How the man behind Pitch Perfect’s music built an a cappella empire

Sometimes the best way to get a job for yourself is to invent one. Today Deke Sharon, who may be the most enthusiastic supporter of a cappella music on earth, is best known as a producer of NBC’s The Sing-Off and the man who arranged the music for Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2, which opens this weekend. Later this year, he’ll co-star in his own show about a cappella on Lifetime. But none of that would have happened if a cappella weren’t having a cultural moment — a moment Sharon worked overtime to bring about. After graduating from Tufts University, he founded a society for a cappella music, began organizing global a cappella competitions, and toured the world with his a cappella band, the House Jacks. Now that it’s all paying off, we were curious how Sharon got started. So we visited him at his home in San Francisco to ask him how he got here — and how you arrange an a cappella song, anyway.

Watch the video of our conversation above. Or check out our extended conversation with Sharon about his improbable career.