Formed in 1998, After Hours is an a cappella group that has really developed over the past few years. Beginning as simply a jazz group, cofounders Sara Alterman ’01, and Mary Risley ’01, thought that it was time to bring something fun, new and exciting to campus. They were originally known as Charivari, a group composed of friends “coming together in harmony.”
Charivari came into the collegiate a cappella scene with full force – ready to make their presence known by bringing fun and excitement to their already professional attitude. They decided to change their name to After Hours in 2001. Currently, After Hours has 15 members and is the only co-ed a capella group on campus.
“We are the only co-ed group and I think that really separates us from all the other a cappella groups on campus,” Business Manager and sophomore Jay Miller said. “We have many sounds that give our audience a varied show each time. It’s entirely different when you’re a co-ed group. The dynamic is different. I love the balance of sounds.”
Singing across campus, in public places and at concerts, they are a diverse group that enjoys coming together and having fun with their music and with each other.
“We sing everything,” Miller said. “We’ve done pop, rock, some jazz and we even do a couple of more old-fashioned tunes. We want a diverse set of music and I think we have done that.”
So far this year, After Hours has sung in Katrina benefit concerts at UR and Rochester Institute of Technology. They have also performed at Meliora Fest, the Stonehurst Regatta and the YellowJacket/Vocal Point Alumni concert.
This week they are going around “dormstorming” to advertise for their concert on Friday and will be handing out a few free tickets.
After their concert, they are planning a possible road trip, Christmas caroling and singing at local schools.
“We’ve gone through a lot of changes – in members, style and musical selections – but we’ve always had a lot of fun performing together,” Musical Director and junior Kate Scally said.
“When you rehearse at least six hours a week together, you really get to like the people you’re singing with.”
After Hours sings their eclectic mix of songs with passion and dedication.
“We’ve sung anything from jazz – ‘Georgia on My Mind’ – to our ‘Annoying Song Medley,’ a medley of popular ’90s songs,” she said. “The songs we sing are almost all our own arrangements. I’m always impressed by our members’ musicality and dedication.”
After Hours will perform at 8 p.m. on Friday in Strong Auditorium.
“The theme for our concert is ‘Jeopardy!’ because one of our members, [senior] Colin Brown, was in the College Jeopardy! tournament,” Scally said. “We’re airing his episode right before our show, at 7:30 p.m., and are incorporating Celebrity Jeopardy skits into our show. It should be a lot of fun!”
Lewis can be reached at slewis@campustimes.org
