[ot-caption title=”The Yale Whiffenpoofs perform at Pine Crest School. (via, Tara Shecter, sophomore)”]

On Monday April 4th, 2016, the Pine Crest students were in for a special treat.  After a week-long break full of relaxation, the Pine Crest administration decided to ease students back into the final stretch of the school year with a performance by the famed Whiffenpoofs. As the members explained, the Whiffenpoofs were established in 1909 at Yale University, and they are the oldest collegiate a capella group in existence today.  In the early twentieth century, the original five members decided to name the group “the Whiffenpoofs” after a mythical dragon fish from a musical that was briefly on Broadway.  The “Whiffs,” as they are called, are comprised of 14 male seniors that must go through an extensive “rush”-like process, similar to what a prospective fraternity member might endure.  The singers must audition, get along with the other members of the group, receive a call back, and then a select few will hear singing outside their door on “Tap Night” if they have made it into the Whiffenpoofs.  Just this year, the Whiffenpoofs have already sung for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  Whiffenpoofs take the year off from academic work since they miss a lot of class in order to travel the world and sing. Pine Crest was the last domestic stop for the Whiffenpoofs on their five week-long spring trip and they will soon head out of the country to finish their tour.

At Pine Crest, the Whiffs performed a set of eight songs and then entertained questions from the audience.  Led by musical director Adam Davis, the Whiffs opened with a mash-up of two different songs that were in a different language.  They then proceeded to sing “House of the Rising Sun” originally by The Animals with Whiffenpoof Chris Peters singing the melody.  Whiffenpoof Andrew O’Donnell sang next performing an Irish folk song.  The music then shifted in genre when the Whiffs performed “The Heart Wants What It Wants” by Selena Gomez.  Julian Drucker took the lead on this one, impressing everybody with his high vocals.  Next, Christian Probst sang “Rainbow Connection” from “The Muppets” followed by Chris Camp singing “Operator” by The Manhattan Transfer.  Chris Camp also doubled as the emcee and facilitated the Q&A session.

During the Q&A session, topics such as the audition process and the history of the group were covered.  In addition, the Whiffenpoofs offered some advice to busy high school and rising college students.  They emphasized how it was important to prioritize what you enjoy participating in.  Students were also informed that the Whiffenpoof album will be coming out in late April or early May.  The album was recorded with the same person who was in Pitch Perfect and according to one Whiffenpoof member, “It’s going to be fire for sure.”

The Pine Crest students really enjoyed the performance from the Yale group, and according to sophomore Hannah Burnstein, “I thought it was a great assembly and the Whiffenpoofs are a talented group of people.”  Overall, the assembly was a great start to the end of the year.

Sources: Whiffenpoofs.com, iTunes, NYTimes