Greenport’s first-ever a cappella music festival will kick off this Saturday in Mitchell Park, featuring a cappella groups from schools across Long Island and beyond.
The festival will be headlined by the Princeton Nassoons, an award-winning all-male ensemble from Princeton University that performs arrangements of popular songs (listen to them here and here).
There will also be seven other groups from local high schools (including Greenport and Riverhead) as well as a group from Hofstra University.
Each group will sing several pieces at Mitchell Park’s outdoor amphitheater.
The festival is the brainchild of Greenport Village Trustee Douglas Roberts, who is himself a former a cappella singer who performed in the Princeton Nassoons while he was attending Princeton University.
“I wanted to have more cultural events in the park in the spring and fall seasons – more excuses for people to come out and enjoy a day in the village,” Roberts said in an interview earlier this spring.
“A cappella is great because you’ve got a group of kids who can make music anywhere, with just their own voices,” he added. “We just need to set up a bunch of microphones and that’s it.”
The festival will begin Saturday, May 14 at 2 p.m. A rain date is scheduled for Sunday, May 15.
Here’s a full list of groups performing at the festival:
Princeton Nasoons – Princeton University
Hofstra Sigma’Capella – Hofstra University
Greenport A Cappella Choir – Greenport High School
Riverhead A Cappella Choir – Riverhead High School
On a High Note – Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School
Rolling Tones – Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School
The B Sharps – Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School
Northport Multi-Colored Ties – Northport High School
Northport Multi-Colored Lights – Northport High School
