finale of season 9 of America's Got Talent, Sons of Serendip performed for ''America's Got Talent Live'', alongside season 9 winner, Mat Franco, and other selected finalists, at

Planet Hollywood Planet Hollywood International Inc. (stylized as planet Hollywood, planet Hollywood observatory and ph) is a themed restaurant chain inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood. The company is owned by Earl Enterprises corporation. Earl Ent ...

's Axis Theater. They also made an appearance on

Fox & Friends ''Fox & Friends'' is an American daily morning news and talk program that airs on Fox News. It premiered on February 1, 1998, and is currently hosted by Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade on weekdays. Will Cain, Rachel Campos- ...

' Christmas, joining

Andy Grammer Andrew Charles Grammer (born December 3, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is signed to S-Curve Records. His debut album, '' Andy Grammer'', was released in 2011 and spawned the singles " Keep Your Head Up" and " F ...

Jackie Evancho Jacqueline Marie Evancho ( ; born April 9, 2000) is an American classical crossover singer who gained wide recognition at an early age. Since 2009, she has issued a platinum-selling EP and nine albums, including three ''Billboard'' 200 top 10 ...

Scotty McCreery Scott Cooke McCreery (born October 9, 1993) is an American country music singer. He rose to fame after winning the tenth season of ''American Idol'' on May 25, 2011. His debut studio album, '' Clear as Day'', was released in October 2011 and w ...

Jessie James Decker Jessica Rose James Decker (born April 12, 1988) is an American country pop singer. At age 15, after auditioning for and being rejected by most of the country labels in Nashville, Tennessee, Decker began working with Carla Wallace of Big Yell ...

, and

Renée Fleming Renée Lynn Fleming (born February 14, 1959) is an American soprano, known for performances in opera, concerts, recordings, theater, film, and at major public occasions. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Fleming has been nominated for ...

. The quartet has since toured nationally, performing at concert halls and performing arts centers, including Boston's Symphony Hall, The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and the Atlanta Symphony Hall in Atlanta, Georgia, Sons of Serendip has been featured guests at several charitable and private events, including Oprah Winfrey's 2020 Vision Tour closing party,

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...

's Chasing the Dream Foundation, Inc., the

Ron Burton Ronald E. Burton (July 25, 1936 – September 13, 2003) was an American football player in the American Football League (AFL) for the Boston Patriots. He was a consensus All-American running back at Northwestern University, and is a member of ...

Humanitarian Award Dinner, and One Family's 15th anniversary gala, where they opened for

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

. Further, in 2016, the quartet performed for the In Memoriam segment for the

Creative Arts Emmy Award The Creative Arts Emmys are a class of Emmy Awards presented in recognition of technical and other similar achievements in American television programming. They are commonly awarded to behind-the-scenes personnel such as production designers, set ...

s at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. Their performance aired on September 17, 2016, on

FXX FXX is an American basic cable channel owned by the Walt Disney Television unit of The Walt Disney Company through FX Networks, LLC. It is the partner channel of FX, with its programming focusing on original and acquired comedy series and fe ...

. Later that year, they were featured artists for the Nantucket Project's annual conference. They also performed the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

at the New York Knicks home opener for the organization's 75th anniversary.

Orchestra collaborations

Sons of Serendip has collaborated with a number of orchestras, oftentimes performing orchestrations written, arranged, and notated by pianist, Cordaro Rodriguez, and cellist, Kendall Ramseur. In May 2015, they collaborated with the

Boston Pops The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Sym ...

and guest conductor John Morris Russell at Boston's Symphony Hall. Later that year, they were invited to perform with

Keith Lockhart Keith Alan Lockhart (born November 7, 1959) is an American conductor. He is the Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Artistic Director of the Brevard Music Center in North Caro ...

and the

for the ''Boston Fourth of July Extravaganza'' in 2015. The quartet also performed with conductor, Steven Karidoyanes, and the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra at the historic Memorial Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Further, in May 2017, they reunited with conductor John Morris Russell and collaborated with the

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...

and broadway performer,

Cynthia Erivo Cynthia Erivo (; born 8 January 1987) is an English actress, singer, and songwriter. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Grammy Award and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Awa ...

, for the annual ''Classical Roots'' concert in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Albums

In January 2015, they released their self-titled debut album, which placed in several categories on the

Billboard Charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

, including No. 4 on Heatseekers. Recordings from their debut album have been placed in various episodes of reality competitions America's Got Talent,

The X Factor UK ''The X Factor'' is a British reality television music competition, created by Simon Cowell. Premiering on 4 September 2004, it was produced by Fremantle's Thames and Cowell's production company Syco Entertainment for ITV, as well as simulc ...

, and The Four following its release. Their second album, ''Christmas: Beyond the Lights'', was released in October 2015 and also charted on the Billboard Charts. On July 14, 2017, they released their third album entitled, ''Life + Love.''

References

{{Authority control America's Got Talent contestants Crossover (music) Musical groups established in 2014 2014 establishments in the United States