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The Yale Alley Cats is an undergraduate a cappella singing group at Yale University, the college's third-oldest.[1]
The Yale Alley Cats | |
|---|---|
 The Yale Alley Cats of 2023-2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Genres | A cappella, pop, jazz, R&B, Motown, soul |
| Years active | 1943 – present (81 years) |
| Members | Tenor I Logan Foy '25 Benjamin Jimenez '26 Yixiao Zhang '26 Ryann Schaffer '27 Tenor II Baritone Ian Richardson '24 Rory Latham '25 Joseph Aguilar '26 Stellan Min '27 Cyrus Rivers '27 |
| Website | www |
In the summer of 1943, four Yale undergraduate students climbed Saybrook Tower to serenade the night with Henry Carey's "Sally in Our Alley." Their singing awoke the Saybrook Head of College, who yelled at them: "Stop it! Your singing sounds like a bunch of screeching alley cats!" and sent them to bed. The performance marked the founding of the group and gave it its name.[2]
While the group’s early performances centered on jazz, their current repertoire includes pop, R&B, Motown, folk, and other genres.[3] The group has created more than 400 a cappella arrangements.[4]
Each April, The Alley Cats hosts its "Champagne Jamboree," or "Cham Jam", an on-campus performance that customarily features a non-male guest soloist from the senior class[5] and a dance number featuring a soloist from the first-year class (known as "kittens"). Audience members toss shoes on stage if they feel particularly moved by a soloist's singing; many audience members bring multiple pairs of shoes to throw.[citation needed]
The group also performs for public and private audiences throughout the United States and around the world,[2] funding their travels with concert revenue.[6] Audience members have included Martha Stewart, Jay Leno, Stella McCartney, Tom Brokaw, and President Barack Obama.[3][7] In 2017, the group performed at Facebook headquarters and Google headquarters on their tour of the California Bay Area,[6] then at the United Nations office in Geneva, Switzerland,[8] and at the United States Embassy in Paris, France.[9] In 2018, the group completed a ten-city tour of China through the invitation of Beijing Shengchou Education Technology Company,[10][9] including collaborations with the Central Conservatory of Music and other schools and hotels across the nation such as the Little Swan Choir in Xi'an. Tour destinations for the 2023-24 season included Hawaii, China, Switzerland, Qatar, and South Africa, with performances for the Chicago White Sox and at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing.[11]
In 2021, the Alley Cats collaborated with songwriter Diane Warren to create a music video of her lead single from the movie Four Good Days, "Somehow You Do".[12]
In 2023, Ryann Schaffer became the first female member of the Alley Cats.[13]
As with many Yale a cappella groups, first-year students audition for the Alley Cats in a multi-week process known as "Rush."[14] Current members choose several applicants to join the group for three years.[15][16]
Notable alumni
editMany Alley Cats go on to join The Yale Whiffenpoofs—a selective all-senior a cappella group[17]—and some have gone on to careers in the performing arts, including:
- James Bohanek ‘91, Broadway actor
- Jacob Clemente '19, starred as Billy in Billy Elliot the Musical
- Manoel Felciano '92, actor, singer-songwriter
- Andy Sandberg '06, producer, director, writer, actor
- Josh Singer '94, producer, writer of Maestro and Spotlight
- George R. Steel '94, musician, composer
Discography
editThe Yale Alley Cats have recorded 35 albums and one EP, including several live albums.[18][19] Their 2013 album "Ghost of a Chance," on the Bridge Records, Inc. label, was submitted to the 52nd Grammy Awards for Best Pop Vocal Album.[2][20] Their 2021 album "Gemini," was nominated for Best Lower Voices Collegiate Album by the Contemporary A Capella Society (CASA).[21]
| Title | Year Released |
|---|---|
| Gemini | 2021 |
| Limelight | 2020 |
| Love Lost - EP | 2019 |
| Havana - Single | 2019 |
| Pick of the Litter: The Very Best of the Yale Alley Cats Vol. 2 | 2019 |
| Midnight Drive | 2017 |
| The Gamble | 2015 |
| Pick of the Litter: The Very Best of the Yale Alley Cats Vol. 1 | 2014 |
| Noir | 2013 |
| Maneki Neko | 2010 |
| Ghost of a Chance | 2009 |
| Classic | 2006 |
| Ninth Live | 2004 |
| Day & Night | 2003 |
| Est. 1943 | 2001 |
| Cats Around the World | 2000 |
| Scratch | 1999 |
| Live in Europe | 1998 |
| Hot Tin Roof | 1997 |
| Swinging Cat | 1995 |
| Lingers on My Mind | 1993 |
| Mood Calico | 1991 |
| Top Hat & Tails | 1989 |
| Faux Paws | 1987 |
| The Cat's Out | 1983 |
| Night and Day | 1981 |
| Down for Double | 1979 |
| Magic To Do | 1977 |
| Out Cattin' | 1975 |
| 25th Anniversary | 1973 |
| Our House | 1971 |
| Tales of the Alley Cats | 1969 |
| You Go to My Head | 1967 |
| Just For My Love | 1965 |
| The Yale Alley Cats: Volume IV | 1964 |
| Bewitching... | 1963 |
| The Yale Alley Cats | 1958 |
References
edit- ^ "The Yale Alley Cats". Archived from the original on June 13, 2010.
- ^ a b c The Yale Alley Cats Archived 2010-10-27 at the Wayback Machine release their first studio album under the Bridge Records label.
- ^ a b "The Yale Alley Cats". Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ^ "History". The Yale Alley Cats | Yale's Premier Undergraduate A Cappella Group. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
- ^ "Alley Cats perform with female singer". Retrieved 2018-04-19.
- ^ a b "History". The Yale Alley Cats. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
- ^ The Yale Alley Cats on "Martha Stewart's Home for the Holidays."
- ^ "Photo at the United Nations". The Yale Alley Cats. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
- ^ a b "A cappella groups see spring break travel". Retrieved 2018-04-19.
- ^ "Sina Visitor System". weibo.com. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
- ^ "Upcoming Tours". The Yale Alley Cats | Yale's Premier Undergraduate A Cappella Group. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
- ^ "Music Video - Somehow You Do". The Yale Alley Cats | Yale's Premier Undergraduate A Cappella Group. 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
- ^ Pohly, Kaitlyn (September 26, 2023). "Alley Cats tap first woman". Yale Daily News.
- ^ "Yale Singing Group Council: "What is "rush?""". Archived from the original on December 3, 2013.
- ^ Yale Daily News: "A cappella taps newest members" Archived 2010-02-04 at the Wayback Machine, The Yale Daily News, New Haven, 24 September 2009.
- ^ "Yale's A Cappella Rush", National Public Radio, 26 September 2002.
- ^ "An Irrepressible Urge to Join – Musical Groups", The Yale Alumni Magazine, January 2003.
- ^ "Current Albums". The Yale Alley Cats. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
- ^ "Back Catalog". The Yale Alley Cats. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
- ^ 52nd Grammy Awards entry list, Field 1, Category 11: Best Pop Vocal Album. Note: The original list at Grammy.com has been removed. A true and accurate copy is found at the current-referenced URL.
- ^ "2022 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Nominees - Contemporary A Cappella Society". 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-05-28.