Vocolot began in 1988, when singer-songwriter Linda Hirschhorn informally assembled a group of musicians to record some of the songs she had written for four- and five-part vocal harmonies.
Besides the current members and the founders, there were Kirsten Zerger, Alisa Peres, Helen Cohen, Ellen Robinson, Gale Kissin, Judy Larson, Sharon Preves, Abbe Lyons, Naomi Hannah, Judith-Kate Friedman, Fran Avni, Jennifer Karno, Alison Lewis, Felicia Sloin, and Julia Bordenaro.
Mixing folk, classical, cantorial and Jazz idioms in a polyphonic style of intricately interwoven voices, the women perform a cappella blended with hand drums and Body percussion.
In addition, they commonly perform at festivals, conferences and conventions, folk music clubs, Jewish community centers and federations, colleges and universities, churches and synagogues throughout the U.S.A.
The name was chosen by the founding members in November 1988, at a time when the politically active group was encouraging electoral participation with the slogan "Get out the local vote with Vocolot!"