A Whiffenpoof Homecoming: Jake Latts Sets the Stage
The Whiffenpoofs are coming to Kentucky. The world’s oldest a cappella group from Yale University, in the middle of their 2024 Spring tour, are performing at the Kentucky Center on Sunday, March 17, with Male High School’s Bulldog Beats. And while the Whiffenpoofs have performances lined up all week across Louisville, the show at the Kentucky Center carries a different kind of significance for one member.
“I have seen countless shows in the Kentucky Center during my time growing up in Louisville,” Yale student and current Whiffenpoofs baritone Jake Latts told Kentucky to the World in an exclusive interview. “So it will be quite meaningful to be able to perform on that stage with the Whiffs.”
As one of the head arrangers and Assistant Music Director for the touring group, Latts is “so excited to be bringing the group to Louisville.”
Jake Latts, courtesy of the Whiffenpoofs
Who Are the Whiffenpoofs?
Founded by “five of the Yale Glee Club’s best singers” on a cold night back in 1909, the Whiffenpoofs got their name from “a joke featuring a mythical dragonfish” that acted as an “apt reflection of the atmosphere of levity that accompanied the group’s gatherings.”
Latts offered more about how the group functions today. “The modern Whiffs are a group of 14 Yale students,” he told us, “who take a gap year between their Junior and Senior years to perform as professional musicians all around the country and the world.” In this capacity, the group has recently performed at venues like “the Kennedy Center, the White House, the Rose Bowl, and the Lincoln Center” and on shows that have included The Today Show, Saturday Night Live, Jeopardy! and 60 Minutes.
Across their live performances, the Whiffenpoofs have managed to reach a television audience greater than 175 million. They’ve also appeared before a number of sitting U.S. Presidents, including Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan.
Joining the Tradition of A Cappella
Jake Latts was always drawn to the stage. “Since I was young,” he said, “I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of exposure to live theater and performances. I have been performing for most of my life. Began playing piano at 6, singing at 9, theater at 11, etc.”
“I have known for a very long time that I have wanted to make a career in the arts, so in a way that has been an anchor in the craziness of school, growing up, and trying to figure out what’s what.”
When the time came for him to consider his future beyond high school, what Yale had to offer made sense to him. Outside of the Ivy League school’s elite academic reputation, “the biggest thing that drew me to Yale was a program the school has called the Shen Curriculum for Musical Theater,” he told Kentucky to the World. “I was interested in going to a school that had a lot of musical theater opportunities, as well as courses in musical theater, but in a BA framework that would allow me to be more flexible in my studies.”
Once he started attending, he became immersed in Yale’s famously thriving a cappella community. In his first year, he joined the Yale Spizzwinks(?), the oldest underclassman a cappella group in the country. Fast forward to February of his junior year, he “auditioned for the Whiffs of 2024 and was lucky enough to be chosen as one of its members,” he said.
The Whiffenpoofs’ Legacy
The significance of the Whiffenpoofs’ tradition isn’t lost on Jake Latts. “It really is amazing to be a part of something with so much history,” he said. “For instance, the Broadway composer Cole Porter was also a member of the Whiffs during his time at Yale. We also get to hear stories of all the amazing things that past groups have gotten to do.”
Still, Latts acknowledges the responsibility that the Whiffs share in joining that tradition while making their mark. “While we have such a history,” he said, “the fact that the whole group turns over every year allows for each year's Whiffs to be quite unique. I have been really loving being able, with my fellow Whiffs, to really make this group our own. Then, once our time is done, we move on and another group will take our place.”
“I occasionally stop to think about what a big deal it is to be a part of the Whiffs, but day to day, it really just feels normal!”
In the Summer, the Whiffenpoofs will embark on a world tour that spans five continents. Latts ultimately views this experience as a learning opportunity. “I was already planning to go into the arts post-college,” he said, “but the Whiffs offer a great taste of what it’s like to be a professional musician.”
As he prepares for his performance at the Bomhard Theater at the Kentucky Center, he also aims to motivate Kentucky students interested in a future in the arts. “There is not just one path,” he stated. “Keep your goal in sight ahead of you, but also be sure to let life blow you off course a bit – it’s those unexpected experiences that will make you a better artist at the end of the day!”
Buy tickets to see the Whiffenpoofs of Yale University with Louisville Male High School’s Bulldog Beats at the Kentucky Center here.
The 2024 Whiffenpoofs, courtesy of the Whiffenpoofs
