Drea Rolland '01

Now that the Deerfield rumor mill is back in high gear, one of the hot topics is the fate of the Mellow-D's and Rhapso-D's now that Gregory Bullen, the former choral director, has left Deerfield. Instrumental Director Orlando Pandolfi will be taking on the responsibilities of the choral program and will reshape the a cappella program.

Mr. Pandolfi is interested in putting together a co-ed group, making Deerfield a cappella "a lot more interesting.' The group would consist of eight girls and eight boys, all of whom would audition without consideration to their former positions in Deerfield a cappella groups. He reasons that the genders would be more successful as a combined ensemble, because boys at this level have a greater range of what they can vocally accomplish than the girls. The new group would be able to emphasize the girls' talent in a more comfortable range. Also, there is always the possibility of separating the group for an all-female or all-male piece.

Mr. Pandolfi wants the group to explore several musical idioms, such as vocal jazz and madrigals. He wants to get away from "brain-candy" pop music, saying that "there is lots of great music out there besides the top forty." He feels that the students will be better served with this exposure to new styles.

There is conflict over the change. Library archivist Christina Cohen, for one, thinks that Deerfield Academy is losing a strong asset with the changes to the choral program. "The Mellow-D's and Rhapso-D's earned a reputation as an important part of this community," she said.

Mr. Pandolfi points out that "change is always controversial," and offers the possibility of forming two separate co-ed groups so that competition does not arise between former a cappella members and potential new ones.

The Mellow-D's plan on continuing their time-honored position as a private club. They would no longer be associated with the choral department and would practice in their extra time. Leader Mike Kohn '01 believes that what Mr. Pandolfi is doing is "really great" and offers his complete support. He also says that the Mellow-D's "still want to do [their] own thing." The group would continue performing pop-oriented music under the direction of Peter Nilsson, a new member of the English department. Kohn is enthusiastic about auditioning for Mr. Pandolfi's group and hopes that both former and potential members feel the same. Auditions for the Mellow-D's are not set, but will most likely follow auditions for Mr. Pandolfi's group.

The Rhapso-D's, however, met as a group and decided to let it go. Leader Marissa Clementi '01 said that although they loved the group, it would be too time-consuming to run a club and potentially sing in Mr. Pandolfi's group. Clementi says. "I'm really excited about what we're going to do this year, [even though] . . . the tradition has ended." Sarah Bush '01, another member of the group, said, "The whole thing is disappointing, but I'm looking forward to working with Mr. Pandolfi."

With the excitement about Mr. Pandolfi's new group building, there is a possibility that they will come out with a CD this year. The well-known a cappella group the Swingle Singers will come to Deerfield as an Academy Event in February and has offered to give a master class to Mr. Pandolfi's group.

As published in the October 4, 2000 issue of The Deerfield Scroll, the monthly newspaper of Deerfield Academy.