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Who are these crazy TOONS I hear all about?

What is Toons?

The Toons is a coed cross-campus a cappella singing group founded in 1990. We are comprised of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wellesley College students who get together, harmonize, and make awesome music! Along with our notorious repertoire of cartoony songs, the Toons sing everything from the 50’s to the present; from Sarah McLachlan to Simple Plan. What do you get when you mix Billy Joel with Garbage (the band)? Cross Anita Baker with the Reel Big Fish? Team up Portishead with Pearl Jam? Coax Daisy Duck into the green room with Ginuwine? Sing a “different” and “unique” version of Gummy Bears? We’re not sure either, but the audiences young and old seem to love it

What do we do?

The Toons perform a concert at both MIT and Wellesley each semester. We also love to travel and perform - private or public! On previous Spring Tours we sang at colleges including George Washington, Princeton, RIT, UPenn, Brandeis, BU, and many others. We performed Disney favorites for Philadelphia’s “Please Touch” Children’s Museum, shows for the kids at the Ascension School (we love you guys!), and other schools at all grade levels. This year we’ve sung at the notorious “Battle of the Blends”, Bowdoin College, the MIT Club of Cape Cod, the MIT Alumni Club of Boston, and many others. In the past years the Toons have sung with the talented Bowdoin Meddie Bempsters, the Clemson Tigerroar, the Haverford College Humtones, the Brown Jabberwocks, the UT Austin Ransom Notes, the Wellesley College Tupelos, the Wesleyan Cardinal Sinners, and Downtown Crossing, just to name a few. Boston Invitation Sing, and local clubs. We’ve
done the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) a few years ago and took home some hardware for our beatboxing. Right now we are in the process of recording and producing our fifth studio album which will hopefully be ready next fall (2006)! Whew!

The Toons rehearse two nights a week, for a total commitment of about 8-9 hours. In addition, the Toons do about (on average) two gigs or shows a month. Rehearsals are held once a week at MIT and once at Wellesley.

See for yourself. Here are some quotes from people who have reviewed some of our home concerts and other events.

Click on the links to see the full reviews, courtesy of the MIT Tech

Fall 2005: “the MIT/Wellesley Toons, “MIT’s and Wellesley’s only co-ed” group, and they kept the ball rolling…showcased their musical ability, and their more fun side as they acted out a skit where an MIT nerd falls in love with a girl and gives her a teddy bear and a big cartoon heart. It was cute, and the ladies seated near me each went “Awww.” Last song was the tear-jerker “Hallelujah,” making you cry in such hits as “Shrek” and “The West Wing.”

Spring 2004: “The Toons provide a delicious counterpoint to your standard a cappella group… What makes the Toons MIT’s premiere a cappella group are some of their stunning arrangements and some of their equally stunning voices.”

Fall 2002: “The Toons certainly knew how to energize the Green Building Saturday night. Performing with humor, fun, and drama, they were downright entertaining.”

Fall 2001: “The masterpiece of choreography for the evening [was] Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean,’ complete with a moonwalk. The soloist, David Ngo ‘02, even wore Jackson’s signature white glove.”

Spring 2001: “Whereas several more amateur groups leave you with that karaoke’d-out feeling, the Toons are able to make extremely complicated rhythms. Instead of direct musical translation to a capella, their arrangements are creative and elaborate, invoking much more than ‘da da da.’ ”

Spring 1999: “The Toons opened up their performance with the Lion King theme song, ‘The Circle of Life.’ One by one they gathered at center stage, each assuming the role of an animal (like in the movie). While the group was singing, one member stepped forward to give a nice warm welcome. The song closed out with a reenactment of The Lion King with Simba being held high before the animals of his kingdom. . .”

“The Super Mario Bros. gig was the most entertaining moment of the night. This piece involved the singers role-playing as the characters from Super Mario Brothers. Super Mario battled the evil toads, fire flower and King Koopa to save the Princess. The phenomenal sound effects and actions dazzled the audience.”

Spring 1998: “filled with great soloists, energetic back up singers, and yet another song by Madonna.”

How can I become a part of Toons?

The Toons, like all student groups, occasionally has to say a tearful goodbye to members when they have to leave. So, we’re inviting you to join us! The Toons hold auditions at the beginning of the fall and possibly the spring term for MIT and Wellesley students only. The number of accepted students depends on the number of new voices we need in each part.

We don’t expect you to sing as well as Bono (ahem), so no pressure, okay? You should bring a prepared song without accompaniment (that is, a cappella). We will also ask you to do some rhythm exercises, tonal exercises and scales, pretty standard stuff all in all. Toons does not discriminate based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, favorite breakfast cereal, or school (as long as you go to MIT or Wellesley). We just like to sing. If you are interested in becoming a Toon, and want to be notified when we next hold auditions, e-mail us at toons-request@mit.edu.