Steeped in tradition and yet whimsically named, the Yale Whiffenpoofs will bring their collegiate a cappella talents to Northeast Texas Community College in Mount Pleasant, Texas, at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 6.

The 14-man chorale is celebrating 100 years of existence and soon kicks off its tour of the South, which will bring it to NTCC’s Whatley Center for the Performing Arts.

James Warlick is one of those men, as well as the business manager for the group of Yale University seniors. He said the Whiffenpoofs (or “Whiffs,” as they’re also known) take an annual winter tour and for the last few years that’s been in the South.

“We’re performing pretty much every day on tour. We start in Atlanta, Ga., and we make our way westward,” said Warlick.

“It’s entirely student run, which makes it pretty unique,” he said.

Motown, jazz, pop, traditional American songs and even Johnny Cash can find their way into the Whiffenpoof repertoire. They’ve sung Bob Marley’s “Waiting in Vain.” There are traditional Yale songs to sing, but the group isn’t constrained to sing only them.

“The sky’s the limit. We try to sample everything,” said Warlick, noting the group is excited to visit Texas because they’ve always had a warm reception here.

Billed as the world’s oldest and most famous a cappella group, the Whiffenpoofs were founded in 1909 as five young men (all seniors) who met to perform at Mory’s Temple Bar. Among their alumni is Cole Porter.

The Whiffs’ signature song is named, appropriately enough, “The Whiffenpoof Song.” Famous performers like Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald have recorded it. Annually logging more than 200 shows a year, the Whiffenpoofs have sung for the Dalai Lama and presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton.

Warlick said the group has traveled overseas to places like India, South Africa and China, serving as ambassadors and teachers about American music and culture.

According to a history of the group at the Whiffenpoofs’ Website, the inspiration for the name Whiffenpoof seems to have arisen partly from a Broadway play appearing around the time the group began.

The play had a tale in its plot about a “Whiffenpoof fish.” The fanciful word Whiffenpoof fit the attitude of the fledgling group of singers.

There are also traditions for the Whiffs to abide by such as “tap night.” “It’s sort of analogous to being tapped by a fraternity but a more mysterious process,” said Warlick. There’s also a tradition of the “pitch pipe,” the member who guides rehearsals, and other similar roles.

He said there’s still much interest in a cappella music, although it was assumed at one time that the tradition would fall by the wayside.

But he said interest rose in the 1990s, though, and wherever the group travels now there’s excitement and enthusiasm shown for a cappella.



(Tickets: $15 for adults, $5 for children 17 and under and NTCC students. Info and ticket purchase: 903-434-8181. More info on the group: www.yale.edu/whiffenpoofs.)