The Duke's Men of Yale

The Duke's Men of Yale are an all-male a cappella singing group at Yale University. Named after Basil Duke Henning -- the master of Saybrook College, a past Whiffenpoof, and member of Wolf's Head -- the group (sometimes known as "Da Doox") was founded in 1952, initially as an octet of underclassmen in Saybrook. Parker Towle '55, and Paul Thompson '55 were the main organizers, and they recruited Walt Farrier '54 as the group's first musical director. Farrier arranged most of the group's early songs. Today the ensemble includes between fifteen and twenty underclassmen. Most members join the group as freshmen and sing through the end of their junior year, although some rushees join as sophomores. The group's repertoire includes jazz, soul, classical, show tunes, and popular music. There have been over 350 Duke's Men since 1952, several of whom have gone on to have successful musical careers after graduating from Yale.

The Duke's Men have been successful in a number of competitions, most notably the International Championship of College A Cappella. In 1996 the Duke's Men were the best male group and won first runner-up honors at the ICCA Finals at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City, along with awards for soloist Michael Sagalowicz (solo: "I'll Back You Up") and arrangement ("Where Is Love," arranged by Alex Funk.) [http://www.varsityvocals.com/icca/results1996a.html] In 2005, the group took first place in the New England regional final of the ICCA. [http://www.varsityvocals.com/icca/2005results.shtml] [http://www.acappellanews.com/archive/2005_03.html]

The Duke's Men recently recorded a jingle for a CNBC television commercial that promoted the program Fast Money (CNBC). [Wang, Judy, (December 5, 2006), [http://www.yaledailynews.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=34591 "A cappella groups go commercial"] , "Yale Daily News", Accessed Dec 23 2006] The Duke's Men, along with other Yale students, appeared in the commercial, which aired during December 2006. [Baker, Dorie, (December 15, 2006), [http://www.yale.edu/opa/v35.n13/story12.html "The Duke's Men make holiday appearances"] , "Yale Bulletin and Calendar", Accessed Dec 23 2006] In January 2004, the group was featured in a CBS News Sunday Morning segment about collegiate a cappella. [(January 11, 2004), [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/09/sunday/main592396.shtml "A Cappella Frenzy, Many University Students Across America Are Spurning Heavy Metal For Music Of Voices"] , "CBS Sunday Morning", Accessed Dec 23 2006]

The Duke's Men perform around the world, including well-known venues such as the Lincoln Center and the White House. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051202.html] The group undertakes regional tours in January and March of every year, and an international tour every May. Previous destinations have included Hawaii, Europe, Japan and Thailand. [http://www2.aya.yale.edu/clubs/japan/photos.htm#dukesmen05]

The group sings "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)," its alumni song, at the end of most of its concerts.

Notable alumni

* Chuck Coleman, jazz-pop singer-songwriter.
* Django Haskins, singer-songwriter and frontman of pop-noir musical group the Old Ceremony.
* Conor Knighton, host of Google Current.
* Devon Michaels, recurring character on Gilmore Girls.
* Holcombe Waller, pop singer-songwriter.
* Paul Matsumoto, opera singer
* Richard Brookhiser, Historian and journalist

References

External links

*http://www.dukesmen.com Official website