Tehillah Alphonso arranges “So Amazing” for Kings Return

Maggie Dave vocalist/arranger Tehillah Alphonso arranged the latest viral performance from Grammy Award-nominated vocal group Kings Return, released just before Valentine’s Day. Surpassing one million streams on Instagram, the a cappella arrangement of “So Amazing,” originally written by Luther Vandross and Marcus Miller, showcases Alphonso’s distinct and peerless craft at building evocative harmonies with layered voices.  

From the group: “Kings Return is a Dallas-based a cappella group created in 2016 by Gabe Kunda, Vaughn Faison, J. E. McKissic, and Jamall Williams. After initially singing for Kunda’s graduation recital, the quartet’s popularity soared when the group started posting videos to social media from the stairwell where the singers rehearsed. The ensemble, which has more than ten million views across digital platforms, derives inspiration from gospel, jazz, R&B, soul, and classical music.”

“‘The name Kings Return is a reflection of ourselves,’ the group asserts. ‘We are kings who go forth to conquer, but most importantly we return to give back to our community.’”

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Videography: Richard Tran
Arranged by: Tehillah Alphonso
Engineered: Plaid Productions
Mixed: Ed Boyer
Photo by Bryson Gamble

"Change Your Mind (Single Edit)" - Everywhere November 17th

Maggie Dave announced the release of their upcoming single “Change Your Mind,” slated for Friday, November 17th. Currently working on their debut album, lead singer Sean David Christensen describes the new song as “…an anthem that speaks to the human struggle of deciding whether to let somebody go or hold onto them even tighter than before.” Co-written by Grammy Award-nominated choral arranger and songwriter Tehillah Alphonso, “Change Your Mind” signals a bold new sound for the band—one they’ll continue exploring next year. “Mark & I [Maggie Dave] are learning to expand our sound with each new collaboration. On this record that involved so many creative souls, I could feel a sense of community protecting us. I’m so grateful for that. We’re all moving forward together and it’s very exciting.”

Pre-save the single on Spotify via DistroKid – HyperFollow.

Vocal arranger Tehillah Alphonso nominated for GRAMMY® award

This Tuesday, the nominations for the 64th GRAMMY® Awards were unveiled, featuring vocal arranger & vocalist Tehillah Alphonso alongside celebrated artists and past winners Jacob Collier, Vince Mendoza, Ólafur Arnalds & Cody Fry in the Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals" category. In a joyful conversation over the phone, I congratulated our friend and collaborator for her stirring arrangement of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” performed by the celebrated choral group Tonality & Alexander Lloyd Blake. Needless to say, our DVRs are already set for her big night on Monday, January 31st!

"A Change is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke. Performed by Tonality & Alexander Lloyd Blake; Arranged by Tehillah Alphonso; Mixed & mastered by Jett Galindo; Video by Pietro Torrisi

Vocalist Tehillah Alphonso featured in "perfect crime" (Live Performance) by Olivia Rodrigo

We’re thrilled for vocalist Tehillah Alphonso, a key arranger and collaborative partner of the band, who recently accompanied chart-topping artist Olivia Rodrigo in a live performance of “perfect crime” on Vevo LIFT. It was a USC Thornton homecoming for Alphonso, a graduate of the school’s Popular Music program, who sang alongside alumni Liv Slingerland (’15) on guitar as well as backing singers Georgia Greene (’18) and Lily Elise, who studied at the school. Behind the camera and the performance, the music direction was from alums Aron Forbes (’07) and Derek Renfroe (’17). Maggie Dave is proud of this latest career accomplishment for an artist who continues to awe us with her talents.

Tehillah Alphonso, second from right, joins Olivia Rodrigo in a live performance of “perfect crime”.

Artist Spotlight on Tehillah Alphonso

Acclaimed vocalist and a capella arranger Tehillah Alphonso describes her creative process writing & performing background vocals for "Worry" by Maggie Dave. Celebrated for her vivid vocal harmonies and ingenious blend of pop, jazz and gospel melodies, Alphonso has performed at Carnegie Hall as a part of the 2015 Honors Performance Series Choir and in the New World Center in Miami as a 2016 YoungArts Popular Voice finalist. Before graduating from the USC Thornton School of Music, Alphonso served as a member, arranger, and co-director for USC’s premiere a cappella group and four-time ICCA champions, the SoCal VoCals.