Obertones, alumni reunite for special a capella concert

Six months after their comingled Halloween concert, the Oberlin Obertones, In A Chord and Nothing But Treble return this weekend to sing a capella in all forms and genres. For the Obertones, however, this Satrday's concert is special: it will bring together alums of 14 years past to join this year's choral group in song.

"We're not entirely sure what we're doing yet," said Obertones college senior Ben Hellerstein. "But we're planning a big alumni reunion."

Formed in 1984, the Obertones were born as an outlet for anyone to sing a capella as opposed to strictly traditional choral groups formed in the Conservatory. This weekend, several of the founding members will return to their old stomping grounds to reclaim their group.

"A lot of the founders of the 'Tones - Arnold Lee (OC '88) and some others - are here for their ten year reunion," said Hellerstien. As he explained, the founding members are not only here to celebrate their reunion as Oberlin grads, but also as Obertone members. "They did something similar for their five year reunion," he said. "We're hoping to get together and set up a big production."

Earlier in the school year, the Obertones released a CD that was burned last commencement. The album features several group favorites, including "Human Hands," the King Singers' "(I'm a) Train," "Rhythm in My Nursery Rhymes" and Elton John's "Blue Eyes." The album is straight-forward singing, although Hellerstein recalled, "We were considering having a joke, like, 'Play this CD backwords and hear something like, "Eat white bread!"' or something like that."

For Saturday's performance, Hellerstein wouldn't reveal much, but said that the Obertones program would include a lot of "funny stuff." He said that the group has been working hard to come up with some original arrangments of songs for the concert, as well as incorporating live skits between their singing sets. Apparently, skit-performance is common with a capella groups, according to Hellerstein: "It's a lot of fun to not just sing."

Of the current nine members of the group, three are graduating, including Hellerstein. Though next semester may only promise a sturdy roster of five or six singers, Hellerstein and the other 'Tone veterans are not worried. Auditions will be conducted in the Fall, and besides - this isn't the smallest the Obertones have ever been. "This feels good," he said. "The 'Tones really felt like they have a lot of potential for the future, especially with some of the stuff we're doing now. Anyone who wants to should come audition for next year. We have a lot of ambitious plans."

The Oberlin Obertones will perform with Nothing But Treble and In A Chord Saturday at Finney Chapel at 9 p.m. Tickets are $14.