The Duke's Men of Yale

The Duke's Men of Yale

A "doox" pin
Background information
Years active 1952–present
Website http://www.dukesmen.com
Members Tenor I
Christian Probst '16
Jackson Thea '15
Jake van Leer '15
Simon Schaitkin '17

Tenor II
Solon Snider '17
Mack Ramsden '17
Chris Camp '16
Truett Davis '16

Baritone
Trey Pernell '17
Jamie Bogyo '15
DJ Stanfill '15
Grant Fergusson '16

Bass
Zachary Johnson '17
Derwin Aikens '15
Elliah Heifetz '15
Chris Peters '16

Solon Snider, musical director
Mack Ramsden, business manager

The Duke's Men of Yale are an all-male a cappella singing group at Yale University. Founded in 1952, "Da Doox" combine Yale's traditional a cappella singing style with complex contemporary arranging, and have gained the status as both campus favorites [1] and as one of Yale's most recognized musical groups.

History

The Founding

Named after Basil Duke Henning, the master of Saybrook College, and a former Whiffenpoof, the group formed first in 1952, initially as an octet of underclassmen in Saybrook. Parker Towle '55, and Paul Thompson '55 were the main organizers, and they recruited Walt Farrier '54 as the group's first musical director.

The Present

Today the ensemble includes between fifteen and twenty underclassmen. Most members join the group as freshmen and sing through the end of their junior year, although some join as sophomores. The group's repertoire includes jazz, soul, classical, show tunes, and popular music. There have been over 350 Duke's Men since 1952, and to this day, the group sings "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)," its alumni song, at the end of most of its concerts.

Accolades

The Duke's Men have been successful in a number of competitions, most notably the International Championship of College A Cappella. In 1996 the Duke's Men were the best male group and won first runner-up honors at the ICCA Finals at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City, along with awards for soloist Michael Sagalowicz (solo: "I'll Back You Up") and arrangement ("Where Is Love," arranged by Alex Funk.) In 2005, the group took first place in the New England regional final of the ICCA.. Most recently, the group took first place in the 2009 Northeast Quarterfinal, with member Sam Tsui ('11) receiving accolades for Best Solo & Best Choreography. They performed a cover of Rihanna's "Umbrella" [2] and won again at the Northeast Semi-Final at MIT on March 21, and came in 4th place at the Finals at Alice Tully Hall on April 18, 2009.

In January 2004, the group was featured in a CBS News Sunday Morning segment about collegiate a cappella.[3]

Tours

The Duke's Men perform around the world, often at well-known venues such as the Lincoln Center and the White House. The group undertakes regional tours in January and March of every year, and an international tour every May. Previous tours have taken the Duke's Men to Hawaii, Japan, Thailand, China, and throughout the United States and Europe.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ http://admissions.yale.edu/extracurricular-group/dukes-men-yale?format=extracurriculars. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ (November 17, 2010), "Glee vs. YouTube: Who Did ‘Umbrella’ Best?", New York Magazine: Vulture, Accessed Dec 12 2010
  3. ↑ (January 11, 2004), "A Cappella Frenzy, Many University Students Across America Are Spurning Heavy Metal For Music Of Voices", CBS Sunday Morning, Accessed Dec 23 2006

External links