The Aires, Dartmouth’s oldest a cappella group, may have finished second in the 2011 edition of NBC’s The Sing-Off, but they clearly finished first in the hearts of the entire Dartmouth community! Here are some musings from a few ’79 warblers:


Beth Blatt: “I became a Distraction freshman fall, which was quite an honor. I went to Europe sophomore year and returned to find I was no longer a Distraction, but a Woodswind. Today they’re the Decibelles and the current musical director is Eve (Pratt) Hoar’s daughter, Bailey ’13, which is so exciting because ‘Pratty’ and I were Distractions—I mean Woodswinds—together! Last spring, at a fundraising event at Collis, the ‘Deci’s’ sang Bailey’s arrangement of the new theme song for Hope Sings, the nonprofit organization I founded to empower Latina women through micro-financing. My next Dartmouth a cappella goal is to have the Aires perform a Hope Sings song, too!”


Eve (Pratt) Hoar: “I really enjoyed the Aires’ performances on The Sing-Off this fall and often thought how proud Tom Tomai, Ed Jaicks and Don Reckenbeil must be. A cappella has changed dramatically since we were at Dartmouth, particularly with the introduction of vocal percussion and the increased opportunities afforded by more than a dozen groups, some coed. Bailey has led the Decibelles off and on since her freshman fall. What a joy it’s been for Sam ’77 and me to hear the group sing and carry on the tradition of women’s a cappella at our alma mater!”


Deborah (Krieger) Jennings: “Every year the Dartmouth Club of Suburban New Jersey has its holiday party in Chatham, and for most of the years I can remember the Aires have sung at that event. This year, because of The Sing-Off, there were way more people in attendance than usual. The group has always invited former Dartmouth Aires or Glee Club members to sing with them. So, as is my custom, I joined them on stage, this year for a rousing rendition of ‘Dartmouth Undying.’ It was more fun than ever because I’d gotten to watch the Aires on TV all fall. I had hoped to attend with my sons Drew ’08 and Owen ’11, but only Drew could join me.”


On another note (no pun intended), Michael Wilkinson reports that, “Sherry and I are having fun in Atlanta with our two girls, Danielle (16, Ms. cheerleader) and Gabrielle (13, the soccer queen). Our facilitation company still has me traveling the world. I published my fourth book in October, The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy, and am still waiting for Obama to ask me to help facilitate a White House session!”


And before I sign off, congratulations to T. Clark Weymouth, who was recently chosen to co-lead Hogan Lovells LLC’s global pro bono legal practice. T. is based in D.C. and works regularly with Hank Young, the pro bono partner in Hogan Lovells’ Baltimore office.


Happy New Year everyone! Refresh, enjoy and sing on!


—Stanley Weil, 14 Woodland Road, Mt. Kisco, NY 10549; (917) 428-0852; stanno79@gmail.com