Our Team
Our team consists of award-winning music educators, professional singers and vocal percussionists, and some of the most successful a cappella directors in the world.
Owners
Brody McDonald is the director of choirs at Kettering Fairmont High School in Dayton, Ohio, where his ensembles have performed at state, regional, and national conferences. He directs the nationally recognized a cappella group Eleventh Hour, the first high school group featured on NBC’s The Sing-Off, and a World Choir Games gold medal winner. Brody is a founder and former vice president of the A Cappella Education Association, author of A Cappella Pop: A Complete Guide to Contemporary A Cappella Singing, and a frequent clinician and presenter on contemporary a cappella education. He also serves on the faculty at Wright State University, where he previously directed the a cappella group ETHOS.
Deke Sharon, often called the “Father of Contemporary A Cappella,” is one of the most influential figures in modern a cappella. He served as vocal producer and arranger for the Pitch Perfect films, produced The Sing-Off internationally, and founded the Contemporary A Cappella Society. As the longtime director of The House Jacks, he helped define the contemporary a cappella sound and has arranged more than 2,000 songs. Deke is also the author of several books on a cappella singing and arranging, an internationally recognized educator, and a recipient of numerous lifetime achievement honors within the vocal music community.
Administration
Matthew Swope is the Director of Education for Camp A Cappella, overseeing curriculum and serving on the administrate team. Dr. Swope serves as the Director of Choral Activities and an Assistant Professor at Kent State University. Groups under his direction have competed at ICHSA Finals and NACC, and they have performed for conferences of ACDA and FMEA. His groups have won Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARA) and appeared on compilations including BOHSA, Voices Only, and WACA. Dr. Swope is an active conductor, clinician, presenter, and singer. He currently serves as the Midwestern ACDA R&R Co-Chair for Contemporary/Commercial Music.
DJ Paradis serves as the Media and Marketing Manager for Camp A Cappella, where he leads the camp’s marketing, photography, and videography. DJ serves as a broadcast journalism and media production educator at NSU University School in South Florida. His a cappella background includes performing with UCF’s Voicebox during their ICCA Finals season, serving as Music Director of Florida State’s Reverb A Cappella, and performing as a member of every group at FSU, including All Night Yahtzee. He is also on the media team for NACC, a teacher and Educational Director at SoJam, a clinician and videography for Nordonia and a recipient of numerous CARA and BOCA selections.