During a week-long visit to Brentwood native Brandon Levin’s (Harvard-Westlake ‘09) hometown, the Yale Whiffenpoofs kept up a remarkably busy schedule.
Each year 14 senior Yale men are selected to be in the Whiffenpoofs, the world’s oldest and best known collegiate a cappella group. Carrying forward their beloved, century-old tradition, every year they perform over two hundred concerts in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Broadway’s Lincoln Center, and the Rose Bowl – as well as at private parties, country clubs, corporate events, restaurants, and hotels.
Last year, the Whiffenpoofs sang for President Obama at the White House and toured to over thirty countries over all seven continents. In the past few weeks, they have sung for former President Bush and His Excellency, the Governor of Bermuda. 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!, and Saturday Night Live. The Whiffenpoofs were recently featured in both the New York Times and GQ magazine in January of 2013.
In Los Angeles, the Whiffenpoofs performed at Dodger Stadium on April 17 before a sold-out crowd, singing one of their own arrangements, “Operator†(by the Manhattan Transfer), in addition to the national anthem. The picture below depicts them behind home plate on the field, immediately prior to singing.
Just a few days later, the Whiffenpoofs spent two full days filming at Paramount Studios for the season finale of the fourth season of Glee, which aired on Thursday, May 9, and can now be found on Hulu. You can see a picture of them with the cast of Glee, taken after the second day of filming!
After singing at Yale’s Commencement ceremonies on May 19, the Whiffenpoofs depart on a 23-country world tour, which will take them through Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. They will return to the United States in late August.
