Harvard Opportunes

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The Harvard Opportunes are Harvard University's oldest co-ed a cappella singing group. The group was founded in 1980 by undergraduates Simin Yazdgerdi and Suzanne Goldsmith. The group usually has between 12 and 18 members, and to be a member of the group, one must be a Harvard undergraduate. Quincy Jones' daughter Rashida Jones was a member and music director of the group; the group also performs a medley that Quincy Jones himself arranged for the group. Anne Previn, composer of Natalie Imbruglia's Torn, was also a member of the Opportunes while she was at Harvard.

1 Repertoire
2 Discography
3 Awards
4 Performances
5 Current Members (Class at Harvard)
6 External Links

[edit] Repertoire

The Opportunes sing a wide variety of music, ranging from traditional to contemporary pieces. The group's signature piece is the traditional song "Change in My Life."

[edit] Discography

To date, the Opportunes have released seven albums. They record one every two years. The current releases are:

Plugged (1993)
The Hours of Celebration (1995)
Candy for the Children (1997)
True Story (1999)
Turn and Go (2001)
Six Degrees (2003)
Let it Play (2005)

[edit] Awards

The Opportunes have won several national acappella awards for their recordings.

For Plugged: CARA 1994: Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement for In Your Eyes, Best Mixed Collegiate Soloist (Shawna Cornelius '93 Breathe), Runner-up Best Mixed Collegiate Song for Breathe, Runner-up Best Mixed Collegiate Album, featured on the prestigious BOCA (Best of College A Capella) compilation album
For Hours of Celebration: CARA 1997: Runner-up Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement
For True Story: CARA 2000: Best Mixed Collegiate Song for When We Were Kings, selected for inclusion on the 2000 edition of the BOCA compilation
For Six Degrees: CARA 2004: Runner-up Best Mixed Collegiate Soloist for Randy Zuckerberg '03
For Let it Play: Inclusion on Voices Only

[edit] Performances

The Harvard Opportunes perform throughout the Boston community, have two annual a cappella jams in Harvard's Sanders Theater, have an annual spring break tour, an annual New York and are an active and established part of the Harvard contemporary music scene.

In the past the group has performed for Quincy Jones, have performed on the Today Show, performed with Adam Sandler, and performed for Stephen Sondheim and Bill Clinton.

[edit] Current Members (Class at Harvard)

Elena Bassett (2007), Kate Cosgrove (2007), Annie Shawn (2007), Elana Rome (2007), Jon Cunningham (2008), Abby Cushing (2008), Leslie Barkett (2008), Matthew Blumenthal (2008), Ross Lipstein (2008), Kevin Ferguson (2008), Patrick Lahue (2009), Jamal Gorrick (2009), Amy Sutherland (2009), Christopher Baker (2009), Daniel Oshima (2010), Sam Linden (2010), Molly Swenson (2010), Amanda Franklin (2010)