Ivy League glee club ends decades old gender restrictions

NBC "News" ^ | February 13, 2018 | by Associated Press

[Oldeconomybuyer]

HARTFORD, Conn. — Leaders of the Whiffenpoofs, Yale University's world-famous glee club, say their sound isn't changing, but they are ending their more than century-old tradition of being a male only a cappella ensemble.

The Whiffs, as they are known, and Yale's senior women's a cappella group, Whim 'n Rhythm, issued a joint announcement Feb. 1 that tryouts for both groups will now be open to all rising seniors, including transgender students.

The move, they say, is designed to give more people access to what can be life-changing travel opportunities and music industry contacts that come with being a member of the nation's oldest collegiate a cappella group.

"Both Whim 'n Rhythm and the Whiffenpoofs acknowledge the transgender, gender-nonbinary and gender-nonconforming members in our community, and understand that they feel unseen within the current paradigm of 'all-male' versus 'all-female' senior a cappella," the groups wrote.

[50sDad]

There is NOTHING liberals cannot destroy.

[originalbuckeye]

So, we will no longer be able to enjoy the deep resonance and gorgeous voices of an all men’s choir anymore?? It’s official......the Libs are He** Bent on taking all the fun out of life! (I LOVE the richness of ANY SONG, when sung by all man :* (

[Cicero]

By coincidence, I’ve heard to the Whiffenpoofs often. They have wonderful voices and are a pleasure to listen to. I don’t know if they are gay or not—maybe some of them are—but they are wonderful performers.

[AnAmericanMother]

Can't do barbershop without the big bass.

I HAVE known one girl who could sing bass - real bass, not baritone. But she was kind of a one-off, never heard another. I can sing 2nd tenor but I have to fudge the notes below C#.

[RedMonqey]

they are ending their more than century-old tradition of being a male only a cappella ensemble.

When will Hollywood and the Olympics end their more than century-old tradition of male-female only competition?

After all Women are just as good as men

Right ?

Right ?

[sphinx]

But, the ensembles say they aren't changing their sound. The 14-member Whiffenpoofs, a group formed in 1909, will continue to comprise tenor, baritone and bass voices, and the Whims will continue to be for sopranos and altos.

It's not clear to me just what is being done here. Is the (invented and nonsensical) problem that biological men, currently identifying with and impersonating women, have been prohibited from Whiffenpoofing? (And vice versa for the women impersonating men?) That's hard to imagine. But ... were they expected to wear tuxes, apparently the group's usual uniform, and thus look masculine? If all that's at stake is letting the female impersonators wear a dress on stage, I don't suppose it will make any musical difference. And again, vice versa for the girls' group.

[AnAmericanMother]

When I sing tenor, I sound like a woman singing tenor.

When I sing baritone, I sound more like a baritone, but you can still pick out that there's a woman singing.

And I have a relatively rare voice - true tiefer Alt, range about C# in the bass clef to C in the treble. I can sing a limited number of Es and Fs in the treble, but I'm really in my falsetto and my account gets overdrawn pretty quickly.