New Year’s Resolutions
Visiting collegiate a cappella group wows residents
STORY AND PHOTOS BY
STEPHEN VRATTOS
The Arcade was alive with the
sound of music, Saturday
afternoon, January 13, as
Colgate University’s acclaimed coed
a cappella group, The Colgate
Resolutions, performed at Towers
on the Green. Coming off their 25th
anniversary last spring, the “Resos,”
as they are more familiarly known
on campus, were in the midst of
their 2018 tour, having come off a
successful performance the evening
before at New York City’s historic,
“Don’t Tell Mama,” restaurant in
theater row. From North Shore
Towers, the group continued with
performances in Connecticut, Upstate
New York—among others—
before arriving in Boston for their
final show later in January before
classes resumed on the 22nd.
The stop at NST was made possible
through residents Irwin and
Joan Robinson, whose daughter,
Emily Palermo, is current president
of the Resos, a position she will be
ceding with her graduation in the
spring. Both Palermo’s parents
attended Colgate, where they met
in theater class, her father also a
member of one of the school’s other
singing ensembles, an all-men’s a
cappella group, The Colgate 13.
But it was a classmate during
her first-semester studies, not her
parents, who encouraged Emily to
audition Freshman year.
Founded in 1992, The Colgate
Resolutions is one of the university’s
five a cappella ensembles, one
of the three co-ed. The group performs
approximately ten concerts
per semester at various locations
on campus, other nearby universities
and local establishments
in Downtown Hamilton, where
Colgate is situated, in addition to
the gigs it performs while on their
winter tour. Each program features
eight numbers, culled from
the thirty or so the band prepares
each season, with the odd encore.
Among the campus gigs is one
major concert each semester at the
Colgate Chapel, at which six newly
arranged pieces combine with
two favorites from bygone years to
make up the set list.
Colgate Resolutions president, Emily Palermo, beams between proud grandparents, Irwin and Joan
Robinson, surrounded by the rest of the group
Though there is no set restriction
to membership, the Resos’s number
has never exceeded 22 singers and
currently stands at 19, ten women
and nine men. The amount may
vary, however, depending on singer
availability, especially while the
group is touring. For example, 16
performed at NST, one member, an
international student, was at home
in South Korea, while another was
studying in Chile, during the winter
break. Similarly, the set list is constructed
with singer availability in
mind as well as allowing everyone
an equal chance at solos among the
tour concerts.
Nor do potential candidate need
be music-focused in their studies.
The current membership boasts
majors ranging from Neuroscience
to Education, religion and geography.
Many members impressed
residents with their dual majors,
during introductions. According
to Palermo, “prospective members
go through a three-round audition
process, which includes singing a
solo and scales, practicing blending
and giving a sense of their vocal
range. An ideal candidate for the
Resolutions is someone who loves
music, loves being a part of a group,
and likes to be goofy and have a
lot of fun.”
According to Palermo and other
members, the group performs
“mostly old music,” which to their
young estimation derives from the
’60s to ’80s, with the occasional
contemporary tune. Their NST
performance was no exception
with “golden oldies”, such as Ray
Charles’s cover of “Georgia on
My Mind,” Carole King’s “Home
Again,” Simon and Garfunkel’s
“Sounds of Silence,” Billy Joel’s
“Vienna” and “Mad World” by Tears
for Fears, joining Ray LaMontagne
2008 hit, “You Are the Best Thing,”
with an encore of Otis Redding’s
“Try a Little Tenderness,” requested
by the event’s hosts. “We sang this
at our most recent concert. My
grandparents are big fans,” Palermo
announced beforehand.
Arrangements can come from
any member, though most originate
from the Musical Director. In fact,
the ensemble’s current Director,
Ben Phelps, has arranged the
most songs of any previous holder
of the position. Like the office of
president, the Musical Director is
one which rewards rising seniors
in the group and is re-elected at
the end of each year. The classic
aforementioned melancholic King
hit holds a special place in every
member’s heart, as it is the first song
a new member learns and the final
one performed with the outgoing
seniors before they graduate.
“The Resolutions have truly
been my family away from home,”
Palemo explained when asked
about her feelings on her impending
final performance this spring. “Not
only does the group challenge me
musically, but they are all my closest
friends on campus.”
Junior Daniel Miller takes the lead during Ray LaMontagne’s “You Are
the Best Thing” 10 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ February 2018