Yale Spizzwinks

The critically acclaimed and world famous Spizzwinks of Yale University Collegiate A Cappella is coming to Pound Ridge Library to present a fun and exciting program! Recent Spizzwink performances include audiences at ESPN, Carnegie Hall, Disney World, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Severance Hall, and the White House. Maintaining a broad repertoire of exclusively original arrangements from the past 112 years – jazz standards, ballads, show tunes, pop and rock music, and humorous numbers – the Spizzwinks are sure to please. No Spizzwinks performance would be complete, however, without a generous dose of their choreography and unique brand of humor. It is this perfect blend of humor, musicality and showmanship that leaves audiences the world over begging for more. In recent years, their fan club has grown to include Senator John Kerry, Magic Johnson, the late Henry Kissinger, Kelsey Grammer, George Pataki, and Fred Savage.

IOWAN INSECTS  Like all great stories, the Spizzwink(?) saga begins in 1906 in Iowa, when the state was in the oppressive grip of a massive, inexplicable Corn Blight. Inexplicable, that is, except to one man: a small-town postmaster by the name of Frank Johnson. Mr. Johnson proclaimed to anyone who would listen that the Great Iowa Corn Blight was the handiwork of an insect known as the Spizzwink, which, coincidentally, only he could see. Few took heed of his warning, and the legend of the mythical Spizzwink would have been lost, but for a young boy with a sweet voice from that small town in Iowa, whose greatest ambition was to someday attend Yale University…

YOUNG YALIES  Flash forward to the winter of 1913, where four Yale freshmen – including a certain young man from Iowa – met at Mory’s Temple Bar, Yale’s historic tavern, to decide upon a name for their new singing group. This new group had been created to provide audiences with a light-hearted alternative to the Whiffenpoofs, Yale’s older, all-senior a cappella group, who were known as much for their stodginess as for their musical excellence. After a jovial, spirited evening along with some thinking, their hero glimpsed a strange sight across the table: the ghost of his old postmaster, Frank Johnson. Inspiration struck, and the young singer exclaimed, “That’s it, boys! We’ll call the group the Spizzwinks!”

We invite you to experience a unique musical performance by these young world famous artists!