Robert Accordino '03 is living out a dream. In 1997, Accordino attended the most recent installment of the Trilogy Series: a charity concert series that features three a cappella groups: the Princeton Tigertones, Harvard Krokodiloes and Yale Whiffenpoofs. Accordino left Carnegie Hall, where the concert was held, with the desire to become a member of the Tigertones and to participate in similar concerts in the future.
On Nov. 11, the curtain will rise on the next installment of the Trilogy Series — this time in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. Accordino, now a member of the Tigertones, organized this year's concert and, will perform in it. All the proceeds from the concert will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, an organization that, as Accordino said, "uses performance to raise money for AIDS research."
Accordino said, "AIDS activism has been near and dear to my heart since I was a sophomore in high school."
As a sophomore in high school, he visited the last full assemblage of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in 1996. The quilt's panels memorialize individuals died because of AIDS. Touched by the poignancy of the quilt, he founded an AIDS awareness organization at his high school in New York.
Accordino is not the only member of the Tigertones who is passionate about AIDS related causes. Gregory Ruben '03, the Tigertones' business manager, said BC/EFA is "a charity we cared about."
As in previous years, the concert will feature some of Princeton's, Harvard's and Yale's all-male a cappella groups. The Krokodiloes and the Whiffenpoofs will each perform for 20 minutes, followed by the Tigertones who will perform for 30 minutes.
The concert will certainly bring out Ivy League rivalries. Ruben said, "A cappella is the last 'old boy' bastion. The 'old boy' element being Harvard, Yale and Princeton."
But, "at the end of the concert we will sing one or two songs together. It'll feel good to harmonize together."
The concert's celebrity emcee has yet to be chosen, and may not be for some time. Joe Norton, the show's producer at BC/EFA, said this process may be hampered by the recent terrorist attacks on New York city and their paralyzing affect on the theater community.
"In light of the recent tragedies a lot of people will be worrying about whether they have jobs in the next few weeks," he said.
BC/EFA was founded in 1992, in a merger of the entertainment industry's leading AIDS charities: Equity Fights AIDS and Broadway Cares. The organization has two main objectives.
First, it gives financial assistance to members of the entertainment industry living with AIDS, HIV or other disabilities, who cannot support themselves.
The organization also makes grants to other AIDS-service institutions. These institutions provide housing, emergency medical treatment, transportation and case management for people living with AIDS or HIV.
In 2000, BC/EFA gave $5,797,500 in grants.
Because of the generosity of former University President Harold Shapiro, Princeton Alumni and families and communities of Harvard and Yale, all the proceeds from the concert will go directly to BC/EFA.
In addition, in response to the tragedies in New York city, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, BC/EFA will donate a portion of the concert's proceeds to the Twin Towers' Fund and the American Red Cross.
Ruben said the Tigertones will perform "songs that reflect the character of the group." While the set has yet to be decided, Musical Director Matt Lembo says it may include: "My Girl" by the Temptations, "That Cat is High" by Duke Ellington, "Shower the People" by James Taylor, the traditional Scottish ballad "Loch Lomond" and the début of a new arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" by Paul Alexander '03.
Tickets to the concert will be available on campus within the next few days. Full price tickets are $60 and student tickets are $20.
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