Princeton Nassoons
On a cold autumn night in November of 1941, seven men broke away from the Princeton University Glee Club to sing a handful of songs during the Princeton-Yale football concert. Their set was predetermined by the director of the Glee Club and after the first couple songs did little to impress the audience, the men could tell they needed to stray from the plan if their set was to be remembered. So, in a last ditch effort to save the performance, they unveiled their newest arrangement, which the Glee Club director had expressly forbidden them from singing due to its racy lyrics and bawdy five-part harmonies. That song was *Perfidia*, and as the final chords rang out, the Princeton Nassoons were born. Within weeks, the original seven were in high demand, singing hits such as *East of the Sun, As I Remember You, *and of course *Perfidia *in venues such as New York City's posh Rainbow Room alongside the likes of Ella Fitzgerald.
More than seventy years later, the group has continued to grow and change with the times, while also holding on to its roots. Currently a group of 16 undergraduates at Princeton, the Nassoons tour the United States and the world four times each year. Recent destinations have included France, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Bermuda, and the White House, as well as the sets of Good Morning America and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In July 2012, the group had the opportunity to appear in a movie with Saturday Night Live comedienne Tina Fey and actor Paul Rudd. The film is entitled *Admission, *and is scheduled for a March 8th release in the States. Over the past five years, the group has sung at Carnegie Hall, twice at the Lincoln Center in New York City, and at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. In addition they opened for Ben Folds at Princeton's McCarter theater and have sold out the famous Richardson Auditorium on numerous occasions. The group's current repertoire covers a wide range of music from 1940's hits like *Perfidia *to very recent arrangements such as Beyonce's *Love On Top*. Over the past several years the Nassoons have been awarded several great a cappella honors including being featured on Ben Folds' 2009 album "University A Cappella" and being listed on HerCampus.com's list<http://www.hercampus.com/life/campus-living/12-best-college-cappella-groups-country?page=3> of the top a cappella groups in the United States.