 The HARVARD KROKODILOES, Harvard University’s oldest a cappella singing group, will celebrate its 60th Anniversary in Cambridge, MA from March 16-19, 2006. The main event of the weekend is a gala concert on Friday evening, March 17, 2006 at 8:00 PM at Sanders Theatre at Harvard University. The concert will feature the current Harvard Krokodiloes of 2006, with special guest appearances by alumni groups representing the six decades of the ensemble’s history.
The Harvard Krokodiloes were founded in 1946 by four members of the historic Hasty Pudding Club/Institute of 1770. Inspired by the Club’s reptilian mascot, these singers appropriated the Greek word for crocodile, and the Harvard Krokodiloes (a.k.a. “the Kroks”) were born. Over the years, the Kroks have grown from a small ensemble of Hasty Pudding Club members into a 12-man ensemble whose membership is open by competitive auditions to all male vocalists at Harvard regardless of race, color, creed, social status, and sexual orientation. The Kroks perform over 200 concerts a year in the United States and on annual world tours that allow the group to share the quintessential Krok characteristics of camaraderie, song, and humor with audiences throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia.
Unlike the majority of today’s current college a cappella ensembles, the Harvard Krokodiloes strive to promote and preserve the popular standards of the American songbook by performing the songs of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. The bulk of the Harvard Krokodiloes’ repertoire is drawn from the works of master songwriters such as George & Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart, Johnny Mercer, and Jerome Kern. The group has had original music composer for it by composers ranging from Maestro Leonard Bernstein to ardent Krok fan King Bhumibol of Thailand. The majority of the group’s sophisticated, complex arrangements were written specifically for the Harvard Krokodiloes.
Many alumni of the Harvard Krokodiloes have gone on to major careers in the worlds of entertainment, business, and politics, including:
 FRED GWYNNE ’48, a founding member who has entered the pop culture pantheon for his role as Hermann Munster in the popular television program The Munsters
 GEORGE LODGE ’50, Assistant Secretary of Labor to Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy
 LEO KIELY ‘69, CEO of Coors, Inc.
 PARIS BARCLAY ’78, the Emmy award-winning television director/producer/writer; credits include NYPD Blue, House, Huff, The West Wing, and ER, among others
 JAMES BUNDY’81, Dean of the Yale School of Drama/Artistic Director of Yale Repertory Theatre
 LAURENCE O’KEEFE ’91, composer of Bat Boy: The Musical and the upcoming Broadway production of Legally Blonde
The Harvard Krokodiloes reputation for musical excellence has earned it invitation to appeared at important venues including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, the Cairo Opera House in Egypt, and England’s Aldeburgh Festival. The group has numbered among its fans numerous luminaries including President Bill Clinton; the late and lamented Princess Grace of Monaco; The Aga Khan; and Ella Fitzgerald. Each year, the ensemble entertains at the annual Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year festivities, whose recent winners include such mega-stars as Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sandra Bullock, Anjelica Huston, and Sarah Jessica Parker.
For more information, please contact Brian D. Bumby at 646-644-4909 or at brian_bumby@yahoo.com. For general information on the Kroks, please visit www.kroks.com
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