Yale “WhiffAlums” Octet
Monday, August 20, 2012 | 7:30pm
$10 per person, children admitted free
“The Yale “WhiffAlums” return to Essex after a sell out performance last summer.
The “WhiffAlums” Octet are alumni of Yale University who as undergraduates were members of the famous Whiffenpoofs. Many former “Whiffs” continue to get together from time to time to share the comeraderie and pleasure of singing together. We are fortunate that Jon McBride (Yale “64), a summer resident of Essex and former “Whiff”, has gathered together seven of his contemporaries at Yale for a performance. They include John Bingham ’61 also of Essex, and John Evans ’64 of Newtown, CT, first tenors; Dan Bergfeld ’65 of New Canaan, CT and Al Rossiter ’64 of Lincoln, MA, second tenors; Danny Rowland ’63 of Lexington, KY and Charley Sawyer ’63 of Pittsfield, MA, baritones, and Bill Reed ’63 of Keene Valley and Jon McBride, second basses.
… About the Whiffenpoofs (from the website: www.whiffenpoofs.com)
Every year, 14 senior Yale men are selected to be in the Whiffenpoofs, the world’s oldest and best-known collegiate a cappella group. Founded in 1909, the “Whiffs” began as a senior quartet that met for weekly concerts at Mory’s Temple Bar, the famous Yale tavern. Today, the group has become one of Yale’s most celebrated traditions. More than 100 years ago, on a frosty January night in New Haven, Connecticut, five of the Yale Glee Club‘s best singers convened at Mory’s Temple Bar to escape the cold. Louis Linder, the tavern’s barkeep and a music aficionado, welcomed them in, beginning an institution that survives to this day. Of those original five singers, four were members of the Glee Club’s prestigious Varsity Quartet, a group that sang together regularly at various alumni events. Unwilling to restrict themselves to performances at public functions, the group began to meet on a weekly basis at Mory’s, where they improvised harmonies to the songs they loved so well. These weekly meetings soon became a hallowed tradition amongst the singers…” [Continue reading at Essex Community Concerts.]
All performances are held at the Essex Community Church in Essex, NY. You can contact Essex Community Concerts for more information at:
Phone: 518-963-4084 or 518-963-4445
E-mail: info@essexcommunityconcerts.org
About Katie Shepard
