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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. 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 The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), originally the National Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (NCCA, a play on NCAA), is an international competition run by Varsity Vocals, that attracts hundreds of college ''a capp ...

(ICCA)—the other two being

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

's SoCal VoCals 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 ...

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

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

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 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 Sproul Plaza as ...

. 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 as well as groups from

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, Mt. San Antonio College, and the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. 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: * ''The University of California Men’s Octet'' (1980 LP) * ''Octa-Brew'' (1982 LP) * ''Eight Times the Fun'' (1985 LP) * ''Around the World in 8 Days'' (1986 cassette) * ''1948-1988'' (1988 cassette) * ''Better Eight Than Never'' (1989 cassette) * ''Takin' the Joke too Far'' (1991 cassette) * ''Eight is Enough'' (1993 CD and cassette) * ''All Sing Blue And Gold'' (1994 cassette) (all Cal songs) * ''We 8 Too Much'' (1994 cassette) * ''Octogen'' (1996 CD) * ''Eight Misbehavin''' (1997 CD) * ''Gold'' (2000 CD) * ''Octopella'' (2004 CD) * ''High Octane'' (2008 CD)

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 to appearing on the

WCAU WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned and operated by the NBC television network through its NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jersey–licensed ...

News in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 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 in the United States

Discography

Honors and awards

The Octet in the media

See also

References

External links