Senior farewells are some of the most bittersweet moments experienced on campus. Whether it’s a final performance, game or year on a staff, seniors come together with their peers to acknowledge their gratitude for their experiences while also coming to terms with their looming departure. For the two singe-sex acapella groups on campus, the Spring Jamboree was this moment.

The Swinging ’Gates and Colgate Thirteen came together in the Chapel on Friday, March 29 to give their friends, family and the Colgate community a diverse, beautiful range of songs to honor and celebrate their group members in the senior class.

For this performance, each senior performed a solo in a song of their choice. The selections ranged from songs that have been in the group for years to entirely new arrangements. Senior Jeremy Kossoff performed “Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin, the first song he ever soloed for the Thirteen, while senior Tessa Weal performed an arrangement of “Green Light” by Lorde, which was put together by first-year Emily Cope and performed for the first time at the concert.

Three other arrangements made their debut at this performance for the ’Gates: “Dangerous Woman” by Ariana Grande, “Someone Like You” by Adele and “Take a Bow” by Rihanna were arranged and performed by seniors Sally Ngoje, Brynn Johnson and Hailey Park, respectively.

Senior Emily Ix thought the concert was very successful and enjoyed both groups.

“It was an amazing concert all around—Sally gave a great rendition of ‘Dangerous Woman,’ and Brynn killed it singing

‘Someone Like You,’ Ix said.” “It’s also always fun to see the Thirteen. We all especially loved Mark Sibold singing and dancing along to “Hodja” from Full House! It was an amazing concert and I’m so happy for all of the seniors.”

Another first came in one of the final solos for the Thirteen; senior Drew O’Hara became the first member of the Thirteen to have an original song performed. Between his flowing lyrics and trained, clear voice, his song “Bridges” captivated the audience.

Since only 13 members could perform for the men, many of the younger singers supported their seniors from the audience rather than on stage. However, first-years Nate Freishtat, Giovanni Vigilante and Ryan Rhul took the stage about half- way through the performance to perform an original skit. Their confidence and wit charmed the audience, and added another level of joy and excitement to an already energetic room.

Both the Swinging ‘Gates and the Thirteen ended their performances with group arrangements: the ’Gates with “Dancing Queen” by ABBA and the Thirteen with “Goodbye My Coney Island Baby” by Les Applegate. Both of these songs also included some group choreography which added a perfect note of playfulness to end the concert.

Contact Abby Blair at [email protected].