Formed in 1936 at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

, the Smiffenpoofs are the oldest traditionally all-female

collegiate a cappella Collegiate a cappella (or college a cappella) ensembles are college-affiliated singing groups, primarily in the United States, and, increasingly, the United Kingdom and Ireland, that perform entirely without musical instruments. The groups are typ ...

group in the United States. The group's founding came shortly after a group of Smithies attended a picnic with students from their brother school,

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, in Northampton, Massachusetts, where the Yale

Whiffenpoofs The Yale Whiffenpoofs is a collegiate a cappella singing group at Yale University. Established in 1909, it is the oldest such group in the United States. Best known for "The Whiffenpoof Song",The Rev. James M. Howard, Yale Class of 1909"An Authe ...

performed. Inspired by this male a cappella group, a few ambitious Smithies returned to school determined to establish their own a cappella group. In honor of the Whiffenpoofs, they adopted a similar name. Today, the Smiffenpoofs (affectionately known as "The Poofs") continue the a cappella tradition, maintaining a repertoire of old standards and contemporary music alike. Performances at Smith and off campus at area colleges, alumnae gatherings, weddings, birthday parties, charity events, a cappella festivals, and much more keep the Smiffenpoofs busy throughout the school year with additional performances made possible during the summer months while on tour to various national and international destinations. Most recently, the Smiffenpoofs' summer tour saw them traveling to Japan for two weeks. The Smiffenpoofs were featured on the Best of College A Cappella (BOCA)’95 and the BOCA'97-'98 albums. “Landslide”(arr. Kirsten Campbell ‘95) and “Love Is a Battlefield” (arr. Anne Sulzmann ‘98) represented the group on these recordings. Following their March 2, 2006 performance in

Brattleboro, Vermont Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a New England town, town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located about north of the Massachusetts state line at the confluence of Vermont's West River (Vermont), West River and the Connec ...

, the Smiffenpoofs were praised in the ''

Brattleboro Reformer The ''Brattleboro Reformer'' is the third-largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Vermont. With a weekday circulation of just over 10,000, it is behind the ''Burlington Free Press'' and the ''Rutland Herald'', respectively. It publishes six ...

'': "The Smiffenpoofs are as tight and refined as a group can be. They are champagne and caviar,

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

and

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

." The Smiffenpoofs’ arrangement of

Imogen Heap Imogen Jennifer Jane Heap ( ; born 9 December 1977) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur. She is considered a pioneer in pop music, particularly electropop, and in music technology. While attending the ...

’s "

Hide and Seek Hide and seek may refer to: * Hide-and-seek, a children's game Film * ''Hide and Seek'' (1932 cartoon), a Fleischer Studios Talkartoon animated short * ''Hide and Seek'' (1963 film), a Swedish comedy film * ''Hide and Seek'' (1964 film), a ...

" has also been described as "absolutely stunning", and the performance as "a sanctuary of calm, moving ensemble singing…just beautiful.""A major third: A cappella just keeps getting better", '' The Brattleboro Reformer'', March 2, 2006. The Smiffenpoofs have built up a discography of several CDs and records over the past thirty years. Their brother a cappella group is The Brown Derbies.

Discography

* ''You've Gotta Have Everything''... (1958) *''Once Was A Time'' (1974) *''Definitive Smiffenpoofs'' (1978) *''After The Gold Rush'' (1981) *''A Living Jukebox'' (1983) *''Dining At The Ritz'' (1987) *''In The Dark!'' (Live Album) 1988 *''Smiffenpoofs...Enough Said'' (1989) * ''Bang, Pow, Poof!'' (1993) * ''Get Out Of The House'' (1995) * ''The Smiffenpoofs Have Left The Building'' (1997) *''Twelve'' (1999) * ''Testimony'' (2002) * ''Bear Right At Tiny's'' (2006) * ''Smiffenpoofs 75'' (2011) * ''Poofs in Boots'' (Live Album) (2012) * ''Genesis of Rhythm: Smiffenpoofs 2013'' (2013) * ''XOXO, The Poofs'' (EP) (2015)

References

External links

*https://thesmiffenpoofs.wixsite.com/website {{DEFAULTSORT:Smiffenpoofs, The Smith College Collegiate a cappella groups American vocal groups Musical groups established in 1936 Girls' and women's choirs