Samuel Dantowitz A Cappella Academy
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Hello! My name is Samuel Dantowitz. I am a senior at Millburn High School in Millburn, New Jersey.
I was recently accepted into A Cappella Academy , an eleven-day summer program in Los Angeles, California created by Avi Kaplan, Ben Bram, and Robert Dietz.
Music has always surrounded me, as my parents and brothers all sing, and my father has been a barbershopper since the 80s. I grew up pursuing musical theatre, with my first show at age 6. I’ve trained since I was 9 at Millburn’s Paper Mill Playhouse, with seven summers in their Musical Theatre Summer Conservatory and classes/workshops during the year. In high school, I’ve sung with both large and small choral ensembles, regional choruses, and this past fall the New Jersey All-State Chorus.
Currently, I sing with three different a cappella groups: The Millburnaires, a male octet a cappella group, seventy years in the making and part of the HS music department; Voices of Paper Mill, a new a cappella ensemble branched from the Paper Mill Playhouse Broadway Show Choir; and Soulfege A Cappella, an independent and completely student-run group at my HS.
Last year, I was fortunate enough to bring my HS group to our debut at the International Championship of High School A Cappella (ICHSA). From there, we auditioned for Lifetime’s new high school a cappella show: Pitch Slapped. Though not one of the two groups followed throughout the series, we appear in three episodes. The photo above is from episode six, which aired February 9th, “Rise of the Underclassmen.”
After almost four years in a cappella, with Pitch Slapped and Camp A Cappella last summer, I realized my passion for the genre, and my desire to pursue it as a career.
Me with Deke Sharon, godfather of contemporary a cappella.
In college, I plan to earn a general music / music industry / business degree, and be a part of a collegiate a cappella group. I intend to apply that degree to a career in the a cappella sector of the music industry.
Here are a few recent performances:
Me performing The A Team by Ed Sheeran with my student-run a cappella group: Soulfege. Me performing Uptown Girl by Billy Joel with the Millburnaires (see this Snopes Link for some group history with Bob Dylan).
Two mini-clips: If I Ever Fall In Love by Shai and Classic by MKTO with the Millburnaires.
I am thrilled to be one of the 73 students accepted from an international pool into the academy, 13% of the 556 auditioners this year. Being able to attend A Cappella Academy would be a dream come true, studying what I love with some of the most talented educators and students in the world.
Here is my A Cappella Academy audition video.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you can help me embark on my journey to A Cappella Academy this summer.
Cost Breakdown:
A Cappella Academy Tuition - $1995
Round-trip Flight NJ/LA - $550
Any little bit helps - no matter how small :)
I was recently accepted into A Cappella Academy , an eleven-day summer program in Los Angeles, California created by Avi Kaplan, Ben Bram, and Robert Dietz.
Music has always surrounded me, as my parents and brothers all sing, and my father has been a barbershopper since the 80s. I grew up pursuing musical theatre, with my first show at age 6. I’ve trained since I was 9 at Millburn’s Paper Mill Playhouse, with seven summers in their Musical Theatre Summer Conservatory and classes/workshops during the year. In high school, I’ve sung with both large and small choral ensembles, regional choruses, and this past fall the New Jersey All-State Chorus.
Currently, I sing with three different a cappella groups: The Millburnaires, a male octet a cappella group, seventy years in the making and part of the HS music department; Voices of Paper Mill, a new a cappella ensemble branched from the Paper Mill Playhouse Broadway Show Choir; and Soulfege A Cappella, an independent and completely student-run group at my HS.
Last year, I was fortunate enough to bring my HS group to our debut at the International Championship of High School A Cappella (ICHSA). From there, we auditioned for Lifetime’s new high school a cappella show: Pitch Slapped. Though not one of the two groups followed throughout the series, we appear in three episodes. The photo above is from episode six, which aired February 9th, “Rise of the Underclassmen.”
After almost four years in a cappella, with Pitch Slapped and Camp A Cappella last summer, I realized my passion for the genre, and my desire to pursue it as a career.
Me with Deke Sharon, godfather of contemporary a cappella. In college, I plan to earn a general music / music industry / business degree, and be a part of a collegiate a cappella group. I intend to apply that degree to a career in the a cappella sector of the music industry.
Here are a few recent performances:
Me performing The A Team by Ed Sheeran with my student-run a cappella group: Soulfege. Me performing Uptown Girl by Billy Joel with the Millburnaires (see this Snopes Link for some group history with Bob Dylan).
Two mini-clips: If I Ever Fall In Love by Shai and Classic by MKTO with the Millburnaires.
I am thrilled to be one of the 73 students accepted from an international pool into the academy, 13% of the 556 auditioners this year. Being able to attend A Cappella Academy would be a dream come true, studying what I love with some of the most talented educators and students in the world.
Here is my A Cappella Academy audition video.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you can help me embark on my journey to A Cappella Academy this summer.
Cost Breakdown:
A Cappella Academy Tuition - $1995
Round-trip Flight NJ/LA - $550
Any little bit helps - no matter how small :)
Organizer
Samuel Dantowitz
Organizer
Millburn, NJ
