| The Yale Alley Cats | |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1943 – present |
| Website | YaleAlleyCats.com |
| Members | |
| Tenor I Ker Medero '12 Jonathan Koch '12 Anthony Tordillos '14 Tenor II Josh Evans ‘12 Will Schlesinger ‘13 Austin Czarnecki '14 Sho Matsuzaki '14 Baritone Alexander Oki ‘12 Michael Singleton ‘12 Julian De Freitas ‘13 Sam Petrie ‘13 Bass Chris Medeiros ‘13 Jeffrey Star ‘13 Ryder Billings '14 John Yi, pitchpipe Jonathan Koch, business manager |
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The Yale Alley Cats are an all male, undergraduate a cappella singing group at Yale University. The Alley Cats were founded in 1943, making them the third oldest underclassman a cappella group at Yale.[1] The group’s early repertoire was based in jazz, but its current arrangements cover Motown, pop music, folk music, and other music genres. Each year, the Cats go on three tours, many of them international, performing for public and private audiences.[2]
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All of the group's music are arrangements written by current and past members.[3] Their performances have entertained audiences world-wide, including Martha Stewart and President Barack Obama.[3][4] The Alley Cats' first album on the Bridge Records, Inc. label [2] also made it onto the 52nd Grammy Awards entry list for Best Pop Vocal Album.[5]
Every year, the group travels to numerous destinations during their winter, spring, and summer breaks. Recent tours include:
| Date | Destination |
|---|---|
| Summer 2010 |
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| Spring 2010 |
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| Winter 2010 |
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Some Alley Cats go on to join The Yale Whiffenpoofs, a selective, all-senior, all-male a cappella group,[7] and some have gone on to careers in the performance industry, including:
In the fall of 1943, four Yale undergraduate students climbed Saybrook Tower to sing Henry Carey's "Sally in Our Alley" into the night. Their singing awoke the College Master who quickly yelled at them to "stop it! Your singing sounds like a bunch of screeching alley cats!" The Master then quieted the young gentlemen and sent them to bed, but the performance marked the group's founding and taking the name, "The Yale Alley Cats." [2]
Each year, freshmen audition in a multi-week process known as "Rush." [19] In the tradition of many Yale a cappella groups, the current Alley Cats “tap” freshmen to sing with the group for three years.[20][21]