Redhot & Blue

Infobox musical artist
Name = Redhot & Blue of Yale


Img_capt =
Img_size = 225
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Yale University
Genre = A Cappella
Years_active = 1977 – present
URL = http://www.redhotandblue.org/
Current_members = Anna Wood Annie Atura Brady Bender Chris Mackey Dee Dee de Kenessey Chapman Drew Levitt Emma Freeman Erika Lantz Hayley Ryan Jesi Egan Jon Gaulding Jonah Rosenthal Justin Lo Kate Swisher Katharine Kendrick Keiji Ishiguri Liz Hoffman Marcelle Friedman Mike Pacer Robbie Liford Stasha Rosen Steven Feis Tommy Crawford

Redhot & Blue, usually shortened to Redhot, is Yale University's oldest coeducational a cappella group. Founded in 1977, the group has released eleven albums and toured around the United States and the world. Repertoire for the group is based in the jazz genre, though many of their arrangements stray from this. Redhot is a member of the Singing Group Council of Yale [ [http://www.yale.edu/sgc The Singing Group Council Official Website ] ] .

Name

The group's name is derived from the musical "Red, Hot and Blue" (1936), written by Yale alumnus Cole Porter, [See Cole Porter for more information about his compositions and education] class of 1913. The group name combines Redhot into one word and uses an ampersand, unlike the show. Porter's work is featured often in Redhot's repertoire, from Antoinette Birby, written while he was in college, to more popular songs like "It's De-Lovely", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "Night And Day", and "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye". [See the [http://www.yale.edu/redhot/media/repertoire.html repertoire page] of Redhot & Blue of Yale.] The name is often shortened to Redhot, though has also been called RHB and RH&B.

History

Redhot was founded in 1977 by Shelley Lotter and Leslie Lipton, both in the Yale class of 1979. At the time, there were at least five all-male a cappella groups and one all-female. The repertoire was largely based on arrangements done by David H. Bass [ [http://www.familyopera.com/who.html North Cambridge Family Opera Company: Who we Are ] ] . "Opening Night", the group's first album, was released in 1979.

Membership

Most members join the group through the a cappella rush process at Yale University. This starts when freshmen arrive onto the Yale campus in the Fall and ends a few weeks later with one of the university's most well-known traditions, tap night. This is not to be confused with Yale's secret society tap night, which is generally during the end of the Spring semester. The rush process is governed by the Singing Group Council of Yale [ [http://www.yale.edu/sgc The Singing Group Council Official Website ] ] .

Rush

Rush begins officially when freshmen arrive on campus, but the first major event in the process is the Woolsey Hall Jamboree [ [http://www.yale.edu/sgc/faq.html#q2 The Singing Group Council Official Website ] ] . Each of the fifteen groups sings two songs at this concert, then another similar one, the Dwight Hall Jamboree, occurs the Friday after the one at Woolsey Hall. At this second one, potential members of Redhot & Blue sign up to audition. The group listens to auditions during following Saturday and Sunday, then there are three weeks of communication between the group and hopefuls, resulting in callbacks for the ones the group wants to hear a second time. Tap night is the week after callbacks, on a date not released by the Singing Group Council until the day it begins at midnight. Undergrads make up almost all applicants, and students typically rush during their freshman year.

Tours

Each year, the group takes two or three tours [See [http://www.yale.edu/redhot/tours/ the Redhot tours page for more information] ] . Past tour destinations include London, Paris, Prague, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. Upcoming tours include California, New Orleans, and Europe. The group pays for tours by singing concerts throughout the year and while on tour.

Jargon

Redhot & Blue, like many a cappella groups, has a jargon for some of the a cappella-specific facets of everyday life in a group. The musical director is known as the "Pitch Pipe," more commonly "Pitch." This name is based on the instrument most musical directors use to give the group their starting pitches: the pitch pipe. The group stands in a curved parabola-like shape, known to most as the "shoe," as it is shaped somewhat like a horseshoe.

Repertoire

Each year, the musical director of the group chooses the active repertoire from the hundreds of songs in the group's archive. The group has historically added an average of between four and five arrangements per year during its thirty years of existence; thus, each musical director has more to songs from which to choose than his or her predecessor. The group allows any group member to submit arrangements, though most who do so are well-versed in composition of vocal music. At any time, there are between thirty and forty songs in the active repertoire. [To see a listing of active repertoire, look at the [http://www.yale.edu/redhot/media/repertoire.html repertoire page] .]

Albums and awards

The group has released eleven official albums and various live recordings, both video and audio. Studio recordings by the group have been critically acclaimed, winning various awards and being included in compilations including the Best of Collegiate A Cappella (BOCA) series. [See the [http://www.varsityvocals.com/boca/bocadisc.html#boca12 BOCA 2] tracklist, number 3.] Redhot's 1992 album, "Shut Up and Sing" swept all the categories of the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs) [See the [http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/cinema/9339/caras_93.htm the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards] .] for which it was eligible: Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement, Best Mixed Collegiate Soloist, Best Mixed Collegiate Song, and Best Mixed Collegiate Album. CARA also awarded alumna Lisa Bielawa [For more on Lisa, see [http://www.lisabielawa.net/ her homepage] .] runner up for the 1995 best female vocalist. [See [http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/cinema/9339/caras_95.htm the 1995 CARA page] .] The song When You Are Old, composed for the group by John Kelley '86 based on a poem by William Butler Yeats, won the 1997 Young Composers Competition from G. Schirmer. [See http://www.compumusic.com/p160487.htm for a description of the piece.]

External links

* [http://www.yale.edu/redhot/ Redhot & Blue of Yale's Official Website]
* [http://www.casa.org Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA)]
* [http://www.varsityvocals.com Varsity Vocals (releases Best of College A Cappella Compilations)]
* [http://www.acappellanews.com/archive/2004_02.html A Cappella News archive, including a New York Daily News article about Redhot]

References