Magevet
Encyclopedia
Magevet, Yale's "first, best, and only" Jewish a cappella singing group and "one of the finest collegiate a cappella groups in the nation", was founded in 1993 at Yale University
. The group's repertoire includes liturgical, traditional, and modern arrangements of Jewish, Hebrew, and Israeli songs. Each year, Magevet conducts two major national or international tours and numerous weekend-length tours in the New England and mid-Atlantic states.
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. The group's repertoire includes liturgical, traditional, and modern arrangements of Jewish, Hebrew, and Israeli songs. Each year, Magevet conducts two major national or international tours and numerous weekend-length tours in the New England and mid-Atlantic states.
Name
The group's name is Hebrew for "towel." The group was allegedly founded in a sauna at Yale in 1993 by several Orthodox Jewish men who enjoyed the acoustics of the sauna and decided to form a singing group. "Magevet" was chosen as the group's name to remind the first members of their early experiences together.Membership
Most members join the group through the a cappella rush process at Yale University. This process starts when freshmen arrive onto the Yale campus in the fall and ends a few weeks later with tap night. The entire process vaguely resembles the rush process for fraternities or sororities. Members audition and are selected for membership based on their singing ability, personality, and the needs of the group. Students typically join during their freshman year and stay in the group for their four years as undergraduates at Yale.Tours
Each year, the group embarks on two major tours. In May 2012, the group will take its first tour of Israel. Past tour destinations have included Los Angeles, Berlin, Prague, Florida, Chicago, Las Vegas, London, Glasgow, New Orleans, Phoenix, Amsterdam, Paris, San Francisco, Madrid, and Valencia. Throughout the Yale academic year, the group also embarks on weekend tours of the Northeast, often including New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and communities in Connecticut and New Jersey.Repertoire
The group's repertoire is chosen by the group's musical director (also known as "pitch pipe" or "pitch"). Each new musical director chooses songs to add or remove from the previous year's repertoire. The 2011-12 musical director is Atid Kimelman, Yale '13. New songs are often arranged by the group's current members, and many pieces in the group's traditional repertoire have been arranged by past Magevet members. Magevet's repertoire includes pieces from many different Jewish communities from around the world spanning nearly five hundred years.Discography
Magevet has released six albums beginning with its first in 1995 entitled Mem's the Word. Magevet's most recent album is Aranen.- Mem's the Word (1995)
- Ekh Hu Shar (1997)
- Amen, Selah (2002)
- K'mei Nahar: A Shabbat with Magevet (2003)
- Mik'tze Olam (2004)
- Divrei Shir (2008)
- Aranen (2011)