From isolation, with love, from the Whiffenpoofs

The Whiffenpoofs, the country’s oldest a cappella group, celebrated its 110th anniversary this past October at Battell Chapel, with many alumni in attendance. Now, when the singers would have been preparing for their world tour, they are instead self-isolating at homes in Washington, D.C.; Maple Grove, Minnesota; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; and other cities and towns across the country.

“Of course, we are bummed about the impossibility of a full, summer-long World Tour for our class,” said Whiffs’ business manager Mark Gustaferro ’21 B.S., a tenor II from Wayzata, Minnesota. “But we see a silver lining: We now have some leftover revenue and are fortunate to be in a position to contribute the excess toward worthy organizations.”

As they do every year, the 2020 Whiffenpoofs — a TTBB (Tenor I, Tenor II, Bass I, Bass II) group comprised of 14 rising seniors — have been recording tracks for a full-length album, including “Losing My Mind” by Stephen Sondheim, from the musical “Follies.” The song is a new arrangement by Scott Etan Feiner ’21 B.A., a baritone member majoring in music and theater studies.

To showcase the track and preview the forthcoming album, the Whiffenpoofs have made their first-ever virtual music video. The video was edited by Neha Bhatt ’21 B.S., a tenor I and biomedical engineering major, and the second woman to call herself a Whiffenpoof in the group’s history.