Yalies Unplugged
Seniority rules at Yale, but not entirely. The Whiffenpoofs are the century-old men’s a cappella ensemble, limited to 14 vocalists from each year’s senior class — you’ll hear them on this week’s show. But there’s a noteworthy junior who’s hot on their heels.
Tenor Sam Tsui is a featured soloist with the Duke’s Men of Yale. And he fronts another a cappella group on the side that might be even more exclusive than the Whiffs. That’s because there’s only one member of his collective. Sam’s six-part-harmony tribute to the late great Michael Jackson has been seen 1.7 million times and counting on YouTube. The performance is produced by Kurt Schneider, Sam’s Yale classmate and neighbor from his Pennsylvania hometown. If you haven’t seen this yet, it’s incredible. That’s Sam at center stage singing the hook from “Thriller.” And that’s him in the red shirt singing about the kid not being his son — and in the other red shirt also.
We’ve got another dazzling Jackson interpretation on the show this weekend. The L.A.-based indie-a-cappella group Sonos visit Studio 360 to perform a classic by the Jackson 5.
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