The University of Rochester YellowJackets will give a free concert at 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 17, at Broadalbin-Perth High School as part of the school’s Hometown Concert Series. An award-winning all-male a cappella group, the YellowJackets have an extensive repertoire that includes jazz, rock, Top 40 and standards.
The current iteration of the YellowJackets is carrying on a 60-year tradition at Rochester. Sporting their signature yellow blazers, the group has performed on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” at the White House, and on tour in Japan. In 2011, they traveled to Kenya as part of an effort to strengthen school music programs in that country, and soon after they competed on the third season of NBC’s “The Sing-Off.” In 2014, the YellowJackets participated in the Varsity Vocals International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) tournament (the competition featured in the “Pitch Perfect” movies) for the first time in the group’s history, where they placed second in the semifinal round and won awards for Best Choreography and Best Arrangement. The YellowJackets have recorded a number of albums, including “Y2J,” which was released in April.
“I’m so pleased that we can continue the Hometown Concert Series with the YellowJackets this year,” said Superintendent of Schools Stephen Tomlinson. “Although our community is surrounded by cultural centers in Saratoga, Schenectady and Albany, too many of our families are unable to attend performances at venues like SPAC, Proctors or the Palace Theater. Through our Board of Education’s commitment to the arts and its support of the Hometown Concert Series, we can bring amazing performers directly to our community at no charge to concert-goers.”
Although there is no admission fee, Broadalbin-Perth music students will be collecting donations at the door to benefit the district’s music department and the continuation of the Hometown Concert Series, which brings musicians to the Broadalbin-Perth community for educational programming and free community concerts. Past performances in the Hometown Concert Series include Italian tenor Angelo Mazzone, as well as Elizabeth Pitcairn and her world-famous 1720 “Mendelssohn” Stradivarius red violin.
For more information about the YellowJackets, visit their website, www.jackets.org, and follow “URYellowJackets” on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.