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[1] around the world. CASA was cofounded in 1991 by Deke Sharon by incorporating the first a cappella directory, The List, founded in 1988 & distributed by Rex Solomon, into a subscription newsletter called The C.A.N. or The Contemporary A Cappella Newsletter.[2][3][4]. The organization boasts over 6,000 current members, and serves as a resource for media and scholarly work in the area of contemporary a cappella.[5][6]
CASA keeps in close touch with its membership through the CASA.org website. The website features articles, blogs, and an Acapedia, which are updated daily.
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The annual Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (aka the "CARAs") recognize the best recorded a cappella[7] and aim to support this burgeoning culture of instrumentless enthusiasts. Every year since 1992 hundreds of albums are considered in this celebration of the best a cappella recorded around the planet.
The CARA mission reflects that of its parent organization, the Contemporary A Cappella Society (CASA) : an aim to reward artists that create outstanding work and to promote innovation, creativity, and continued growth of the a cappella modality. Furthermore, the awards aim to foster the a cappella community by having its best and brightest participate in the CARA nomination and judging process. Finally, CASA uses the application process as a means to provide resources to charitable programs such as Tunes to Teens .
The "A Cappella Community Awards" (aka the "ACAs") are voted on annually by registered users of CASA.org to allow fans the chance to award their favorite a cappella groups. Often called the "People's Choice Awards of the A Cappella community", the ACAs aim to further award excellent groups and individuals in the a cappella community, including non-American groups, by giving fans a venue to reward their favorite groups.
CASAcademy is a comprehensive web portal where CASA members can come to learn more about a cappella, hear samples of great music, view videos of great performances, read about forming and managing groups, and read about all a cappella-related topics (vocal health, etc.).
The CASA Acapedia is a huge database of a cappella groups, solo artists, beatboxers, studios, producers and more. The Acapedia is free and editable by any registered CASA member. It not only has information on existing groups, but also includes the profiles for groups that no longer exist. The database is set up like a Wiki, in which any user can add/modify information. All changes are tracked and can be un-done in the event of error or vandalism. The Acapedia currently features over 2400 profiles.
Each Acapedia profile is designed to include group information such as school or affiliation, current roster of members, concert listings, history, recording information, and tour dates.
The Ambassador Program is aimed to unite singers and groups from all over the country and world via an organized networking system. CASA Ambassadors are individuals responsible for being involved in their own a cappella communities- gathering information about groups, events, auditions, a cappella friendly clubs, singers, technology, opportunities and anything else that touches on a cappella. They upload that information to CASA.org via the Acapedia so it can be shared with the entire community.
Ambassadors also keep abreast of a cappella happenings globally via CASA.org, and share that information with their respective communities while encouraging them to become CASA members, to sing in Contemporary A Cappella League groups, to attend CASA festivals, and to support the vocal arts.
Ambassadors serve a one year volunteer term, and are offered a number of incentives which have included free memberships to CASA.org, free copies of CASA-sponsored compilation albums and free tickets to CASA-sponsored festivals such as SoJam.
Tunes To Teens (TTT) is designed to put a cappella CDs into the hands of developing singers. Chorus by chorus, TTT sends junior high and high school students a cappella CDs donated by a variety of sources. The program's goal is to spark interest in a cappella music in up-and-coming singers[8], and to serve as a touchstone for directors to teach their students the basics of music theory. Since 2003, over 2000 students in 23 US states and Canada have received CDs from TTT.
A Cappella Radio International was aired on over 50 stations worldwide from 1996-2004.[9]
CASA has been establishing contemporary a cappella choruses around the United States, from the SF Bay Area [10] to Maryland.[11]