Colorado Yalie Dave Anderson ’71 is a Whiffenpoofs alum, who you will be able to see and hear join with his fellow Whiffs of ’71 in a 50th anniversary concert on Saturday, May 21st in Denver. “Whiffs & Wizards: An Evening of A Capella Music” pairs the iconic Yale singing group with local favorite, The New Wizard Oil Combination: “Our May 21 concert is at a beautiful and lively new venue on Larimer in RiNo, and it will be a fun evening.  The ‘Wizards’ are just back from performing in Maine for Spring Sing, a national association of a cappella groups, so they will be in fine form.  Ticket prices are low, and we’re serving really cheap drinks!”

The 50th Anniversary Whiffenpoofs of 1971 is one of the most cohesive and active Whiff groups, singing together at reunions, charity concerts, and family milestone events. At Yale, they sang regularly at Mory’s, gave concerts on football weekends and at other campus events, sang spontaneously in dining halls, and toured the US and Bermuda. Their mellow sound, tight harmonies, and fun arrangements are a testament to over a century of Whiff tradition.

3034 Larimer Street, Denver; starting at 7:30. General admission: $25; general admission + drinks & appetizers; children 12 & under $15. Buy tickets HERE.

This is not a CYA event.

The January/February, 2022 issue of Yale Alumni Magazine featured several alumni who pivoted in their career path, including Colorado’s Anne Weil ’94:

“Crafting a different future”

Anne Weil ’94 was sitting in a windowless conference room in San Antonio, Texas, under flickering lights, doing what she did so well: sealing a real estate deal. She’d been in banking and real estate finance virtually since college, and she was good at it—detail-oriented and hardworking, even though she didn’t have the passion others had for this particular moment. In fact, she was thinking she didn’t want to spend her life this way.

Later, she tried other things—like a career break to study landscape architecture—but she kept returning to real estate asset management and investment analysis. Then, in 2012, 13 years after that Texas day, her husband was hired by the Baltimore Ravens. He said, “I have my dream job. You should pursue yours.”

Two years earlier, as she had always liked making and designing objects, she had begun flaxandtwine.com, a blog devoted to crafts. She loved every aspect of the blog—taking the photographs, writing project instructions, giving people, as she says, “time for their own creative life.” Now the blog was going to become a full-time endeavor, with advertisers, sponsored content, and an online shop with DIY kits for stylish baskets, bracelets, and other objects that are, as she puts it, “elevated to a modern aesthetic” and “not your grandmother’s crafts.”

It still took her nearly a year to close down her real estate career, but on the day she sold her final property, a publisher called to ask her to write a book. She found herself an agent and subsequently published Knitting Without Needles and Weaving Within Reach.

As much as she adores what she is doing, Weil realizes that she had been anxious about her performance before, often asking herself if she had enough information, if she had done enough work, and if people liked what she did. Though she clearly has been successful in both of her careers, she still pesters herself with such questions, but now she does so, she says, with “joy and excitement.”

left: Susan Cherniak Wei; right: Chris Citron on left

Over the weekend of September 19-22, 2019, women from the classes of 1971, 1972 and 1973 gathered in New Haven to celebrate Yale’s first coeducational admissions to Yale College. Among those in attendance were Colorado alumna Chris Citron ’71 and Dr. Susan Cherniak Wei ’71 MA ’79 PhD ’88. In addition, the September/October edition of Yale Alumni Magazine included an excerpt of a 1970 essay for a high school publication written by Chris, which is quoted in part below:

Yale is fully coeducational; it’s not just an experiment. However, if it continues its policy of admitting only 250 women per year, obviously only male leaders will be turned out. As society is now structured wholly under male leadership, unless Yale agrees that women are incapable of leadership roles (ignoring the dire shortage of competent professionals in so many fields), the University’s obligation is obviously to take itself out ahead of society and initiate a different admissions policy, so as to provide more women with this so-called leadership preparation. Furthermore, I would dispute the University’s role of annually churning out a set of so-called “leaders,” and substitute the goal of “capable individuals.” Brewster has even refused to meet with members of the Admissions Committee, who have taken the unusual step of publicly stating that the caliber of the boys being admitted for next year is substantially lower than that of the girls who are being turned away. You may have noted in the New York Times recently that the first semester marks for Yale girls were across-the-board higher than for the boys.

Jennifer McCray Rincon ’80 MFA ’87 welcomes Yalies and guests to a invitation-only panel with actor Bill Pullman on the topic “Why Does Theater Matter?” This very special event takes place Thursday, August 1st, 4:00 pm, McNichols Building in Denver’s Civic Center Park. Many know Bill from his movie roles, including the President in Independence Day, but he is also a much-respected stage actor with a commitment to the power of theater to bring people together. Admission to the Thursday panel is free, but you must RSVP to Stephanie Grilli: steph@artscribe.net.

Jennifer studied theater at Yale College and  School of Drama. An accomplished director and teacher, she founded Visionbox Studio to provide professional actor training in Denver, while also developing new work for production. Directing Pullman at a workshop in the early 80s, Jennifer describes their career-long relationship: “Since our initial work together, we have come together multiple times to create what we have called ‘low friction’ performance work that focuses on the actor, text, and new technologies in design.”

Fresh from Arthur Miller’s All My Sons at London’s Old Vic, Bill is in Denver to perform the play he wrote about “cowboy artist” Charles Russell. Directed by Rincon, Seeking Charlie Russell will be presented on Friday, August 2nd, 4:00 pm, McNichols Building, followed by a talk-back. Attendees have a general admission option ($50) or a VIP ticket that includes a reception with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres ($200). Details, including ticketing, are included on the McNichols website.

With his radio series, Black Radio Days, donnie l. betts Dra ’90 honors the first nationwide African-American radio drama produced in Chicago 60 years ago. Having aired the historic program Destination Freedom, Betts continues its spirit with all new scripts, and recently he began a year-long look at gun violence, immigration, gender identity, and social justice with an audio voice. On Friday, March 22nd, Black by Lamaria Aminah directed and produced by betts will be performed in the Hamilton Recital Hall at the Newman Center. In keeping with the tradition of radio drama, a conversation tales place between a  black mother and a white mother who meet at a vigil for a young black man who has died at the hands of police.

After the live show, the audience will be able to enter into a discussion led by betts with a panel of community leaders, including Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz,  Black Lives Matter 5280 activists, Warm Cookies of the Revolution members, Dr. Deb Ortega of the Latino Center for Community Engagement and Scholarship at the University of Denver, and City Council member Angela Lawson. This topical one-night event should be of interest to many alumni.

Mark Fulford ’70 organized last year’s classes of ’69, ’70, and ’71 collective 70th birthday party. Then in November, he and Katherine Fulford left for Africa. Guided  by the husband of a Peace Corps friend,  the two toured Namibia  in southwest Africa, seeing lots of birds and animals and beautiful sand dunes in the Namib Desert, visiting Ju/’huonsi villagers on the edge of the Kalahari, and camping on an island between the Zambezi and Chobe rivers.

They then returned for a week in eSwatini (fka Swaziland) where they themselves had served from 2013 to 2015 as Peace Corps volunteers, visiting their rural homestead and their young friends (now 3 ½ years older and moving on) at the UN refugee camp near that homestead. Three years ago, Mark and Katherine hosted a CYA potluck at their home and shared their Swaziland experience.

Mark says “This was a great trip, to a part of the world we’ve come to love, with the best birds anywhere, the excitement and energy of the mix of cultures, and the stunning beauty of the natural phenomena. But the shortage of opportunities for our young refugee friends frustrates and saddens us.”

When Carol Kozak Ward MusM ’85 founded the Colorado Hebrew Chorale in 1993, there were no choirs in the state dedicated to Jewish music. Her dream was to showcase this rich musical tradition with community service as an integral component.  Consisting of amateur singers of all backgrounds and identities, the chorale built upon their success by launching Kol Nashim (“Women’s Voices) twenty years later. Using music to build bridges, both groups have developed repertoires and programs to advance a more civil and just society, often collaborating with area organizations.

On Sunday, January 27th, both groups with perform at the Hebrew Educational Alliance, 3600 South Ivanhoe Street, Denver, starting at 5:00 pm with a reception: “Raisins & Almonds: a Tu B’Shvat Celebration” is a concert program in recognition of International Holocaust Remembrance Day (dinner option as well as a silent auction). Kozak and her Kol Nashim colleague Leah Peer have selected music  grounded in the human strength of spirit, which is previewed by music critic Betsy Schwarm. Singing with the CHC is tenor Seth Ward ’74 PhD ’84, who served as our expert at the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition last summer,  and bass Fred Karp ’70, who manages Service/Colorado Yale Association on Facebook.

ASC Director Shannon Scott sends word that eight early-action students from Colorado have been admitted, although not all have yet accepted Yale’s offer:  three are from Denver, two are from Telluride, and Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Boulder each have one.

A recent Westword article highlights Ayanle Nur, a DSST Green Valley Ranch student and son of Somali refugees : “Nur says that he plans to get on the pre-med track at Yale. ‘I’ve always wanted to help people. Getting into Yale is my first step in realizing the American dream,’ he says. But his fellow DSST Green Valley Ranch seniors see another future for Nur: They voted him most likely to become president.”

Later this year, CYA will have a casual get-together to welcome the Colorado freshman class. If you want to become a volunteer interviewer, contact Shannon: shannony93@msn.com

It’s become a tradition: the Whiffenpoofs will perform at the University of Denver in early January. This year, two concerts are scheduled on Saturday, January 5th, and you can  purchase tickets for the afternoon and/or evening concert site on the Newman Center site.

Arthur Dove, Sunrise III (1936-37) Yale University Art Gallery

Welcome to the new Colorado Yale Association website! The new content-rich site is responsive and so can be viewed easily on phones and tablets. You’ll find events, current news & features, and other ways to get connected with your alumni community. We will continue to offer a wide range of activities that allow alumni of all Yale colleges, schools, and programs to connect with classmates and to kindle new relationships. Check regularly for updates, and be inspired to suggest and develop an event or initiative.