Arts & Entertainment

High School A Capella to Open Edmond Show

XY Chromotones will open the Newtown Friends of Music show on April 10.

(Submitted by Ellen K. Parrella, Newtown Friends of Music)

The XY Chromotones, a group of 10 high school seniors and juniors, is an all-male a cappella singing group that first came to attention of Newtown residents when they appeared in conjunction with Yale’s Alleycats in the fall of 2009 at Trinity Church.  They have since delighted audiences at other venues around town, including The Ice Cream Shop.

On April 10, the group will be warming up audiences in advance of

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The XY Chromotones will be performing in the interior stairwell of the Edmond Town Hall prior to the main show.

The term a cappella derives from the Italian, meaning “singing in chapel style” and has come to be understood as singing without accompaniment.  The harmonics of the combined voices are the true music.

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George Primavera, a First Tenor in the group, first encountered a cappella music when several groups from East Coast universities congregated on Martha’s Vineyard for a 2009 summer jam session.  

He brought this idea to Newtown High School and joined forces with Chris House, bass, to start the XY Chromotones (a wonderfully apt descriptor) under the guidance of student Ms Amanda Friedman.

They auditioned other students until they had a committed group of two First Tenors, three Second Tenors, three Baritones and two Basses who could combine to produce an evenly-balanced sound. 

Five of the singers are seniors this year, three are juniors and two are freshmen.  The latter will carry on the tradition into the next year, auditioning replacements and handing off the responsibilities to others.

Chris acts as president and business manager, while George is the musical director.  Chris plans to study political science in college and George will concentrate on theater and marketing. All just completed a highly successful run of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at Newtown High School.

Newtown Friends of Music’s mission statement includes the support and advancement of students of music and young music lovers in general. In this context, Newtown Friends of Music has sent artists into the schools in their annual School Outreach programs. 

NFM has presented concerts by very young music students in their “Praeludium” series and, in return, students from the Newtown High School have presented short pre-concert concerts for the enjoyment of the music loving audience. 

NFM is particularly pleased to give a performance venue to the XY Chromotones and is eagerly anticipating their appearance on April 10.

Their repertoire includes well-known crowd pleasers including music by Eric Clapton, Billy Joel and others. They are rehearsing these and some new numbers for their next appearance at The Edmond Town Hall.


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