Deke Sharon (born December 12, 1967) is an American

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, producer and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

music, and is one of the leaders and promoters of the

contemporary a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

community. He has been referred to as "the father of contemporary a cappella" by some authors, and "the godfather of a cappella" by others.

Early life

Deke Sharon was born and raised in San Francisco. He started singing in choir groups at age five, including the

San Francisco Boys Chorus The San Francisco Boys Chorus (SFBC) is a choir for boys consisting of 230 members based in San Francisco with additional campuses in Oakland, San Mateo, and San Rafael. It is known officially as "San Francisco's Singing Ambassadors to the Wo ...

. He attended

Town School for Boys Town School for Boys, located in San Francisco, California, is an independent day school for boys from kindergarten through the eighth grade. The school was established in 1939 by parents from the recently closed and privately owned Damon S ...

and

San Francisco University High School San Francisco University High School is a private college preparatory high school located in San Francisco, California. The school was opened in 1975. Facilities and campus The school is made up of four buildings, commonly referred to as Upper, ...

, where he sang lead (second tenor) in the barbershop quartet his freshman year in "The Music Man," and kept it going all four years, learning to direct and arrange a cappella.

College

Sharon spent his college years in Boston, graduating from

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

with a degree in childhood studies, and a degree from the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

with a focus on

vocal jazz Vocal jazz or jazz singing is an approach to jazz using the voice. Vocal jazz emerged in the early twentieth century, with its roots in Blues. Popular blues singers such as Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey had a great deal of influence of jazz vocalis ...

third stream Third stream is a music genre that is a fusion of jazz and classical music. The term was coined in 1957 by composer Gunther Schuller in a lecture at Brandeis University. Improvisation is generally seen as a vital component of third stream. Schu ...

(now called "contemporary improvisation"), and

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

In college, he directed the

collegiate a cappella Collegiate a cappella (or college a cappella) ensembles are college-affiliated singing groups, primarily in the United States, and, increasingly, the United Kingdom and Ireland, that perform entirely without musical instruments. The groups are typ ...

group the Tufts

Beelzebubs The Tufts Beelzebubs, frequently referred to as "The Bubs", is a male a cappella group of students from Tufts University that performs a mix of pop, rock, R&B, and other types of music while spreading their motto of "Fun through Song." Founde ...

, transforming the group's sound to reflect modern rock, with intricate instrumental vocalizations and the integration of

vocal percussion Vocal percussion is the art of creating sounds with one's mouth that approximate, imitate, or otherwise serve the same purpose as a percussion instrument, whether in a group of singers, an instrumental ensemble, or solo. In Western music Recent ...

. The 1990–1991 Beelzebubs album ''Foster Street'' that he directed musically is credited with the creation of contemporary a cappella sound. Sharon had to audition three times before he was accepted, as he was seen as "overzealous" during a time when a cappella was not popular, a fact which was mentioned in the book "Pitch Perfect." Beca and Benji in the ''Pitch Perfect'' films are partially based on Sharon. During this time, he decided to make a career of contemporary a cappella.

Film

Sharon was the music director and arranger for the film ''

Pitch Perfect ''Pitch Perfect'' is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis ...

'', as well as singing on several of the songs, where he was credited on screen as "Male Voice #1." He returned for '' Pitch Perfect 2'', in which he has a brief cameo as the German judge and broadcaster. He helped involve several professional a cappella groups and singers with the film, including The Filharmonic,

Penn Masala Penn Masala is an American a cappella group. It is the world's first and premier South Asian a cappella group. Formed in 1996 by students at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Masala's music has been influenced by the Eastern and Western cultur ...

, and

Pentatonix Pentatonix (abbreviated PTX) is an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, currently consisting of vocalists Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, and Matt Sallee. Characterized by their pop-style arrangements ...

. Sharon also worked with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. He returned to music-direct, arrange, and vocally produce for ''

Pitch Perfect 3 ''Pitch Perfect 3'' is a 2017 American musical comedy film directed by Trish Sie and written by Kay Cannon and Mike White. A sequel to ''Pitch Perfect 2'' (2015) and the third and final installment in the ''Pitch Perfect'' franchise, the film f ...

''. He had also arranged for the film, ''

The Social Network ''The Social Network'' is a 2010 American biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, based on the 2009 book ''The Accidental Billionaires'' by Ben Mezrich. It portrays the founding of social networking websi ...

''.

Television

In December 2009, he acted as music director, arranger, coach, and consultant behind the scenes on America's first a cappella reality show competition, titled ''

The Sing-Off ''The Sing-Off'' was an American television singing competition featuring a cappella groups. It debuted on NBC on December 14, 2009, and was produced by Sony Pictures Television and Outlaw Productions, with Mark Burnett's One Three Media (for a ...

'', and returned in 2010 as one of the show's producers. He also served as Executive Music Producer on the Dutch Sing Off, Sing Off South Africa and Sing-Off China, including several guest appearances as a judge and performer. Along with

The House Jacks The House Jacks is a professional a cappella quintet from San Francisco, founded in 1991 by Deke Sharon. The House Jacks describe themselves as a "rock band without instruments", their live shows typically include not only singing but also vocal ...

, he sang and performed the 2011

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

theme song "Are You Ready for Some Football" with

Hank Williams, Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...

He worked with Straight No Chaser on their first PBS special ''Live in New York''. He appeared in front of the camera for the first time on Lifetime's ''

Pitch Slapped ''Pitch Slapped'' is a reality show on Lifetime. It premiered on January 5, 2016. It follows a cappella teams from two New Jersey high schools that are mentored by some of the best coaches in the industry as they face off in weekly competitions ...

'' reality show, in which he coached after school high school a cappella group Stay Tuned from

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census.

, focusing both on their musicality and emotional delivery. The show also aired overseas in London, Israel (where its name in Hebrew means "a cappella battle") across Latin America, Indonesia and the Philippines (under the name ''Pitch Battle''). Pitch Battle Finale Judges

As of summer 2017 he is series music director for a new competitive choir show on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

called '' Pitch Battle'', as well as appearing on camera each episode providing insight and commentary. He was also the third judge for the season one live finale. He judged Eurovision Choir 2019. In 2022 music directed "Best in Snow" for

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

as well as co-arranged/vocal produced the a cappella scenes in Pitch_Perfect:_Bumper_in_Berlin.

Performing career

Upon graduation in 1991, he moved back to San Francisco, bringing with him a handful of other collegiate a cappella singers to form

, a pioneering a cappella group known for its original music and sound, often called "the original rock band without instruments", in part because they were the first a cappella group with a designated vocal percussionist. HouseJacksHeadshot

The House Jacks have released seven albums (signed to Warner Brothers/Tommy Boy Records in the mid-1990s) and completed several world tours. He has performed with many musicians, including

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Crosby, Stills and Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member, ...

and

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

. They have won "Best Pop Rock Album" from the

Contemporary A Cappella Society The Contemporary A Cappella Society (of America), or CASA, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to fostering and promoting a cappella music of all styles around the world. CASA was founded in 1991 by Deke Sharon in San Francisco just ...

, for "Unbroken" (2004), "Level" (2010), and "Pollen (2014). He also performs as a solo artist, with groups such as the

San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC) is the world's first openly gay chorus, one of the world's largest male choruses and the group most often credited with creating the LGBT choral movement. The chorus was founded by gay music pioneer Jo ...

and at events like Singapore's "Vocal Edge" and directing DCINY's annual "Total Vocal" at Carnegie Hall as well as serving as Emcee for a cappella events, such as the annual

Techapella Techapella is an annual showcase of a cappella music hosted by members of tech companies in Silicon Valley, California. The event was started in 2013 by Laolee Xiong and Aaron Roan, founders of Facebook's The Vocal Network and Google's Googapella ...

concerts in the San Francisco Bay Area. Studio session credits include the Wii game ''Just Dance Kids 2'' including the songs "

The Lion Sleeps Tonight "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda under the title "Mbube" for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. Linda's original was written in isiZulu, while the English version's lyrics were wri ...

", "

Barbara Ann "Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert that was first recorded by the Regents as "Barbara-Ann". Their version was released in 1961 and reached number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The more famous version was recorded by the ...

", and " Mahna Mahna".

Arranging

A prolific, award-winning vocal music arranger, he has arranged more than 2,000 songs for a wide range of ensembles, including some of vocal music's best-known groups. The Best Arrangement award at the Colorado Harmony Sweepstakes is named after him, and he has won the best arrangement award at the Harmony Sweepstakes several times since 1991. He was named "favorite arranger" in the 2010 A Cappella Community Awards and won "Best Professional Arrangement" in 2019.

Live music direction and production

He founded and directed a cappella groups at

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...

Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unreal ...

(American Vybe) and

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

(Groove 66). In 2013, he created a new professional a cappella ensemble in New Mexico: "Voasis". In 2014 and 2015 he music-directed the Sing Off Live tour He created Vocalosity for which he was artistic producer, music director, and arranger. They started touring in 2016 and their debut album was released on Universal Classics. In December 2017 he announced the formation of

DCappella DCappella is an a cappella group formed via a national search and run by Disney Music Group featuring Disney songs. The group originally consisted of Antonio Fernandez, Joe Santoni, Morgan Keene, Orlando Dixon, RJ Woessner, Shelley Regner, and So ...

, a seven-member contemporary a cappella group launched in 2018 that will tour performing arts centers singing music from classic and contemporary

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

films. He serves as the group's co-creator, music director, arranger, album producer and artistic producer integrating modern sounds and technology. His production with

Columbia Artists Management Columbia Artists Management (CAMI) was an international talent management agency. On August 29, 2020, the agency announced plans to shut down amid a disturbance in business caused by the " prolonged pandemic environment". History Based in New Yor ...

, "A Cappella Live," toured the US featuring four a cappella acts:

Committed (vocal group) Committed is an a cappella group of six male vocalists from Huntsville, Alabama, all students at Oakwood University, a historically black Seventh-day Adventist school in Huntsville. The group—Therry Thomas, Dennis Baptiste, Tommy Gervais, Gest ...

The Filharmonic The fourth season of ''The Sing-Off'' premiered on December 9, 2013. The number of a cappella groups was decreased from sixteen back to ten, resulting in a new format. Nick Lachey stayed as host for the new season, with Ben Folds and Shawn Stockma ...

, Women of the World, and

Blake Lewis Blake Colin Lewis (born July 21, 1981) is an American musician, singer and actor who was the runner-up on the sixth season of ''American Idol''. His major label debut album '' A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)'' was released on December 4, 2007, through ...

Album production

As a producer of a cappella recordings, he is known for having changed the sound of collegiate a cappella recording via the Beelzebubs' album ''Code Red''. He has arranged and produced multiple albums and tracks for Atlantic Records' Straight No Chaser, including the certified gold "Christmas Cheers". In the early 1990s, he co-founded The Best of College A Cappella (BOCA) compilation, which he now produces annually with Varsity Vocals.

Event production and promotion

In college, he brought the Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival to the East Coast, producing the first Boston regional with the

. Shortly after college he founded the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), the West and East Coast A Cappella Summits (the first contemporary a cappella conferences), and a number of other a cappella-related projects, programs, and events with the goal of popularizing a cappella. Recent festivals include Aca-West in San Francisco and VoiceJam in Arkansas where he often hosts the evening concert or competition as well as teach during the day. He is a frequent host and emcee at a cappella events, such as Silicon Valley's "Techapella", The National A Cappella Convention, The annual College Notes event in Walnut Creek CA, "Pacific Harmony" in New Zealand, AKA A Cappella in Singapore, and the Maui Barbershop Festival. Some of the videos he has posted to promote a cappella groups around the world have gone viral. He's also frequently in residency or headlining events at universities such as Indiana U, Midland U and Tufts U and judged the 2021 World Choir Games in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. His work to popularize and promote a cappella worldwide is now being recognized by major media: "A Capella icis more popular than ever, thanks to this guy" (NPR Here and Now), "Deke Sharon makes a cappella cool again" (NPR All Things Considered).

Organizations

In his college dorm he founded

The Contemporary A Cappella Society The Contemporary A Cappella Society (of America), or CASA, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to fostering and promoting a cappella music of all styles around the world. CASA was founded in 1991 by Deke Sharon in San Francisco just ...

and The Ultimate A Cappella Arranging Service (which became TotalVocal). Shortly after graduation, he created the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards ("CARAs"), a cappella's equivalent of the Grammy Awards. He formed the Contemporary A Cappella League, a new national network of adult "post-collegiate" a cappella groups.

Writing

* ''A Cappella Arranging'', his first book, co-authored with Dylan Bell, was published in 2012. * ''A Cappella'', a general interest book covering many aspects of the style, co-authored with Ben Spalding and Brody McDonald, was released in 2015. * ''The Heart of Vocal Harmony'', about how vocal harmony groups can perform with unified emotion, was released in early 2016. * ''A Cappella Warmups for Pop and Jazz Choirs'' and * ''So You Want To Sing A Cappella'' were both released in 2017. * ''Teaching Music Through Performance in Contemporary A Cappella'', the first contemporary a cappella repertoire guide, was released summer 2020 Biographical Information about Deke Sharon can be found in Mickey Rapkin's ''Pitch Perfect'' (2008), Rick Smolan's ''24 Hours in Cyberspace'' (1996), Joshua Duchan's ''Powerful Voices'' (2012), Alysia Abbott's ''Fairyland'' (2013) and Carsten Gerlitz's ''Popchor'' (2018)

Musical theater

The pioneering, first all-a cappella musical on Broadway, ''In Transit'', for which he is co-producer and arranged all the music, opened at the Circle in the Square Theater on Broadway in December 2016. He started working with the production just after their off-Broadway run five years earlier. Vocalosity, a live a cappella theatrical concert production with diverse cast, began touring in January 2016 and has performed in 30 states. He has worked on a cappella musical theatre projects including "Street" and "Our World". He arranged the opening number for

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

's new greatest hits musical "Unmasked", a fast-paced mashup of 17 of his greatest hits.

Education

He co-founded and directs Camp Acappella for teens and adults each summer at

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

and teaches the music production class Soup To Nuts periodically. as well as travels to other countries to work with groups in person, such as New Zealand, Brazil, Italy, Sri Lanka and Singapore. His YouTube channel features a variety of educational topics including how to sound like several different instruments. A GE special features him discussing the physics of a cappella. In 2016, he joined the California branch of the

American Choral Directors Association The American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization with the stated purpose of promoting excellence in the field of choral music. Its membership comprises approximately 22,000 c ...

as the first ever Contemporary A Cappella R&R chair. and co-created Acappella.how for google His Camp A Cappella Intensive in Washington DC started in 2022, a partnership with

Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was th ...

, Planet Word, and the National Symphony Orchestra.

Awards

The ''Pitch Perfect'' soundtrack earned several awards, including an RIAA platinum record certification, the American Music Award for best soundtrack, an Online Film and Television Association nomination for Best Music, Adapted Song (Don't You Forget About Me) and an MTV Video Music Award for "Best Musical Moment". The ''Pitch Perfect 2'' soundtrack, which debuted at No. 1 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

, secured the American Music Award for best Soundtrack and a

Grammy nomination The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for Best Soundtrack. As album producer, he was nominated for a

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

in 2012 (Best Contemporary Gospel Album: Committed). In 2016, he became an honorary member of the

Barbershop Harmony Society The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop ...

, one of only twenty since 1938, and he was named an honorary member of

BYU 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 ...

. In 2017 he was awarded the P.T. Barnum Award for excellence in Entertainment from his alma mater,

. He has received two lifetime achievement awards for his work in a cappella: in 2016 for the 25th anniversary of his founding of thee

and in 2018, from the A Cappella Music Awards.

Other

He is known for his ability to replicate a variety of instruments (e.g. trumpet, guitar, flute, violin, muted trumpet, harmonica) with his voice—which he teaches online and via "Singing Instruments" seminars—teaching summer camp for young vocalists, and adjudicating choral festivals around the world. He has worked with many professional pop vocal groups, including

98 Degrees 98 Degrees (stylized as 98°) is an American pop and R&B vocal group consisting of four vocalists: the group's founding member Jeff Timmons, brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, and Justin Jeffre. The group was formed by Timmons in Los Angeles, Cali ...

The Nylons The Nylons are an a cappella group founded in 1978 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, best known for their covers of pop songs such as The Turtles' " Happy Together", Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", and The Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight ...

and

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

. Helping groups get started has been a ongoing goal of his for 30 years, which he does by providing free advice, support and arrangements. He also works with organizations philanthropically who support vocal harmony. He served on the CASA board for almost twenty years, often as President or Vice President. Acapellablog named him the number-one "a cappella power player to keep an eye on in 2012", and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

credits him for "making a cappella cool again". In 2016 he launched an a cappella podcast called "Counterpoint" with co-host Robert Dietz and has appeared on other podcasts. To help promote ''Good Omens'', he arranged several songs for "The Chattering Order of St Beryl," a group of singing nuns., and co-created

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

's "Sparkappella." When the cult

NXIVM NXIVM () is the name commonly used to describe the personality cult of imprisoned racketeer and sex offender Keith Raniere. NXIVM is also the trademarked name of the defunct corporation that Raniere founded, which provided seminars and vide ...

tried to use a cappella as a recruiting device, he drew out

Keith Raniere Keith Allen Raniere (; born August 26, 1960) is an American criminal convicted for a pattern of racketeering activity including human trafficking, sex offenses, and fraud. He co-founded NXIVM, a purported-self-help multi-level marketing com ...

in a public forum, resulting in his being put on their list of enemies. He has been featured repeatedly in

Kiplinger's Personal Finance ''Kiplinger's Personal Finance'' ( ) is an American personal finance magazine published by Kiplinger since 1947. It claims to be the first American personal finance magazine and to deliver "sound, unbiased advice in clear, concise language". It ...

for socially responsible investing. He describes his life's work is "to get more people singing" because "music can build a better community" as "our country needs to understand the importance of working together". His motto is "Harmony through harmony."

Selected bibliography

Selected discography

References

Sources

* Marine, Craig. (June 24, 1992) ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'' "Home of some very brave singers at the coliseum, A's anthem contest brings out talented and otherwise." Section: News; Page A5. * Carnes, Jim. (May 21, 1993) ''

The Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

'' "Jacks of all vocal trades." Section: Ticket; Page 15. * Scott, Jane. (October 19, 1993) ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

'' (

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Ohio) "Jacking up music with edgy a cappella." Section: Arts & Living; Page C14. * Birmingham News (October 7, 1994) ''Crime reports.'' Section: News; Page 2. * Winn, Steven. (March 6, 1996) ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' "'Media' to reopen stage door." Section: Daily Datebook; Page E1. * Eichenwald, Kurt. (June 22, 1997) ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' "Pop/jazz; 'Doo-Wop-a-Doo' will no longer do." Section 2; Page 232. * Eichenwald, Kurt. (July 17, 1997) ''

Albany Times Union The ''Times Union'' is an American daily newspaper, serving the Capital Region of New York. Although the newspaper focuses on Albany and its suburbs, it covers all parts of the four-county area, including the cities of Troy, Schenectady and Sar ...

'' "A cappella groups push vocal limits." Section: Preview; Page 6. *

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

(December 8, 1997) "A Cappella Renaissance." Section: Entertainment. * Roberts, Alison. (February 4, 1999) ''

'' "Mouthin' to it: Boyz nite out takes the a cappella approach to rock 'n' roll." Section: Scene; Page F1. * Muther, Christopher. (February 21, 1999) ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' "Different sounds of music group aims to make its mark in a cappella." Section: City Weekly; Page 9. * Sharon, Deke. (August 2, 2000) ''

'' "Letters to the editor." Section: News. *

PR Newswire PR Newswire is a distributor of press releases headquartered in Chicago. The service was created in 1954 to allow companies to electronically send press releases to news organizations, using teleprinters at first. The founder, Herbert Muschel, ...

(October 10, 2000) "Internet Radio Is Home for the Adventurous, May Force Traditional Radio to Change Its Tune Says Expert." * Alexander, Sandy. (February 25, 2001) ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' "Campuses in tune with singers Music: The voices-only sound of a cappella groups catches on at colleges in Maryland and across the nation." Section: Special Tab; Page 1S. * Alarik, Scott. (April 22, 2001) ''

'' "'B-doom doom doom' they're not your father's a cappella." Section: Northwest weekly; Page 11. * Burrell, Jackie. (March 4, 2006) ''

Contra Costa Times The ''East Bay Times'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, United States, owned by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of Media News Group, that serves Contra Costa and Alameda counties, in the East ...

'' "Old style, new sounds." Section: Local; Page F4. * Gomeztagle, Frances. (December 14, 2006) ''

Colorado Springs Independent The ''Colorado Springs Independent'' (commonly referred to as ''The Independent'' or simply ''The Indy'') is a newsweekly that serves the Pikes Peak region of Southern Colorado (El Paso, Teller, and Pueblo counties). It is Colorado Springs's large ...

'' "Sound effects." Volume 14; Issue 50; Page 28. * McCandish, Laura. (May 19, 2007) ''

'' "Harmonizing the Melting Pot". Section: Local; Page B1. * Terauds, John. (January 27, 2008) ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' "Acappellooza Shows A Cappella Singing on the Rise". Section: Entertainment. * Rapkin, Mickey. (March 23, 2008) ''The New York Times'' "Perfect Tone, in a Key That's Mostly Minor". Section: Style. * Scott Simon. (May 31, 2008)

Weekend Edition ''Weekend Edition'' is a set of American radio news magazine programs produced and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). It is the weekend counterpart to the NPR radio program ''Morning Edition''. It consists of ''Weekend Edition Saturday'' ...

"Perfect Pitch: The Drama of Collegiate A Cappella". * Rapkin, Mickey. ''Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory''. Gotham Books, 2008. * Edgers, Geoff. (May 15, 2011) ''

'' "Voices Carry" Section: Arts and Entertainment.

External links

dekesharon.com
*
Deke Sharon vocal arrangementsIBDBCounterpoint PodcastReddit AMA"Making Choruses Cooler" (Chorus America) a cappella empire"">Verge: "How the man behind "Pitch Perfect's music built an a cappella empire"
*[https://www.insider.com/pitch-perfect-10th-anniversary-behind-scenes-a-cappella-boot-camp-2022-10 Insider: "How 'Pitch Perfect' overcame a tiny budget and an a cappella 'boot camp' that left most of the cast in tears to become a comedy classic"] {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharon, Deke A cappella 1967 births Living people Composers from San Francisco Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni American male singers American rock singers American music arrangers Singers from San Francisco New England Conservatory alumni The House Jacks members