Tonight at Spaulding Auditorium there will be zany sketch comedy, celebrity guest hosts and great music, all in front of a live audience. Is "Saturday Night Live" coming to the Hop? Lorne Michaels can only dream that his show is this entertaining. No, I'm writing about the annual Winter Whingding a cappella concert. This year's show promises to be a classic as some of Dartmouth's best and brightest entertainers will be taking the stage.
Hosting the event this year is the all-female group the Subtleties. In only their sixth year of existence, the Subtleties are Dartmouth's youngest a cappella group, but they have quickly become one of its best. Known for their musical precision and complex arrangements, the audiences at their live shows have grown over the past few years.
"People come to our shows because we are fun to watch and sound great," group member Liz Fahrenbach '04 said.
For the Subtleties, the emphasis has always been on live performances and finding new ways to entertain concert-goers. In fact, they were the first group on campus to incorporate choreography into their shows, starting a trend that has evolved into a cornerstone of a cappella at Dartmouth. It was this kind of crowd-pleasing innovation that got them an invitation from the Dodecaphonics to appear in last spring's Spaulding program. Now, just three terms later, they find themselves hosting an evening on the College's biggest stage.
"This show is a huge milestone for us," Fahrenbach said. "We hope to delight and surprise our audience by not only being extremely musical, but by showing that whether on a stage in front of a huge audience, or in the chapter room of a sorority, we are ultimately engaging and entertaining."
Joining the Subtleties as the on-campus guest group is the Cords. The all-male group has a considerably longer history, having recorded three albums since their founding. The Cords are coming fresh off their winter tour, during which they made stops in Atlanta and Charlotte. They also performed before an audience of thousands in Florida, where they sang the National Anthem at a Miami Heat game.
Cords member Jeff Pauker '03 said people can expect "new songs, some rock, some sentimental, with choreography and a skit."
Rounding out the bill is the visiting group Quasimodal from Wesleyan University. Founded in 1981, they are Wesleyan's oldest coed a cappella group. Quasimodal just released their latest CD "Toe Up" in November featuring a mix of pop, rock and soul.
"We try to perform a diverse repertoire featuring all our members in a solo capacity," senior member David Bloom said. "We also try to have as much fun as possible and share that joy with audience."
Acting as the ringmasters for this three-ring circus are two of Dartmouth's finest and funniest -- Alexis McGuinness '03 and Colin Murray '04. You may remember McGuinness from her work in several campus drama productions including "A Comedy of Errors," "Sheep's Milk on the Boil," "Phaedra" and "Infancy." She also recently branched out into writing with "Conversations with Beckett or The Male Affinity for Pigs."
Murray is a prominent member of the Dog Day Players and has begun to perform solo as a stand-up comedian. He says serving as co-emcee will be especially sweet because he "tried out for a cappella, and got rejected by The Cords. This is sort of my way of showing them that I really would be in a Winter Whingding before I graduated.
McGuinness previewed their act by saying, "People can expect some antics from Colin and me between sets. Otherwise, Colin and I would be rather disappointing emcees."
"You can expect show-stopping and breathtaking sets representing a wide range of musical tastes, combined with cool costumes, hilarious skits, and snazzy choreography. Basically, this show is going to be awesome," Fahrenbach added.
