Matt Carlin

Major:Trombone Performance/Music Education

Hometown: West Islip, NY

How long have you been singing and how did you get started?
I have been singing for as long as I can remember and have always loved it. I started in elementary school in the choir and then decided to continue by doing school musicals and show choirs.

What three artists take up the most space on your iPod?
I would have to say Billy Joel, Beethoven, and Greenday.

What do you want to be doing in five years? In fifty?
I feel truly blessed that I have been fortunate enough to experience so many amazing opportunities within the field of music. Whether it be playing the piano, singing, playing the trombone in an orchestra, or composing I know that music will always be my life. In five years I hope to be teaching at a high school as a band director as well as producing and composing music for myself or other artists.

Abhishek Sharma

Major: Neuroscience, Psychology

Hometown: Tokyo, Japan

How long have you been singing and how did you get started?
I started singing when I was in my senior year of high school. I mostly just sang for fun in the shower and a little bit with a couple of bands my friends and I put together, but never really did anything serious until my second semester at the U of R with the YellowJackets!

What is the best class to take at UofR and why?
The best class to take at U of R hands-down is Underwater Basket-weaving 203. No, but seriously it's Orgo. MAD tough, but so worthwhile.

What does it feel like when you sing?
I couldn't write it down... I'd probably have to sing to you.

Is Ben Folds even cuter in person?
Yes. He is just mad goofy too, which makes him all the more interesting.

Aden Brooks

Major: Trombone Performance

Hometown: Schenectady, NY

How long have you been singing and how did you get started?
I started singing in middle school for my school’s musicals which led to my involvement in my high school’s theatre program and madrigal choir.

What is the best class to take at UofR and why?
The Quantum Mechan... Haha, no. Anything music.

Write the newspaper headline for the story of your life so far.
Short Guy with Great Hair Starts Ridiculous Music Career

What does it feel like when you sing?
Singing is one of the most fun ways to express emotion. Not only do I try to get my audience to feel something, but I have a great time doing it.

What do you want to be doing in five years? In fifty?
Five years? Making music. Fifty? Ditto.

Christopher Young

Major: History (BA), Secondary Education (MS)

Hometown: Birmingham, AL

How long have you been singing and how did you get started?
I began singing when I was in the 3rd grade when I joined the Birmingham Boys Choir in Birmingham, AL. At Mountain Brook High School, I co-founded the school's first a cappella group called "A Bunch of Guys."

What is the best class to take at UofR and why?
My favorite class was Marketing 213. The entire course is based around a field experience where students work with a company in the Rochester area to develop an effective marketing plan for a service or product that that company is currently working in. It is a very real class that provides practical, real-world experience, plus the professor is great! (Prof. George Cook)

Write the newspaper headline for the story of your life so far.
“What a Summer!” - “A University of Rochester student graduates, travels to Kenya, and films a primetime national television reality show all in 3 months!”

Kieran Kriss

Vocals: Bass

Ross Pedersen

Major: Math, Economics

Hometown: Fairport, NY

How long have you been singing and how did you get started?
I've been singing since 7th grade when I realized that I could get an easy A by joining choir.

What is the best class to take at UofR and why?
Linear Algebra! (That was a joke, I still don't know what a dual space is.)

Write the newspaper headline for the story of your life so far.
"Boy Stumbles Into Happiness When He Least Expects It"

What three artists take up the most space on your iPod?
Basshunter, Maroon 5, Britney Spears

What do you want to be doing in five years? In fifty?
In five years I hope to be done with my MBA and in 50, I hope to own a helicopter!

Jamal Moore

Major: Vocal/Opera Performance

Hometown: Augusta, GA

Write the newspaper headline for the story of your life so far.
Opera, R&B and Gospel OH MY!

What is the best class to take at the UofR and why?
The best class at the Eastman School of Music is Lyric Theatre with Professor Steve Daigle. He is an awesome teacher and director who listens to his students and pushes them to be their best on and off the stage.

What does it feel like when you sing?
When I sing I feel indestructible with a huge sense of humility. I always relate my singing to my beliefs and I truly believe that I am just a vessel that God is working through. Before I sing, I always pray that he will use me to not entertain people but to move them in a way that allows them to see how he can bless people that live for him. I believe that I have a gift, but I want the world to know that is not from me or a teacher, it's from Him.

John Greenhalgh

Major: History

Hometown: Rochester, NY

How long have you been singing and how did you get started?
I started singing in elementary school as a boy soprano, and I was recommended by my music teacher to sing in the Children's Choir at the Eastman School of Music. I haven't stopped singing!

What is the best class to take at UofR?
History of Jazz with Dean Burgett. He is so passionate about this subject that I was literally captivated every minute of the class. I was also able to learn about a style of music that I really never explored before, and now I am hooked!

Write the newspaper headline for the story of your life so far.
Incredibly Handsome Rochester Grad Saves City from Zombie Invasion!

Is Ben Folds even cuter in person?
Really? I would have guessed you would ask that about Nick Lachey. It was hard to tell what the other judges looked like because I was continuously blinded by Sara Bareille's beauty.

David Gleichman

Eastman School of Music

Aaron Sperber

Major: Vocal Performance, International Relations

Hometown: Rochester, NY

How long have you been singing?
I probably have been singing since I emerged from the womb. I didn't actually get into it in a public setting until high school and then kicked it up a notch in college. :)

How would you describe your experience in the YellowJackets?
For the past two years, I've been proud to have been the instigator of our crazy schemes and adventures. Initially, I did not intend to be a leader in the YellowJackets until my YJ brother, Zander Hunter, came in to rehearsal with news that he had been diagnosed with cancer. I was shocked and scared and didn't know what to do. Little did I know, this experience would set the tone of my life forever. I decided from that moment on, music would be my answer to problems in the world.

I am humbled to be picked for The Sing-Off. We know how many groups auditioned and ...damn, we still are pinching ourselves! We will do our very best to make you proud.

Galen Dole

Major: Music, Math

Hometown: Mukilteo, WA

What does it feel like when you sing?
Singing, especially in harmony with male voices, makes my hair stand on edge. To hear these amazing overtones and then realize that I am the one producing them is a surprise and a delight every time I open my mouth to sing. It's the best feeling in the world.

Is Ben Folds even cuter in person?
Haha! He's the nerdiest guy I can imagine, but in a good way. He loves music more than anything else, and he lets that love come across strongly. It's inspiring to see someone taking his passion to its limit.

What three artists take up the most space on your iPod?
Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles

What do you want to be doing in five years? In fifty?
In five years? I have no idea. And in 50 years? Well I hope to get married, have kids, and settle down in a nice house by the beach, maybe with a white picket fence, or whatever the flavor of the week is by 2061. And I'll still be singing.

Michael Pittman

Major: International Relations

Hometown: Niagara Falls, NY

What does it feel like when you sing?
For me, singing is a way to communicate any emotion I am feeling. Every song has a unique meaning and there is always a song out there that I can relate to, no matter what emotion is going through my head. I believe that music truly heals people and has an incredible impact on every individual person’s life. I know that singing with the YellowJackets has brought out a part of me that I didn’t know I had.

What three artists take up the most space on your iPod?
Ingrid MIchaelson, Lady GaGa, Christina Aguilera (Actually, High School Musical takes up the most space, but let’s look past that!)

What do you want to be doing in five years? In fifty?
In five years, I hope to be in the Peace Corps, helping people abroad. In fifty years, I hope to be a lawyer. I’m not sure what kind yet, though!

Nick Wiggins

Major: Vocal Performance, Economics

Hometown: Clifton Park, NY

What three artists take up the most space on your iPod?
Shawn Stockman, Sara Bareilles, and Ben Folds ;-)

What is the best class to take at the UofR?
Any class you want! The most attractive aspect of the University is its open curriculum. Students here are not given a set of courses that they have to take.

Write the newspaper headline for your life so far.
I have no idea what the headline would be for my life. Whatever it is, I hope they spell my name right!

What does it feel like when you sing?
Singing, and this can be said of music in general, is like being gently cradled in the palms of God's hands. It provides a miraculous sense of security. Considering how unstable a career in music can be, it is amazing that the mere act of singing a tune can provide what millions search for and never find.

Matt Francis

Major: Math (BA), Marketing (MA)

Hometown: Buffalo, NY

How long have you been singing and how did you get started?
My vocal career began in the third grade with a star-packed performance of "A Whole New World."

What is the best class to take at UofR and why?
If I had to pick my favorite class, it would have to be Calculus I. Nothing beats sitting down on a Saturday night and solving a good old Math problem.

What does it feel like when you sing?
When I sing I feel unstoppable. Nothing can stop me from singing my heart out and letting the world know my passion.

What do you want to be doing in five years? In fifty?
In five years I want to be a very successful CMO in the Media industry, specifically music. In fifty years I want to be living on the moon. Come.

Danny Rubenstein

Major: Psychology

Hometown: Glencoe, IL

Is Ben Folds even cuter in person?
It depends on whether he's been through makeup yet.

Write the newspaper headline for the story of your life so far.
What Is Next In Store For the Whirlwind Adventure Danny Calls A Life?

What is the best class to take at UofR and why?
History of Jazz with Dean Burgett. He makes everything seem like the coolest thing in the world. I don't care if you hate jazz; you will love it at the end of the class.

Jordan Fontheim

Hometown: Washington, DC

Write the newspaper headline for the story of your life so far.
Nice Jewish Boy Overwhelmed At Thought of Summing Up His Life In One Sentence

What does it feel like when you beatbox?
Beatboxing solo is awesome because it lets me explore the extreme limits of what the human body can do, but even more amazing than that is taking all the skills I learn as a solo beatboxer and bringing that into the fold of 14 other awesome singers.

Is Ben Folds even cuter in person?
Ben Folds is adorable no matter what (see next question)

What three artists take up the most space on your iPod?
Ben Folds, Brand New, Fountains of Wayne