Princeton Nassoons

Casey Beidel '24 Sirfraz Shah '24 Karlo Andrei Antalan '25 William Yang '25 Yuyu Yasuda '25 Sebastian Castro '25 Robert Mohan '26 Charlie Ambach '26 Zach Williamson '26 Brandon Cho '26 Nicholas Hu '26 Gary Sun '26 Arturo Cruz-Urrutia '27 The Princeton Nassoons are a ten to twenty-member low-voice a cappella group at Princeton University.

[1] The Nassoons have performed at a number of prominent venues, including the White House,[2] the US Open, and have also appeared on The Early Show,[3] and Good Morning America.

Auditions for prospective members are held at the beginning of fall and spring semesters; however, only freshmen and sophomores can join the group.

They perform at University functions, as well as corporate events, dinner parties, country clubs, schools, and other engagements along the eastern seaboard during the academic year.

Their founding act initiated what has become, almost seventy years later, a bona fide singing group community and subculture which involves over a hundred undergraduates and innumerable fans.

In a move of desperation, they decided to unveil an arrangement that the Glee Club director had explicitly asked them not to perform, fearing its bawdy five-part harmonies and scandalous lyrics would offend the sensibilities of the stodgy New Haven audience.

A year after their debut at Yale, the Nassoons were singing in the presence of Ella Fitzgerald, and had performed in prominent venues like New York's posh Rainbow Room.

But the celebrated life of the Nassoons came to an abrupt end in spring 1943 when, like many campus activities, the group disbanded because of World War II.

Among their last achievements before disbanding was the release of their 1942 album of songs and their recording session with Gertrude Lawrence, a famed Broadway actress of the time, which was rebroadcast over the Armed Forces Network in 1943.

In spring 1946, on the weekend of May 18, Nassoon alumni returned to campus, held auditions for new members, and revived the group after its three-year hiatus.

Practices were held in the basement of the Presbyterian Church on Nassau Street (not until 1949 did the group start using their permanent home, 100 1901 Hall).

The Nassoons made their campus debut with the Glee Club on November 22 at Alexander Hall, and later that night sang at a dance held by the Daily Princetonian, sharing the stage with Les Brown and his orchestra (1946's "Top Recording Band of the Year").

They picked as their recording technician Mary Howard, who a month earlier had been cited by Time magazine for being at "the top of her profession."

Recent international destinations have included Brazil, the Dominican Republic, the British Virgin Islands, Germany, Austria, Bermuda, Taiwan, Mexico, Jordan, Switzerland, and France.

Their arrangements include music from Cole Porter, The Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, and more.