Kenyan student brings world's oldest collegiate a capella group home

The Whiffenpoofs, a capella group from Yale University, US. They will be performing in Nairobi on June 24, 2023 as part of their World Tour. PHOTO | POOL    

By BILL ODIDI More by this Author

This weekend will mark a very special homecoming for singer Waruguru Kibuga when she takes the stage as part of the

world’s oldest collegiate a capella group on the Kenyan leg of their World Tour.

“Having the opportunity to bring the Whiffenpoofs home makes me look back at the countless hours of practice, weekly lessons and innumerable performances as the most incredible blessing,” says Waruguru.

The 22-year-old History and English Major at Yale University, is a member of The Whiffenpoofs, an a capella group of students from the US Ivy League institution. Each February, auditions are held to select 14 seniors to join the group, who then take a gap year from their studies and travel the world as professional musicians.

“For me, singing is how I connect myself with home and when I am abroad,” says Waruguru in a phone interview with the BDLife just as the group was concluding their trip to Sweden last Sunday, and preparing to depart for Nairobi. “I am lucky to come from a family of talented singers and musicians and now I have been able to find a family at school through singing.”

The Whiffs, as they are informally known, visit and perform in the hometown of each member, which gives the group an opportunity to know each other in a personal and intimate way, and showcase their achievements in the group. Besides the American students, the ensemble this year consists of members from the UK, China, and Kenya, all of which are part of the 16-country, three-month tour.

“Coming with the group to my hometown is very special because it gives them a chance to know me in whole different light, from having all 14 members living in my house to travelling to my hometown of Kirinyaga and then of course, singing at my old school, Peponi,” says Waruguru. “None of them has been to Kenya before, so this will be a whole new experience for them.

The diversity of the cities they have visited has left a lasting impression on the group, not just for the music, but also other cultural experiences. “

The highlight in France was singing for the Prince of Monaco in his palace, while in London we performed in a majestic cathedral with amazing acoustics. Rio’s Christ The Redeemer statue and the atmosphere of attending a football match in the city were unbelievable,” says Waruguru.

However, she has had to deal with the challenge of obtaining visas to different parts of the world. “Most of the group have US passports which gives them leverage to travel to virtually any part of the world. But holding a Kenyan passport means I have to navigate many hurdles to be issued with visas for different countries,” says Waruguru.

The public concert tomorrow at the Sarit Centre Expo Centre is a 90-minute performance starting from 7pm with the host member getting an opportunity to showcase some solo arrangements. Waruguru is excited about this opportunity to work on among other songs a new arrangement of Jealous, a 2014 pop ballad by British singer Labrinth.

She describes the performance as a ‘jukebox through the ages’ with a capella arrangements of contemporary pop songs like When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars, and Dancing with a Stranger by Sam Smith, a classic pop tune Got to Get You into My Life by the Beatles and A Nightingale Sang in Berkely Square, a song first published in 1940.

Each year, the group’s musical director chooses the songs they will perform during their tour from a repertoire that consists of more than 750 songs.

Waruguru is looking forward to visiting her alma mater, Peponi School to rekindle fond memories of taking music lessons and singing in the choir. “It is really cool to return to my former school with some of my favourite performers and I hope that a student can say, “seeing you perform has sparked my interest in music”.”

Tomorrow’s concert will feature Angaza Kids Foundation, a group of dancers from Laini Saba, Kibera, that she gave music and drama lessons while in high school.

The Whiffenpoofs was formed in 1909 by five of the Yale Glee Club’s best singers who met weekly to improvise harmonies to the songs they loved. The name was derived from a joke about a mythical dragonfish called the Whiffenpoof, chosen as a reflection of the atmosphere of levity that accompanied the group’s meetings.

It was an all-male group until 2018 when the first female singers joined and this year there are five women. Next week the group will be heading to Cameroon, then South Africa, Greece, India, South Korea, Japan, The Philippines, China and before concluding the tour mid-August in New Zealand. They will return to Yale University New Haven, Connecticut, in September to complete the production of a studio album.

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