The Whiffenpoofs of Yale

As the nation’s oldest a cappella ensemble, the Whiffenpoofs have been sharing music throughout the United States and the world since their founding in 1909. The group combines a unique blend of musicianship, choreography, and showmanship to create a performance suitable for an array of different audiences. Made famous by the signature “Whiffenpoof Song” (which has been covered by artists like Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby, and Rudy Vallee), the Whiffs continue their century-old tradition each year with over two hundred performances in venues like Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, and the Rose Bowl.  They have been featured on television shows such as NBC’s The Sing Off, The West Wing, The Today Show, 60 Minutes, Gilmore Girls, Jeopardy, Saturday Night Live, and most recently on the Season 4 finale of Glee.  The Whiffenpoofs have sang for President Obama at the White House and toured to over 25 countries on 6 continents.

ABOUT THE WHIFFENPOOFS OF YALE: 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.

As their fame on campus grew, the quintet began their search for a name. Denton ‘Goat’ Fowler, tickled by a joke featuring a mythical dragonfish named the Whiffenpoof, suggested the name to his companions, who found the name an apt reflection of the atmosphere of levity that accompanied the group’s gatherings. The word quickly caught on with the group’s admirers, and the name stuck. In the years since, each generation of Whiffenpoofs have taken up the mantle of their forebears. For more than one century of songsters, the name, the song, and the weekly date at Mory’s have remained inviolate traditions that continue to bind us together.

Learn more about this performance at: www.whiffenpoofs.com