UC Men's Octet - "O Fortuna" and "O Joe"

[CALIFORNIAchick26]

eyebrow twitch :)

[22Angel099]

2:49 :D

[qwinkly]

(You have to connect all the bits of those links - everything from the beginning h of that h t t p through to the last part - h t m l ) I don't know any other way to defeat this box that won't let me post a link. Hey, I was "just a music major" after all. I can only count to four ! Right?

[qwinkly]

Blog entry is here: ht tp : // qwinkly. livejournal. com/ 14656. ht ml There are some other entries about music there, from when I was a music ed major (in Massachusetts - in the Jurassic era). The funniest one - for u, & the most humiliating moment of my life - is "My First Days at Band Camp - a Laugh at My Expense" ht tp : // qwinkly. livejournal. com/ 6726. ht ml "Musically Mixed Up" is also funny, and about music. All are welcome to read any parts, comments welcome, too.

[qwinkly]

Misunderstanding a word of "O Joe", I tried to find it via Google. There it was called "Down in Honky Tonk Town". There was a Wikipedia link to Honky tonk, so I moseyed over. U never know what tasty tidbits you'll find when u poke about - perhaps not even on the same subject. Here, I found out how WHITE people got started getting called HONKIES!! Put the whole thing in my blog entry, & posted about the fantastic UC Men's Octet '03.

[qwinkly]

I love it when Jerome starts flinging the music away. Brings to mind the old greats like Victor Borge and Danny Kaye ! I'd live to know it these guys had coaching on the dance moves - how they were coming along, and the acting/emoting. Did they just critique themselves? Besides spot on music, and great vowels when needed (which helps keep the pitch perfect), their acting and dancing put them over the top above any a cappella group I've found in 2 months of scouring the net for hours a day.

[TheDarkDimensions]

its a big ad... very big ad.. this ad is frea-king-huge

[gssop13]

ojoe 24

[charlottelburgess]

wowzers!!!!

[yurismir1]

This is Latin right? It sounds pretty cool.

[professor2442]

@yurismir1

Medieval Latin. The text of the 19 songs in CARMINA BURANA are based on a bunch of stuff written by students in Medieval Latin and German that were found in a cellar in the late 1800s. It's like a bunch of love stories and drinking songs that their teachers took up in class, only to have them found centuries later.

[PeturHinrik]

I don't feel very manly right now, O Fortuna is one of my favourites and this performance actually brought tears to my eyes. Good work!

[blake283]

OH MY GOSH, these guys are so freaking amazing, best orchestra i have ever heard

[sib6sis3]

I must admit the tuning in the beginning was quite funny...

[cooper3k]

Man that was epic!!!

[megan747]

these guys are so epic awesome-sauce

[jonathan4178]

HAHAHAHim singing the actual full song (like 14 parts) with an orchestra

but this was still amazing hahahah

[facitush]

deserves way more views!

[shpshftr66]

This particular group is the best, though they're all pretty amazing. I love acapella.

[scoty2kk]

Epic Tenor + Epicer Bass = Epicest Win Evar.

[monkfan72]

@scoty2kk & Epicestiest Baritone

[scoty2kk]

@monkfan72 I meant to say Tenor through to Bass, but thanks for the correction :D

[monkfan72]

@scoty2kk Hahahah...no problem. ;)

[chygal790]

o fortuna is about how fortune and fate like to break people or build them up. it was based on poems found in 1803 all written in latin. carl orff only chose 14 of them to write music to. music history +conducting really teaches you a lot. that being said...good job guys :)

[bloong1051]

...A sharp major...

[Pam4Rob]

@HeWentToJared75 - lol I have no idea what the words translate to...lol

[monkfan72]

@Pam4Rob It's pretty grim stuff. You can find the translation on Wikipedia.

[Pam4Rob]

@monkfan72 - I'm sure it is, it sounds pretty grim, we just used it as a joke though..lol We used The darth vader music for the entrence of my wedding party then when it came to introducing the husband and wife we used O fortuna..people got a kick out of it

[monkfan72]

@Pam4Rob Ahhahahaha! Darth Vader tune. That was an awesome mental picture. O Fortuna has a grand sound to it.

[iriasyrenee]

the best "o fortuna" i've ever heard (and i looove the carmina burana)

[Pam4Rob]

lol this was mine and my husbands entrance music to our wedding reception..lol people got a kick out of it

[andrehmartins]

They, of course, are amazing

I can't find the lyrics for "O Joe" anywhere

[NillaWafer]

Oh fuck, as if I didn't love yall enough. Hahaha.

[frisi0904]

Amazing!

Super!

a Austrian Fan!! (not Australia)

[miggtorr]

Lol, A# Major, haha.

And no, it wasn't in hunchback.

"Hellfire" was though

[napoleonicstrike]

Wasn't "o fortuna" in the Hunchback of Notre Dame?

[johnnyclarik1]

You might recognize O Fortuna from a Rickards beer commercial.

[i0nPuNk182]

the guy in the glasses looks like one of the old power rangers i think is named billy, but aw well i love these guys!

[ccalebbasd]

he does look just like billy, i cant believe i still remember that. i watched the first one when it came out...lol

[kelly901488]

LOL!

[dillweed1992]

hahaha the blue power ranger

[Lee42able]

The fact that the music from Carmina Burana just got compared to Britney Spears offends me.

[monkfan72]

@Lee42able I think that the idea was that they don't compare. LOL.

[swimnini86]

My high school played Carmina Burana my freshmen year. Hardest shit ever. Great job! :) and funny!

[saxguy78]

I love the cymbal crash at 1:42

[DopeyShadey]

that PShhew!!! sound really made me laugh. you guys are awesome!!

[bladethrower9000]

In high school I actually got to sing John Rutter's Requiem at Carnegie hall.

We had a few sessions before the performance directed by John Rutter himself, to tell us what he wanted out of certain parts.

Amazing..

[iippoz]

There are many good a cappella groups in there but choreography as general is their key card. Most just sings but these guys are funny. I Like a lot and I go with others that UC Men's Octet would be just gold international.

[MelieLiduska]

Wonderfull!

[panconquesoderretido]

Haha, master piece

[monkfan72]

Know all the words to O Fortuna = Officially Obsessed.

[kairi77]

Sang O Fortuna for 3 years in my Chorus back in High School. xD

Love that song

[Menamebephil]

Oh no. If you know all the words to, say, every song on a Britney Spears album, you might be obsessed.

But O Fortuna? No, then you get to call yourself /cultured/.

[monkfan72]

@Menamebephil Hahaha...the only time I listen to Britney Spears songs are when they are covered by the UC Men's Octet.

[kelly901488]

lol!

[AuthenticPunkDance]

Did he say A# major?!

[monkfan72]

If # means sharp, then yes.

[AuthenticPunkDance]

I presume he meant B-flat, which would make more sense as A sharp major has 3 double sharps...

[monkfan72]

I'm think he was joking. He also introduced the Octet as the Men's Symphony Orchestra and thanked some of the audience for carnal pleasures. ;)

[aussieninja10]

Yeah i heard it too. Seems a lot of vocalists have this issue and dont realise that A# and Bb are actually creating differently.

[CarlaGuga]

OH MY GOD THE BASS ARE INCREDIBLE!

[Amberke93]

I like the thirth guy (count from left).. he got something that's cute =D

[rapatudo23]

They are great! Congratulations! Does this group still exist?

[monkfan72]

The UC Men's Octet does still exist, however the members are different. Some of their vids are on YouTube. My favorite '09 Octet vids are Sex Bomb and Final Countdown.

[blondeisius]

wow! they did very good for such a hard song.

[saphira045]

the bass on the left didn't know the choreography ; ]

[monkfan72]

You mean the right? This song had pretty loose choreo and the only thing I was paying attention to was if Ben was gonna drop Parker. Okay, maybe not the only thing. ;)

[GSKrol]

Goosebumps with O Fortuna! :)

[gamerwarlord]

Why Can't They Do Something Like This At UCSC?

At Least I'm In Driving Distance For Concerts.

[Zueahk]

Genius!

[operaticthrottle]

kool

[rasperjaspertoo]

LOVE these guys! Their songs rock.

[AznBayBoi89]

always making my day just a little bit better.

[chaseferrellmusic]

This is so effin' awesome! LOL! LOVE IT!

[kurokokoro1]

HAHA how cute

[Wally773MTG]

As a bass, O Fortuna was fucking epic!

[astardrifter]

I am such a fan. I am so thankful for youtube!

Since discovering your group, I started searching out other groups (ICCA?) but so far, you guys are still the best. I'm working my way through as much of your repertoire as I can find.

Sometimes you make me LOL, but you always make me smile.

[ykurat]

DAMN THERE SOO GOOD

[monkfan72]

Trust exercise at 3:28 !

[EvieDawn]

They have albums!? Oh my gosh, they're so fantastic.

[gobears236]

The Octet's newest album, "High Octane", was just released last week, so that's BRAND new and ready to order. Just get in touch with Student Musical Activities (SMA) on the UC Berkeley campus, and you should be able to order the CD's by credit card over the phone and have them shipped to your home. Definitely pick up the new CD, but I strongly suggest picking up the two prior CDs as well, because they're both stellar- "Octopella" (2003), and "Gold (2000). Both of those CDs feature ICCA champs

[EvieDawn]

Thank you. I'm doing that now.

[pedrofarpas]

over dramatized "O Fortuna" But good!!!

[monkfan72]

Have you read the lyrics to "O Fortuna"? LOL

[pedrofarpas]

You are right but in my opinion you over dramatized.........but as i said in last comment you sing very well 5 stars

[monkfan72]

They do sing it awesomely! :D

[allmypetsandnumbers]

thank you soooo much monkfan72..... :D:D

[monkfan72]

No prob... : )

[allmypetsandnumbers]

another quick question.... could you tell me please who the guy is who keeps on getting the note on the harmonica...he is the conductor in this video.

[monkfan72]

His name is Jerome Mayer-Cantu. He's the music manager for this incarnation of the Octet. He solos in Beauty's Only Skin Deep & did the arrangement for NIrvana Medley. If you haven't already seen it, I suggest you check out the 2003 opening video to see him in full leadership mode. Find it on kennyk314's channel (upper right on the screen) and enjoy 10 minutes of pure, unadulterated AWESOME! from all the guys. btw, It's a pitch pipe, though, not a harmonica

[allmypetsandnumbers]

thank you so much again. pardon me on the pitch pipe though.... sounds exactly like a harmonica...

[monkfan72]

I thought it was a harmonica at first, too. I suppose it's kind of a cookie shaped harmonica. :)

[ElphabasDDX]

hehe... cookie shaped...

[monkfan72]

Cookies bring most things into perspective.

[ElphabasDDX]

im a pie/muffin girl myself... but yes... cookies are always a good thing

[allmypetsandnumbers]

would you know where i could get any of their albums from? all songs are brilliant!!! :D

[monkfan72]

I'll send you the link.

[allmypetsandnumbers]

heh heh... :P please do thank you

[allmypetsandnumbers]

who is the guy in glasses.... please tell me his name :D he is adorable...:P:P

the whole ensemble is amazing......wish we could be as good as you guys.....

[monkfan72]

There are three guys who wear glasses in the group. The fellow of the far left is Kenny (Adorkable) Kamrin (See Any Vid), 3rd from our right is Ben (Mr. Smooth) Sae-Tang,(See Blackbird vid) and on the Far Right is Rick "Harry Potter" Wood. (See Not Prety Enough vid)

[satindesire]

Hahaha!! Their facial expressions crack me up!!!

[benw98]

I love classical music too. and I thought this was great. Anything to expose new listeners to a piece, especially this great latin opera, I think is a good thing

[monkfan72]

Absolutely! I listened to the 'real' versions of this song online and even learned the words to O Fortuna because of this video.

The Octet didn't perform the whole song, just most of the beginning, a bit from the middle and most of the ending, and I think they sang Sine Nora instead SIne Mora - but I LOOOOVE it. :D

[imcepheus]

cool

[ranichihara]

OH MY GOD!! SO GOOD!! XDD

[Dark17Moon]

THEY ARE SOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!! i was really shocked when i heard them singing "O Fortuna" it's soooooooooooo FUNNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

[poeticbarbie]

How insulting to a beautiful piece of music

[monkfan72]

I didn't see anything 'insulting' about their performance, unless humor is insulting...even trained classical musicians occaisionally use humor in music.

[helluvastrongrope]

"I do not have a sense of humor"

yes... I'd say that was tragically evident.

[monkfan72]

actually, poeticbarbie is a really cool person. I don't agree with her original statement, but I don't see any evidence that she 'doesn't have a sense of humor' (her statement). She seems alright to me, anyway.

[monkfan72]

Thanks!

[kaoskazin]

are you saying their antics are insulting or their beautiful harmonization is insulting?

[monkfan72]

...and the dead horse is beaten...lol. :D

[monkfan72]

I've decided I must learn to sing this "O Fortuna". I sing along with it on my mp3 with a lyric sheet...earliest observations prove that this is nor appreciated on the elevator. On a positive note, when i'm walking home at night, singing this at full volume is a great deterrent to muggers. "O fortuna velut luna statu variabilis..."

[KaylaMClark]

Funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[monkfan72]

I love the warmup at the beginning or O Fortuna, and the execution was excellent. Was Jerome singing while he was conducting? And O Joe = Fantastic!

[winglesslove]

hahaha rick is hilarious!!

[MeurigJMarshall]

Awesome!

[lunatla]

everyone pause it at 1:04 it is funny

[6tinkerbelle9]

lol that was amazing!

[thesaasquatch]

I am in love with Kenny. He is always the funniest and hes so darn cute!!! Not to mention his amazing voice

[GeninNinja]

I totally agree. Im so in love with him, he's so wacky, like me except guy version. his voice is so amazing. i so would have moved to the USA just to go to that university, instead of mine :(, just to meet him. Damn why cant he live in Canada! :D

[monkfan72]

There is a video posted called "impromtu octet reunion"...Ken is Hawt. Parker (never ages) and Jordan (w/ a beard) are in it, too.

[RichyUK86]

i thought that was choral genius

[enlightenmeonly]

oh memories.. i sang this my sr. year in high school! loved it! amazing job guys!

[missyloohoo2001]

The fact that our band and choir did parts of "Carmina Burana" makes this all the funnier because that's pretty much what we looked like playing it...without the flying score though...

[ayalovingyuhi01]

Lol, A# major lol

[ottospielen]

Say it aint so, Joe!

[illian420]

lmao.. that's awesome..

[avalondreams]

I cracked up when the "conductor" just started tossing the music into the air so viciously. :P

[okami37]

What's sad is that I've had a conductor who did that. xD

[dora125]

Just a benevolent correction of the video decription: Carmina Burana is not a ballet but a cantata ;)

[loveanime13]

Damn, the 2003 is the best. You should have the spring 2003 performance on dvd and sell it worldwide! Me and my friends would buy a lot of copies!

-greetings from Asia!

[RoseofGilead]

Carmina Burana is not a ballet. It's a cantata.

[lkjhgfdsa954]

son.tru?

[rjaco9]

lol ricks cymbal at the end of o fortuna.

:)

[kinsmanofyourlife]

this is freakin awsome! these men are way to good at singing lol

[justcomments]

This beats those fancy pantses with their instruments in the orchestra by far. :P

[999emlopo999]

2003 Were Definatley the Best Octet Group.

[roflkartoffelships]

Hell yeah!

[lilrachelblack]

AWE-FRIGGIN-SOME!

[TheSubtleNinja]

Drummer on the right went nuts

In a great way

[drew4u]

That wasnt funny. I think that was kind of mean

[armenianply]

great job as usual guys but who was the moron who threw the paper air plane.

[ZSHAKAZ]

=( nice but this video could be on better quality

[12of6]

reminds of my choir days... (nervous shudder)

[marktremontirules1]

i would love to see a rendition o fstyx's renegade :)

[LadyBethaliz]

Kenny, when the camera pans over to you during "O Fortuna" your facial expressions are AMAZING = ) the whole group is simply superb!

[marktremontirules1]

i loved it. but i on;y see 7 people. wtf?

[Stukov2]

Its been answered I believe. They started with 8, however one of them (Brandon?) could not continue for some reason.

[marktremontirules1]

yeah it's on the video i'm not pretty enough. it's a funny one. i think it's a joke though. well the reason anyway

[scootsypoo]

thank you so much kenny for posting these videos. you are all really great singers. you guys bring so much energy to your performance its impossible to get bored watching these. i love the flying paper and hte faces. rick woods voice rocks.

[Wallows2]

king singers eat your heart out!

[queenie0106]

their faces are soooooooooooo funny

[young0607]

especially the asian guy!! lol

[mommatammy]

are they missing a guy? I only count 7...

octet???? but they're fantastic!!!

[Trans544]

your tenors sing amazingly high!

[nagolsong]

I would sssso love to do this

[irishqueen]

For my morbid curiosity, how high did the first initial chords get for your tenor 1s?

[KhroniKiLLness]

Dude all the way to the right doing the drums goes crazy at the end of oh fortuna...lol

[mmmegggz]

Your tuning in "O Joe" is awesome! Great job you guys..I enjoy watching your videos.

[britttaylor03]

You guys are awesome... lovin the facial expressions in the O'Fortuna spoof, and the random flying paper ! Good job!:)

[fazfan]

A bunch of strapping young lads we have here.

[kjacobs210]

your bass is a beast.. well done

[RikeyOMFG]

Haha. You guys are funny. x] Nice job, btw.

[Riikara]

haha - The Mane Event is going to do this as our opener for the Spring Concert.  It will hopefully be equally hilarious.

[asiaj89]

man on the right rocks! he and his bass-voice -> awesome! :D

[Oswuari]

I am SO impressed by that gorgeous operatic rendition, especially the floating soprano notes... And "O Joe" is adorable.