The Dear Abbeys Turn 25

BU Today

The idea was simple enough. Bring together a small group of men who liked to arrange and perform popular songs. That was 1992. Now, two-and-a-half decades later, members of the Dear Abbeys, BU’s only all-male a cappella group, are celebrating their silver anniversary with a concert tomorrow night at their longtime home, Morse Auditorium.
The release of the Dear Abbeys’ 10th album, Songs for Mary Todd, coincides with the concert. The album goes on sale Saturday and can be downloaded via iTunes and Spotify the same day.
“What’s special about this show is that it’s the Dear Abbeys’ 25th anniversary this year, so it’ll be our 25th anniversary concert,” says Yanni Metaxas (CAS’17), the group’s president. “That means more fun, more entertainment, more tradition, and a lot more alumni.”
Since its founding, the group has earned national and international plaudits. They’ve traveled the country from Alaska to New Orleans, appeared with music legends like Steven Tyler, Ben Folds, and Pentatonix, and won the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) in 2005. Not bad for an organization whose first concert, 25 years back, was nearly canceled because of a blizzard. (Fans showed up anyway, filling Morse Auditorium.)
“We had a line all the way to Warren Towers,” recalls founding member Jamie Kirkpatrick (COM’93). “That really was the moment that we knew we had hit on something, that this was something the University wanted and students craved and would come out for.”
The group’s original members chose the name Dear Abbeys in honor of Abby Borodach (CAS’86), then director of the Student Activities office, who helped them become an official club. She’s better known today as Abby Elmore, wife of Kenneth Elmore (SED’87), associate provost and dean of students.
The 13 vocalists on the constantly changing roster come from a wide variety of disciplines. “We have one ...

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