Five By Design’s signature harmonies have withstood the test of time in a career that spans more than twenty years. This nationally-acclaimed vocal group has been the choice of symphony orchestras and performing art centers delighting hundreds of thousands.

As the creative talent behind Radio Days, Club Swing, Stay Tuned, Cool and Swingin’ with Richie Cole, and The Ultra Lounge Show, their productions showcase the group’s penchant for storytelling and the comedic. Whether backed by symphony orchestra or big band, Five By Design embraces the unforgettable melodies, lush harmonies, and swinging rhythms that evoke the names of Miller, Mancini and Mercer.

Five By Design includes Lorie Carpenter-Niska, Kurt Niska, Michael Swedberg, and Terrence Niska who have been singing together since 1986. The group’s familial ties include brothers Terrence and Kurt Niska and the husband-wife duo of Kurt and Lorie Niska and childhood collaborator, Michael Swedberg. The creative team is supported by in-house artist representatives Alton Accola and Midge Swedberg. The technical team includes sound engineer Phil Henrickson who has been with the group since 1987.

Radio Days, Five By Design’s flagship production, debuted as a patriotic tribute to the “golden age of radio,” commemorating the 50th anniversary of World War II. Nearly two decades later, Radio Days still receives great reviews. The Washington Post heralded its Kennedy Center debut with the National Symphony Orchestra as “one of the best pops performances of the season.” With the success of Radio Days, the Baltimore Symphony requested another production from Five By Design, leading to the premiere of Club Swing in 2001. The show follows the rise and fall of the big band era from 1937-1955 at the fictional Hotel Crosby, “where the music’s hot, the drinks are cool, and the legend lives forever.” Club Swing’s soundtrack was recorded with a big band headed by Willis Delony, Five By Design’s principal pianist/conductor.

Combining warm, well-rounded signature vocals with vintage fashions and a bit of theatrical panache, Five By Design unveiled their third production, Stay Tuned, a nod to the “television variety show” and American culture from 1950-1966. In 2010, Five By Design collaborated with alto sax jazz legend Richie Cole for their Cool and Swingin’ project. Five By Design published vocal arrangements of several of his compositions as part of the vocal ensemble’s educational mission.

Five By Design enjoys working with outstanding orchestrators including: Lovell Ives, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Professor Emeritus of Jazz Studies; Willis Delony, Professor of Jazz Studies at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and film score orchestrator, Maury Laws, noted most for his work on the Rankin-Bass animated specials including “Frosty, the Snowman” and “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” While the vocal arrangements are the creative work of Five By Design, their orchestrators bring those charts to life with unparalleled expertise.

National media exposure includes National Public Radio’s “Weekend Edition–Sunday” and “Swingin’ Down the Lane” along with a feature story in Symphony magazine. With a touring itinerary averaging 60-plus performances each season, their talents have taken them across the country, up into Canada and as far away as the Bosphorus International Music Festival in Istanbul.