Radcliffe Pitches

Last updated
The Radcliffe Pitches at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, 2015 The Radcliffe Pitches at the Brandenburg Gate IMG 2298 (18553129089).jpg
The Radcliffe Pitches at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, 2015

The Radcliffe Pitches are the premier treble-voiced[ citation needed ] a cappella singing ensemble at Harvard University, founded in 1975 at the Hasty Pudding Club. The group is made up of 12 to 14 Harvard undergraduates who perform at Harvard and internationally on the group's various tours. During their tours, the group has travelled within the U.S. and to international destinations including Bermuda, Spain, England, France, Germany, China and several other countries. [1] [2] The Pitches also perform regularly on the Harvard campus; they can be heard at large concerts in Sanders Theatre and smaller gigs including The Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Jam alongside other all-female ensembles in Cabot Café.[ citation needed ] Other notable performances include appearances at the 1993 inauguration celebrations for President William Clinton [3] and the Hasty Pudding Man of the Year awards.

Contents

The Pitches' repertoire is based in jazz standards and inspired by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. Songs in their repertoire include: "Whatever Lola Wants", "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)", and "My Funny Valentine". The Pitches also perform jazz twists to popular songs, for example; an arrangement of American Boy by Estelle which they performed in Sanders Theatre Spring 2015 at their 40th Anniversary Jam. All of the Pitch arrangements are done specifically for the group by current and previous members of the group and friends of the group.

The group's founders were Radcliffe College undergraduates who wanted to sing in a close harmony setting. The original Pitches chose their group's name from a number of entries in a campus naming contest. In the words of co-founder Kathy Manning (Radcliffe College Class of 1978):[ citation needed ]

"We finally settled on a take-off of the rather negative phrase that had been used to describe Radcliffe women for ages. We actually liked the resemblance to that old adage, because we wanted to be known as a group that was gutsy, tough and high quality."

The Pitches choose new group members through an audition process, held in the fall and spring of each academic year and open to all Harvard undergraduates.

Selected Repertoire

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radcliffe College</span> Womens college in Cambridge, Massachusetts (1878–1999)

Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard College. The college was named for the early Harvard benefactor Anne Mowlson and was one of the Seven Sisters colleges.

Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be standards changes over time. Songs included in major fake book publications and jazz reference works offer a rough guide to which songs are considered standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collegiate a cappella</span> College-affiliated a cappella singing groups

Collegiate a cappella ensembles are college-affiliated singing groups, primarily in the United States, and, increasingly, the United Kingdom and Ireland, that perform entirely without musical instruments. The groups are typically composed of, operated by, and directed by students. In the context of collegiate a cappella, the term a cappella typically also refers to the music genre performed by pop-centric student singing groups. Consequently, an ensemble that sings unaccompanied classical music may not be considered an a cappella group, even though technically it is performing a cappella.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rich Harrison</span> American record producer

Richard Christopher Harrison is an American record producer and songwriter specializing in R&B and hip hop music. The winner of a Grammy Award, Harrison is well known for producing songs such as "Get Right", "1 Thing" and "Crazy in Love". Harrison is the founder of Richcraft Entertainment, a label that housed artists such as singer Amerie, R&B girl group RichGirl, and rapper Young Steff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvard Glee Club</span> Choral ensemble

The Harvard Glee Club is a 60-voice, Tenor-Bass choral ensemble at Harvard University. Founded in 1858 in the tradition of English and American glee clubs, it is the oldest collegiate chorus in the United States. The Glee Club is part of the Harvard Choruses of Harvard University, which also include the treble voice Radcliffe Choral Society and the mixed-voice Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum. All three groups are led by Harvard's current Director of Choral Activities Andrew Clark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvard–Radcliffe Collegium Musicum</span> Choral ensemble

The Harvard–Radcliffe Collegium Musicum is a mixed chorus at Harvard University, composed of roughly 50 voices from undergraduate and graduate student populations. Founded in 1971 to coincide with the coeducational merger of Harvard and Radcliffe College, Collegium drew from members of the Harvard Glee Club and the Radcliffe Choral Society to form a smaller mixed group that could represent Harvard on tours. Although Collegium used to perform primarily early Renaissance music, its repertoire now draws from centuries of a cappella and orchestral selections. Together with the (tenor-bass) Harvard Glee Club and the (soprano-alto) Radcliffe Choral Society, it is a member of the Harvard Choruses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Harvard Krokodiloes</span> American university a cappella ensemble

The Harvard Krokodiloes are Harvard University's oldest a cappella singing group, founded in 1946. The group consists of twelve tuxedo-clad undergraduates, and they bill their repertoire as "songs from the Great American Songbook and beyond."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Garcia Band</span> American musical group

The Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various side projects until his death in 1995. The band regularly toured and recorded sporadically throughout its twenty-year existence, generally, but not always, during breaks in the Grateful Dead's schedule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radcliffe Choral Society</span> Choral ensemble

The Radcliffe Choral Society(RCS) is a 60-voice treble choral ensemble at Harvard University. Founded in 1899, it is one of the country's oldest soprano-alto choruses and one of its most prominent collegiate choirs. With the tenor-bass Harvard Glee Club and the mixed-voice Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, it is one of the Harvard Choruses. All three groups are led by Harvard Director of Choral Activities Andrew Clark. The RCS Resident Conductor is Elizabeth Eschen. RCS tours domestically every year and travels internationally every four years.

The Cayuga's Waiters were an all-male collegiate a cappella vocal ensemble at Cornell University from 1949–2017. Cornell University permanently dismissed the group in 2017 as the outcome of an investigation into hazing incidents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditions and student activities at MIT</span> Aspect of Massachusetts Institute of Technology culture

The traditions and student activities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology encompass hundreds of student activities, organizations, and athletics that contribute to MIT's distinct culture.

The Colgate Thirteen, also known as The Colgate 13, is an undergraduate all-male a cappella group at Colgate University. The oldest a cappella group at the University, it is also the oldest collegiate all-male a cappella group in the United States. Established in 1942, the group is named for the 13 men who founded the university in 1819, each offering $13 and 13 prayers. The Thirteen regularly perform at schools, alumni, community, corporate and sporting events. The group is known for performing the U.S. National Anthem at Super Bowl XIII in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jabberwocks</span> American university a cappella group

The Jabberwocks is the oldest a cappella group at Brown University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mixed Company of Yale</span> American university a cappella group

Mixed Company of Yale is an all-gender undergraduate a cappella group from Yale University. Founded in 1981, Mixed Company was originally formed as a group specializing in both sketch comedy and a cappella. Today, the group focuses primarily on singing, though the group often integrates skits and other comedy into performances. The group has toured on five continents and regularly performs for world leaders visiting Yale's campus. Mixed Company has released 18 studio albums, and their most recent recording, Third Degree, was released in summer 2021.

The Princeton Katzenjammers are the oldest co-educational collegiate a cappella group in the Ivy League. The group consists of fourteen to eighteen Princeton University students and holds auditions at the beginning of each semester. Its repertoire includes a wide variety of musical styles, with an emphasis on jazz, pop, and classical.

Founded in 1985 by a small group of undergraduates including future actor Mira Sorvino, The Harvard-Radcliffe Veritones are one of Harvard College’s contemporary, co-ed a cappella groups. Along with two performances every year in Sanders Theatre, they entertain at a variety of events on campus and in the greater Boston-New York area. They also compete in the ICCA Northeast Quarterfinals and Semifinals, winning recognition for their arrangements, soloists, and choreography. The Veritones won recognition in 2018 for producing the first virtual reality a cappella music video with a cover of Gemini Feed by Banks, including a perfect score from RARB and CASA A Cappella Video Award nominations for Best Mixed Collegiate Video and Best Electronic/Experimental Video, winning runner-up for Best Mixed Collegiate Video. The group is known for its innovative spirit, high level of musical arrangement, diverse repertoire, and energetic performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pitchforks of Duke University</span> American all-male a cappella group

The Pitchforks of Duke University, commonly referred to as "The Duke Pitchforks" or just "The Pitchforks", is Duke University's oldest continuing a cappella group. (In the late 1960s, there was a previous Duke men's group called "Chanticleer". The Pitchforks constitute one of Duke's two current all-male ensembles. Founded in 1979 with four members of a Duke Medical School quartet, the Pitchforks have performed across the world; they have sung for the Chicago Bulls and Durham Bulls, performed for Duke Men's Basketball, showcased for the Queen of Jordan, and opened for artists such as Ben Folds and The Band Perry.

<i>The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire</i> 2012 music history book by Ted Gioia

The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire is a 2012 book by Ted Gioia documenting what he considers to be the most important tunes in the jazz repertoire. The book is published by Oxford University Press. The book features a range of jazz standards in alphabetical order, from Broadway show tunes by the likes of George Gershwin and Irving Berlin, to the standards of esteemed jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter and Charles Mingus. In the book Gioia has recommendations for definitive covers of each standard to listen to, over 2000 in total. Each jazz standard entry in the book contains descriptive text and selected discography.

<i>The Great American Songbook</i> (James Morrison album) 2017 studio album by James Morrison with BBC Concert Orchestra and Keith Lockhart

The Great American Songbook is a studio album by Australian jazz musician, James Morrison with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Keith Lockhart. The album was released on 2 June 2017.

References

  1. Knight, H.: "Harvard Group Sings Praises Of A Cappella", The San Francisco Chronicle, June 4, 1999.
  2. Martin, D.: "Pitches set the house on fire", New Straits Times (Malaysia), August 27, 2004.
  3. Trescott, J; Norris, M; and Washington Post Staff Writers: "The Chosen Performers; Talent, Sites Named For Inauguration", The Washington Post, January 11, 1993.