K14’s first performance in the fall of 2013 was a strange one. Just a few weeks after welcoming our newest members and with only a handful of songs under our belts, we were booked by Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism to perform at their 75th anniversary gala, in the atrium of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In addition to our standard set, the organizers had asked us to write and perform an original, journalism-themed humor skit and to lead the audience, expected to be several hundred strong, in a sing-along rendition of “Moon River” (which was decidedly not in our repertoire).
Typically, when it comes to a Krok group’s first public performance of the year, the GM hopes for a simple, low-pressure gig to ease the new Kroks into singing the superset and wearing tuxedos in front of strangers. Alas, for K14, this was not meant to be. But no one batted an eye when asked to memorize lines from a skit or a new number in just a few days, and my fears over whether we’d be able to pull off the performance were quickly allayed by the enthusiasm and excitement every member of K14 brought to rehearsals.
Of course, a few extra surprises awaited us on the night of the performance. The organizers requested that we enter via, and perform from, a massive, suspended glass staircase at one end of the room (we obliged as to the first part, and politely declined as to the second), and during sound check, we discovered that much of the audience’s view of us, and ours of them, would be obscured by the towering, lime green Chihuly sculpture that dominated the room.
But the Kroks of 2014 took these challenges in stride and delivered not just an excellent superset, but also a riotous, suitably journalistic humor skit (with a star turn from Peter Wu as Arianna Huffington) and a spirited, if disjointed, group sing-along of “Moon River” that would bring a (joyous) tear to Audrey Hepburn’s eye.
That first performance and the way K14 responded to its unexpected challenges would prove to be emblematic of the year as a whole. The Kroks of 2014 handled bumps in the road with patience and aplomb, managing further client-specific performance requests and more than one last-minute change in travel itinerary. K14 was always game to try something new, from bringing our institutional repertoire further into the future with the debut of the Funk Medley and other new numbers, to sampling the exotic fruits Laszlo managed to procure at seemingly every tour stop.
And all the while, we took great pride and pleasure in carrying on institutional traditions, including delivering the Kroks’ final performance at UpStairs on the Square. In short, the Kroks of 2014 exemplified the evergreen nature of this organization, honoring our songs and history while always seeking new ways to share them with our audiences. That the current undergraduates are now doing the same and more, responding to unprecedented circumstances with the Year to Remember project and creating entirely new ways of bringing the Kroks to the world, is proof positive that the institution is in good hands and in no danger of becoming any less green in the future.
Thanks to K14 for keeping the train running (usually on time), to K21 for spearheading this incredible project, and to all Kroks past and present helping to make this a Year to Remember. Nunc est cantandum!
Ben Marek, GM K14, TM K13, K12
