The Oxford Gargoyles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Oxford Gargoyles are a mixed-voice jazz a cappella group from Oxford University, England. Their repertoire is rooted in the jazz songbook but also extends to pop, soul, Latin and gospel numbers. The group was founded in 1998 and has been instrumental in the rise of collegiate a cappella in the United Kingdom. The Gargoyles were involved in organising the BICCAs (British Inter-Collegiate Championship of A Cappella), as well as participating in the Western European category of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella since its inception in 2006. In 2007, the Gargoyles won the Western European semifinal of the ICCAs [1] and competed in the world final, held in the Alice Tully Hall (part of the Lincoln Center in New York City). In 2008 they placed second in the European category, and won the Best Soloist and Best Arrangement awards[2].
The Gargoyles perform at a variety of events in and around Oxford, such as college balls, charity events and private functions, as well as putting on their own concerts. Recent venues have included Oxford's Holywell Music Room and private functions at Cliveden House and the Divinity School of the Bodleian Library. They have also performed in London at such venues as the Ministry of Defence and the Savoy Hotel.
They have toured to the United States several times, visiting other college a cappella groups such as the Princeton Tigertones, and appearing on The Today Show. They performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2006 and 2007, to acclaim from festival guides such as ThreeWeeks [3] and EdinburghGuide.com [4].
They have produced 6 albums, most recently 2007's Sitting on a Rainbow [5]. In April 2008 they were featured on the BBC Radio 3 programme The Choir[6].
