About The A Cappella Blog

The A Cappella Blog operates from September-May of each calendar year. The site remains live during our 'off-season,' but little to no new material will be posted during those times.

The A Cappella Blog holds a three-part mission. The A Cappella Blog:

• Publicizes information about collegiate a cappella in order to foster an international community among fans and performers.
• Enhances collegiate a cappella's accessibility to individuals lacking technical knowledge in music.
• Archives information and media of and related to collegiate a cappella for public consumption.

The A Cappella Blog was founded in January 2007. Since that time, the site has reviewed over 50 live a cappella competitions. In addition, the site has featured interviews with dozens of a cappella groups and major figures in the a cappella community, including Ben Folds, Jerry Lawson, and Straight No Chaser. The A Cappella Blog has also published guest posts by a cappella luminaries such as Mickey Rapkin, Deke Sharon, Amanda Newman and Bill Hare.

Mike Chin, Content Manager

mikec@acappellablog.com
@miketchin

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Mike Chin co-founded The A Cappella Blog in January 2007. He continues to share leadership responsibility for the site, overseeing columns, reviews and features as the content manager.

Mike grew passionate about collegiate a cappella during his own undergraduate years at Geneseo State. He conceived of The A Cappella Blog in partnership with co-founder Mike Scalise in spring 2006. Outside of The A Cappella Blog, Mike has worked in student affairs at Syracuse University and in gifted education at Johns Hopkins University. He earned a BA in English and Sociology from Geneseo State, his MA in Writing at Johns Hopkins University, and his MFA in Creative Writing at Oregon State University.

Mike's hybrid chapbook, The Leo Burke Finish was published in 2017 by Gimmick Press, and he's won Bayou Magazine's Jim Knudsen Editor’s Prize for fiction and Prime Number Magazine's Flash Fiction Contest. He has previously published or has literary work forthcoming in over one hundred different publications, including The Normal School, Passages North, Hobart, Iron Horse Literary Review, Front Porch Journal, Prairie Schooner online, Waccamaw, and Word Riot. He currently lives in Georgia with his wife, Heather, and teaches college writing.

Mike Scalise, Production Manager

mikes@acappellablog.com
@themikescalise

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Mike Scalise co-founded The A Cappella Blog in January 2007. He continues to share leadership responsibility for the site, overseeing site design, utility, and functionality as the production manager.

Mike grew passionate about collegiate a cappella during his undergraduate years at Nazareth College, and conceived of The A Cappella Blog in partnership with co-founder Mike Chin in spring 2006. Outside of The A Cappella Blog, Mike has worked in information technology at an industrial supply distributor and currently serves as the manager of applications and data at Nazareth College. He earned a BS in Business Administration and Information Technology and an MS in Management from Nazareth. In addition, Mike is a Project Management Professional (PMP), and is Microsoft-certified in database development. He has presented at numerous conferences and events, including the Astra Schedule Users' Conference, Technology @ Naz (T@N) Conference, and Datatel Users' Group (DUG) Conference.

Mike was a recipient of the Small Business Council Scholarship and nominee for the Simon Early Leaders Award. His personal interests include weight training and travel.

Will Browar, Design Consultant and Photographer

willb@acappellablog.com
@wbrowar

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Will has worked with The A Cappella Blog since 2009 as a design consultant and photographer. He helps manage the ACB brand and was heavily involved in projects including the 2012 redesign of the website, and the development of The ACB ICCA Bracket Contest.

While he has a self-professed "strange" taste in music, Will has been involved in several rock & roll bands since 1999 as a percussionist. He graduated in 2007 from the Rochester Institute of Technology and is currently a web designer and developer at an upstate NY advertising agency.

Will continues to take photos of a cappella performers, fans and enthusiasts at a cappella events and competitions. If you see him at your show, say "Cheese!"