The Harvard Krokodiloes ("The Kroks") are

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

's oldest ''

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

'' singing group, founded in 1946. The group consists of twelve tuxedo-clad undergraduates, and they sing songs from the

Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" is ...

and beyond.About the Harvard Krokodiloes.
/ref> The group has performed on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

'', ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'',

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

, and on numerous international national television programs. Each summer, the Krokodiloes travel around the world on an eleven-week, six-continent tour. They have recorded 31 albums. They derive their name from the ancient Greek word for crocodile, ''krokodilos''. The group's motto is ''Nunc Est Cantandum'', or “Now is the time to sing.”http://www.kroks.com/history History of the Harvard Krokodiloes, from the group’s website.

History

The Kroks were founded in 1946, when four members of the

Hasty Pudding Club The Hasty Pudding Club, often referred to simply as the Pudding, is a social club at Harvard University, and one of three sub-organizations that comprise the Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770. The club's motto, ''Concordia Discors'' (discordant h ...

at 12 Holyoke Street, popular for its drag musical theatre productions, began singing popular hits of their time in four-part harmony. The Krokodiloes have performed around the world for hosts including

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Princess Grace of Monaco Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

Princess Caroline of Monaco Princess Caroline of Monaco (Caroline Louise Marguerite; born 23 January 1957) is, by her marriage to Prince Ernst August, the Princess of Hanover. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, she is the elder sister ...

, the

Aga Khan Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Karim ...

, and King Bhumibol of Thailand. They had a particularly close relationship with

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

, who became friends with the group first in 1973, when he composed a setting to an

E. E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

poem "if you can't eat." In 1983 Bernstein wrote an original song for the group, "Screwed On Wrong," and provided an introductory letter that helped launch the group's first annual international summer tour.Ireland, Corydon. "Three-day extravaganza fetes Bernstein." ''Harvard University Gazette'', 2006-10-19.
Since 1989 the group has appeared four times at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, debuting there to a sold-out audience in 1989 at a concert to benefit world hunger, in the spring of 1995 in an American Red Cross benefit, in May 1998 in a concert for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and most recently at Zankel Hall in March 2008.Notice of 2008 Carnegie Hall performance.
In 1993, the Kroks performed as the opening act at the New England Inaugural Ball celebrating the inauguration of US President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. In 1997, the Kroks performed at the June 30 Hong Kong handover ceremonies commemorating the return of Hong Kong to China.

Notable alumni

Krokodiloes alumni are listed on the group's archive website. *

Paris Barclay Paris K. C. Barclay (born June 30, 1956) is an American television director, producer, and writer. He is a two-time Emmy Award winner and is among the busiest single-camera television directors, having directed nearly 200 episodes of television ...

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning television director *

Matthew Bohrer Matthew Bohrer is an American actor and writer best known for roles in the television shows ''Lucifer'', '' Goliath'', and ''Masters of Sex''. Early life While growing up in San Diego, Matthew Bohrer performed in multiple plays with the Playwr ...

actor * James Bundy,

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

-nominated director and current Dean of the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

* Frank Cabot (one of the group's founders), horticulturist/author *

George Howe Colt George Howe Colt is an American journalist and author. He is the author of ''November of the Soul: The Enigma of Suicide'' (1991), ''The Big House (book), The Big House'' (2003), ''Brothers(Book), Brothers'' (2012), and ''The Game'' (2018). He is ...

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

-nominated author *

Gregory Craig Gregory Bestor Craig (born March 4, 1945) is an American lawyer and former White House Counsel under President Barack Obama, from 2009 to 2010. A former attorney at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Williams & Connolly, Craig has represented nume ...

White House Counsel The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Of ...

Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

Politico.com (2008)
Exclusive: Gregory Craig to be White House counsel
Retrieved November 16, 2008. *

Miles Fisher James Leslie Miles Fisher (born June 23, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, entrepreneur and musician. He made his debut in the CBS adaptation of the book '' True Women'' and had a starring role in the 2000 film ''Lone Star Struck''. In 2001 ...

musician, actor *

William B. Gray William B. Gray (February 14, 1942 – March 22, 1994) was an American attorney and political figure from Vermont. He is best known for his service as United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the District of Vermont, Distr ...

public official *

Fred Gwynne Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was an American actor, artist and author widely known for his roles in the 1960s television sitcoms ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' as Francis Muldoon and as Herman Munster in ''The Munsters'' ...

, star of TV shows ''

Car 54, Where Are You? ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1961 to April 1963. Filmed in black and white, the series starred Joe E. Ross as Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne as Francis Muldoon, two mismatched New York City pol ...

'' and ''

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monsterEpisodes referring to the fact that Herman is Frankenstein's monster include #55, "Just Anoth ...

'', and such films as ''

My Cousin Vinny ''My Cousin Vinny'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn, and written by Dale Launer, who also produced with Paul Schiff. The film stars Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei, Mitchell Whitfield, Lane Smith, Bruce McGill, a ...

'' *

Winthrop Jordan Winthrop Donaldson Jordan (November 11, 1931 – February 23, 2007) was an American historian and professor who specialized in the history of slavery in the United States and racism against Black Americans. His 1968 work ''White Over Black: A ...

National Book Award winnerHistory News Network Interview
. Retrieved December 8, 2008. *W. Leo Kiely CEO,

MillerCoors MillerCoors was a beer brewing company in the United States. MillerCoors was formed in 2008 as a joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors to combine their brewing, marketing and sales operations in the United States. The company was acqui ...

* William F. Kuntz II,

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

Peter Lerangis Peter Duncan Lerangis (born 1955, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American author of children's and young adult fiction, best known for his '' Seven Wonders'' series and his work on the '' 39 Clues'' series. Life and career Lerangis's work includes ...

children's author *

Ryan Leslie Anthony Ryan Leslie (born September 25, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur from Washington, D.C. He has produced singles for a number of prominent artists in a variety of genres, ranging from R&B, hip hop ...

, producer, recording artist *

George C. Lodge George Cabot Lodge II (born July 7, 1927) is an American professor and former politician. In 1962, he was the Republican nominee for a special election to succeed John F. Kennedy in the United States Senate, but was defeated by Ted Kennedy. He wa ...

, former assistant secretary of labor for international affairs in the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations *Stuart Malina,

-winning music director and orchestrator for the Broadway musical '' Movin' Out'' * Laurence O'Keefe, composer-lyricist for musicals such as ''

Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his List of directorial debuts, feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith (writer), Kirsten Smith from ...

'' (for which he received a

-nomination) and '' Bat Boy: The Musical'' * Mark O'Keefe screenwriter * James A. Paul, writer *

Fred Reichheld Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rod ...

best-selling business-book author *David Rockefeller, Jr. philanthropist *Austin Weber,

Thomas T. Hoopes Prize The Hoopes Prize is an award given annually to Harvard University undergraduates. The prize was endowed by Thomas T. Hoopes, Class of 1919. Awarded for outstanding scholarly work or research by students, recipients are selected by a committee of f ...

winning musician and artist *Joshuah Campbell,

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

- and

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

-nominated composer *

Michael Mitnick Michael Mitnick (born September 7, 1983) is an American playwright and screenwriter. Early life Mitnick grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended Fox Chapel Area High School, a public school in the Allegheny Valley. His father is a profe ...

, playwright *Matthew Guard, director of Skylark Vocal Ensemble and three-time Grammy nominee *Daniel Pearle, playwright and screenwriter

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvard Krokodiloes Collegiate a cappella groups Krokodiloes, The University choirs Musical groups established in 1946