Each year, Winter WhingDing brings an element of musical excellence to a Winter Carnival that is already filled with entertainment. One of three major a cappella performances held each year, this year’s Winter WhingDing is hosted by X.ado, a co-ed Christian a cappella group. Hosting responsibilities for Winter WhingDing — and its fall and spring counterparts — rotate through all of the a cappella groups on campus, and this year it is X.ado’s turn to take center stage. In addition to performing as an a cappella group, X.ado is also a ministry on campus and is known for singing songs from a variety of genres, including gospel, contemporary pop, Christian rock and traditional hymns.
Tyné Freeman ’17, a member of X.ado, said that the group utilizes a range of music in order to put forth messages of love and acceptance.
“Our repertoire is diverse in that there is a pretty good mixture of genres, artists and messages, but there is an overarching theme of encouragement and hope,” Freeman said. “I think we always come back to that central fact that we sing for Christ, and we sing to encourage people and uplift people.”
X.ado will carry this message of encouragement and hope through its performance at Winter WhingDing, whose tagline is #WhisperedAndShouted. The show centers on the concept of allowing members of the Dartmouth community to share their stories with their peers. Members of X.ado have been interviewing students for the past few weeks, asking them to “tell their story” and recording their responses. These clips will be incorporated into X.ado’s performance.
Christian Williams ’19, also in X.ado, explained that the group’s goal is to create a show that embraces multiple perspectives.
“[The theme for the show] was kind of a response to the general climate right now in terms of everything that’s going on,” Williams said. “We’re not necessarily trying to take a side — it’s more of us just trying to be like ‘Hey, this is a tumultuous time right now, so we are here to hear your voices, and we should all be listening to each other a little bit better.’”
The group has further extended this goal of expressing new voices in their performance by collaborating with several other groups for the show. Michael Sun ’19, a spoken word poet and member of Soul Scribes, will be performing, along with Street Soul, a student hip-hop dance group, and the Rockapellas, an all-female a cappella group.
X.ado member Skye Herrick ’17 pointed out that the collaborations with these groups will bring a variety of perspectives to the show.
“We have a good relationship with the Rockapellas,” Herrick said. “They also have a very strong mission, but it’s definitely very different from our own, so we were excited to get a diversity of voices.”
In addition to being a celebration of the range of perspectives on Dartmouth’s campus, Winter WhingDing also marks a milestone for X.ado by giving the group a chance to display its musical talent.
“I’m a senior in the group now, and of all the different iterations of X.ado that I’ve been in, I’m so excited that this is the group of people that I get to do this show with,” Herrick said. “We have great energy, and we have some amazing singers in the group right now. I think it’s going to be really encouraging and [will] prompt people to think, but it’s also just going to be really fun.”
From displaying their talent to sharing new voices, the members of X.ado are passionate about their show, and this engagement with the music will undoubtedly make an impression on the audience during the performance at Winter WhingDing.
“Whether you’re yelling at the top of your lungs or speaking really quietly, what you’re saying matters,” Freeman said. “Someone is listening.”
X.ado and the other featured groups will perform at Winter WhingDing this Saturday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. in Spaulding Auditorium.
