Stanford Mendicants


The Stanford Mendicants are an all-male a cappella group at Stanford University. The group is Stanford University's original a cappella group. Since its founding in 1963, the group's size has varied from 6 to 19 members. Although they are strictly an a cappella group today, they have performed with instruments in previous generations. The group prides itself on singing a wide range of songs, from gospel to barbershop to pop tunes and original compositions. The Mendicants are known around Stanford's campus for their red blazers and romantic serenades.

History and Accolades

The Stanford Mendicants was founded in 1963 by Hank Adams, a transfer student from Yale University, with a group of 5 undergraduate men. The group originally rehearsed only a single song before breaking into the dining commons of Branner Hall, an all-women's dormitory at the time, and performing their song during lunch. Adams often recalled, himself tearing up, that during their performance, the women wept, and there was literally "not a dry eye in the house". Having only rehearsed the one song, they quickly fled through an open window and went immediately back to rehearsal.
Their 1998 album Besides What You See received a 4.2 rating from the Recorded A Cappella Review Board, which is the group's highest album score to date.
The group was Runner-Up in three categories in the inaugural Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards in 1992. As of 2020, they have been nominated for six more recording awards awards since then: in 1999, 2001, 2005, and 2019.
Mendicant songs were selected for Varsity Vocals' "Best of Collegiate A Cappella" compilation album in both 2001 and 2005.
On February 2, 2019, The Stanford Mendicants finished in first place in the ICCA Northern California Quarter-Finals in Redwood City, CA. The Mendicants also took home two individual awards, including Outstanding Soloist, for Austin Zambito-Valente, and Outstanding Choreography, for Khoi Le and Gabe Wieder.

Notable alumni

ICCA results

The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella first judged live a cappella performance competitions in 1996.
YearLevelCategoryRecipientResultPointsCitation
1998West Region Quarterfinal #2Best SoloBrandon Singleton for "Reach Out"
2002West Region Quarterfinal #3Best SoloistEric Tanner
2017Northwest Quarterfinal #4Best GroupMendicants
2017Northwest SemifinalBest GroupMendicants
2018West Quarterfinal #4Best GroupMendicants
2019West Quarterfinal #3Best GroupMendicants
2019West Quarterfinal #3Outstanding SoloistAustin Zambito-Valente for "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood/How Long"
2019West Quarterfinal #3Outstanding ChoreographyGabe Wieder and Khoi Le for the entire set
2020West Quarterfinal #5Best GroupMendicants
2020West Quarterfinal #5Outstanding SoloistAustin Zambito-Valente for "Big Down"
2020West Quarterfinal #5Outstanding ArrangementChris Kaya for the entire set