From trailblazing beginnings…

HARVARD’S OLDEST TREBLE ACAPPELLA GROUP

“In 1975, Kathy E. Manning ’78 and Diane L. Nabatoff ’78 decided that they, too, wanted to perform a cappella—so under the auspices of the Hasty Pudding Club, they formed the Radcliffe Pitches.

Says Kathy Manning: ‘We actually had a competition for the name because we had no idea what to call ourselves. When we heard the name ‘Radcliffe Pitches’ and how close it was to a very negative stereotype, we actually liked that.

We viewed ourselves as being independent and competitive and wanted something that was gutsy, tough, and strong.’”

We are Harvard College’s oldest (historically all-female) gender-inclusive treble a cappella group, founded in 1975 at the historic Hasty Pudding Club. Our group is made up of Harvard undergraduates who love to sing jazz acappella.

Together, we perform a repertoire inspired by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and Frank Sinatra.

Every year, the Pitches perform for public and private audiences at Harvard and around the globe, with destinations including England, France, Germany, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Bermuda, and Mexico.

With our signature blend of elegant jazz standards we’ve entertained at charity fundraisers; civic and social club meetings; corporate events; parties; holiday parties; museums and foundation events; weddings; and other special occasions.

Traditions

Since our founding, we have performed annually for the Hasty Pudding Man of the Year. Past honorees have included Ryan Reynolds, Paul Rudd, Neil Patrick Harris, and Ben Platt.

We have also traveled to Bermuda each spring with the Hasty Pudding Theatricals and our two sibling acappella groups, the Harvard Krokodiloes and Harvard Din & Tonics, for performances and benefit concerts since the early 1980s.

Our annual auditions are open to all Harvard students. We inducted our first non-female member in September 2019, when we welcomed tenor Mason G. Meyer ‘20. As our President at the time noted:

“The Pitches have always been meant to be very inclusive in that the group was created for marginalized voices which were, at that time in Harvard's history: women. The Pitches have come to the conclusion that it’s really important to [now] open up the group to anybody who wants to sing.”

The Radcliffe Pitches are a non-profit organization and all donations to support our work are tax-deductible.