# Stanford Counterpoint

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**Stanford Counterpoint** (also known simply as **Counterpoint**) is an all-femme [a cappella](/source/A_cappella) group from [Stanford University](/source/Stanford_University). It is the second-oldest [a cappella group from Stanford](/source/List_of_Stanford_University_a_cappella_groups).[1][2]

Counterpoint is a student-led group,[2] and typically comprises 15–17 singers, selected by audition each September.[1][2] As of 2020, Counterpoint has released fourteen studio albums. The group has been nominated for a dozen national a cappella awards, and has been featured three times on Varsity Vocals' annual *Best Of College A Cappella* album.[3][better source needed]

## History

The group was founded in 1979 by sophomores Linda Chin and Joyce Rogers, to provide a female-oriented alternative to the [Stanford Mendicants](/source/Stanford_Mendicants), an all-male group and the only a cappella group on campus at the time.[2][4] The group was named "Counterpoint" because Rogers played the Harpsichord in high school and the concept of musical counterpoint is essential to the Baroque music she enjoyed playing.[5] At first, the women of Counterpoint performed with an upright bass and occasional other instruments.[citation needed] The group's first performed song ("[Java Jive](/source/Java_Jive)") featured an upright bass and received a standing ovation at their first performance in the spring of 1979.[2]

That first year, the group won the Stanford Alumni Association's award for the "most innovative student project" of the year.[4]

In 1980, Counterpoint took The Mendicants on a tour to perform for Stanford alumni in Southern California; as of 2019, that tradition continues—as does the lasting relationship between the groups.[5] In 1982, Counterpoint released a self-titled vinyl record, recorded in Stanford's [Memorial Church](/source/Stanford_Memorial_Church).

In the 1990s, the group ceased using instruments and became all-vocal. Counterpoint recorded a studio album every other year, touring the United States during the years they didn't record.[1] In 2019, the women of Counterpoint went on their first international tour to Paris, France.[6] Also in 2019, Stanford Counterpoint celebrated their 40th anniversary with a reunion concert featuring generations of alumnae.[7]

In 2019, Stanford Counterpoint released their 14th studio album (*Close to Home*) and an accompanying music video for the track "[God is a Woman](/source/God_Is_a_Woman)". Both works are entirely performed/recorded/produced by women. The track "[Light of a Clear Blue Morning](/source/Light_of_a_Clear_Blue_Morning)" was selected for the Recorded A Cappella Review Board's 2019 "Picks of the Year"[8] and their music video for has been nominated for an A Cappella Video Award.[9]

As of 2020, Counterpoint has been nominated for 14 a cappella recording-related awards and honors including Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA)[9] award nominations and *Best Of College A Cappella* (BOCA) compilation album features. Many of these nominations were thanks to the work of Counterpoint's long-time audio engineer [Bill Hare](/source/Bill_Hare).[citation needed]

## Discography

As of 2020, Counterpoint has released fourteen studio albums:

- *Counterpoint* (1981)
- *Run With It* (1989)
- *Sing It, Baby!* (1992)
- *Nomansland* (1996)[1]
- *Counterculture* (1998)[1]
- *Ticket to Anywhere* (2000)[10]
- *Cover Charge* (2002)
- *Studio Confessions* (2004)
- *Lights in the Rearview* (2006)
- *Belladonna* (2008)[11]
- *Dancing Til Dawn* (2010)
- *No Turning Back* (2015)
- *A Woman Like That* (2016) - EP
- *Close to Home* (2019)[12]

## Awards and nominations

|- | 1997 | rowspan="10" | [Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards](/source/Contemporary_A_Cappella_Society#Contemporary_A_Cappella_Recording_Awards) | Best Female Collegiate Album | *Nomansland* | | [1][13] |- | rowspan="4" | 1999 | Best Female Collegiate Album | *Counterculture* | | rowspan="4" | [14][15] |- | Best Female Collegiate Song | "Don't Speak" | |- | Best Female Collegiate Arrangement | Katy Chow | |- | Best Female Collegiate Soloist | Sasha Polonsky | |- | rowspan="3" | 2001 | Best Female Collegiate Album | *Ticket to Anywhere* | | rowspan="3" | [16] |- | Best Female Collegiate Song | "Good Enough" | |- | best Female Collegiate Arrangement | Katy Chow for "Crush" | |- | 2005 | Best Female Collegiate Song | "Clocks" from *Studio Confessions* | | [17] |- | 2009 | Best Female Collegiate Album | *Belladona* | style="background: #FADEDE" |

Shortlisted

| [18] |- | 2019 | rowspan="2" | A Cappella Video Awards | Best Female Collegiate Video | "Don't Wake Me Up" | style="background: #F4F2B0" |

Runner Up

| [19] |- | rowspan="2" | 2020 | Best Female Collegiate Video | "God Is a Woman" | | [20] |- | Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards | Best Country Song | "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" from *Close to Home* | | [21]

### *Best of College A Cappella* appearances

Three songs released by Counterpoint have been selected for Varsity Vocals’ annual *Best of College A Cappella* album.

Year Song title Originally performed by Reference 1999 “Don't Speak” Bonnie Raitt [22] 2001 “Good Enough” Sarah McLachlan [23] 2007 “Breathe (2 AM)” Anna Nalick [24]

## See also

- [List of Stanford University a cappella groups](/source/List_of_Stanford_University_a_cappella_groups)

## References

1. Chopra, Nitin (24 September 1998). ["A cappella nation: A Stanford tradition"](https://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford19980924-01.2.42) (Print). *[The Stanford Daily](/source/The_Stanford_Daily)*. Vol. 214, no. 5. pp. 5–7. Retrieved 20 January 2020.

1. Dumas, Alexandra (28 November 1989). ["Musical Counterpoint is ready to dispel good-girl image"](https://archives.stanforddaily.com/1989/11/28?page=6&section=MODSMD_ARTICLE28#article). *[The Stanford Daily](/source/The_Stanford_Daily)*. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. ["Stanford Counterpoint: About"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160203034333/http://www.counterpointacappella.com/about/). Archived from [the original](http://www.counterpointacappella.com/about) on February 3, 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. Duderstadt, Hank (25 May 1979). ["The new Counterpoint"](https://archives.stanforddaily.com/1979/05/25?page=3&section=MODSMD_ARTICLE16#article). *[The Stanford Daily](/source/The_Stanford_Daily)*. Vol. 175, no. 69. p. 3. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. [*Stanford Counterpoint 40th Anniversary Reunion Concert*](https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~egeorgie/documents/ctp_program.pdf). 2019.

1. ["Stanford's Counterpoint Showcases Glorious Vocals In Scenic "God Is A Woman" Music Video"](http://www.collegeaca.com/content/stanfords-counterpoint-showcases-glorious-vocals-in-scenic-god-is-a-woman-music-video). *College A Cappella*. Retrieved 2020-02-09.

1. ["Stanford Counterpoint 40th Anniversary Reunion Concert"](https://reunion.stanford.edu/stanford-counterpoint-40th-anniversary-reunion-concert). Stanford University Reunion Homecoming. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2020.

1. ["RARB Picks of 2019"](http://www.rarb.org/picks/2019/). *www.rarb.org*. Retrieved 2020-02-09.

1. ["Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards"](https://carawards.org/video-nominees-2020). *carawards.org*. Retrieved 2020-02-09.

1. Skolnick, Deena (16 May 2000). ["Counterpoint celebrates 21st birthday in concert"](https://archives.stanforddaily.com/2000/05/16?page=1&section=MODSMD_ARTICLE4#article). *[The Stanford Daily](/source/The_Stanford_Daily)*. Vol. 217, no. 60. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. Landau, Elie; Whitley, Guang Ming; Colton, John (10 October 2008). ["Reviews: Belladonna (2008)"](https://www.rarb.org/reviews/albums/864-belladonna/). The Recorded A Cappella Review Board. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. Lewis, Catherine; Alexander, Brian; Foster, Leigh Holmes (25 December 2019). ["Reviews: Close to Home (2019)"](https://www.rarb.org/reviews/albums/1775-close-to-home/). The Recorded A Cappella Review Board. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. ["1997 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190618125404/http://www.casa.org/cara1997n). [The Contemporary A Cappella Society](/source/The_Contemporary_A_Cappella_Society). Archived from [the original](http://www.casa.org/cara1997n) on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. ["1999 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190615002438/http://www.casa.org/cara1999n). [The Contemporary A Cappella Society](/source/The_Contemporary_A_Cappella_Society). Archived from [the original](http://www.casa.org/cara1999n) on 15 June 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. Yang, Virginia (2 February 1999). ["A cappella up for awards: Campus groups win 14 nominations"](https://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford19990202-01.2.2) (Print). *[The Stanford Daily](/source/The_Stanford_Daily)*. Vol. 215, no. 2. p. 1. Retrieved 20 January 2020.

1. ["2001 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190608011524/http://www.casa.org/cara2001n). [The Contemporary A Cappella Society](/source/The_Contemporary_A_Cappella_Society). Archived from [the original](http://www.casa.org/cara2001n) on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. ["2005 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees"](https://web.archive.org/web/20191027074609/https://www.casa.org/cara2005n). [The Contemporary A Cappella Society](/source/The_Contemporary_A_Cappella_Society). Archived from [the original](http://www.casa.org/cara2001n) on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. Hoffman, Julia. ["2009 Collegiate A Cappella Shortlists"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180929090026/http://www.casa.org/cara2009sl). [The Contemporary A Cappella Society](/source/The_Contemporary_A_Cappella_Society). Archived from [the original](http://www.casa.org/cara2009sl) on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. Ardell, Shane (10 February 2019). ["2019 A Cappella Video Award Results"](https://casa.org/2019-a-cappella-video-award-results/). [The Contemporary A Cappella Society](/source/The_Contemporary_A_Cappella_Society). Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. ["2020 A Cappella Video Awards Nominees"](https://casa.org/2020-a-cappella-video-awards-nominees/). [The Contemporary A Cappella Society](/source/The_Contemporary_A_Cappella_Society). 26 November 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. Chen, Jessica (17 February 2020). ["2020 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Nominees"](https://casa.org/2020-contemporary-a-cappella-recording-awards-nominees/). *[The Contemporary A Cappella Society](/source/Contemporary_A_Cappella_Society)*. Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards. Retrieved 17 February 2020.

1. ["Best of College A Cappella 1999"](https://varsityvocals.com/project/boca-1999/). Varsity Vocals. 1999. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. ["Best of College A Cappella 2001"](https://varsityvocals.com/project/boca-2001/). Varsity Vocals. 2001. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

1. ["Best of College A Cappella 2007"](https://varsityvocals.com/project/boca-2007/). Varsity Vocals. 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

## External links

- [Official Counterpoint website](http://www.stanfordcounterpoint.com)
- [Official Counterpoint YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/user/StanfordCPT)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Stanford Counterpoint](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Counterpoint) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Counterpoint?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.