Whiffenpoofs? Yes, Whiffenpoofs

Nation’s oldest a cappella ensemble to perform at Washington University April 27

On a frosty winter’s night in 1909, five members of the Yale Glee Club convened at Mory’s Temple Bar to escape the New Haven cold. Thus were born the Whiffenpoofs of Yale, the world’s oldest and best-known collegiate a cappella group.

At 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 27, the Whiffenpoofs will descend on Washington University in St. Louis for a puckish evening of traditional and popular song. The program, which takes place in the university’s E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall, will range from Bohemian marches and Swedish drinking songs to works by Kurt Weill, Stevie Wonder and Julian Casablancas.

Tickets are $20, or $10 for seniors, students and university faculty and staff. Tickets are available at the Edison Theatre Box Office, 314-935-6543; online here; and at the door.

Renowned for their unique blend of musicianship, choreography and showmanship, the Whiffenpoof’s have performed at Carnegie Hall, the Rose Bowl and the White House, and on television shows ranging from “The West Wing,” “Gilmore Girls,” “Saturday Night Live” and “Glee.” Their signature “Whiffenpoof Song” has been covered by Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby and many others.

The 14 current members include Yale senior Ian Miller. His father, Brent W. Miller, MD, is a physician in the Department of Internal Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. His mother, Janice Brunstrom-Hernandez, MD, is an adjunct professor of neurology and former director of the Pediatric Neurology Cerebral Palsy Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, which she founded in 1998. Miller’s grandmother, Mary Reid Brunstrom, is currently completing a doctorate in the Department of Art History and Archaeology in Arts & Sciences.

The E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall is located in the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave. in University City, Mo. For more information, call 314-935-5566 or email daniels@wustl.edu.