Something to Sing About

When Mark Longsjo '92 and Poppyann Mastrovita '93 were married in November 1994 it was, naturally, a beginning, but not just for them. Also at the wedding were several current and former members of the Colby Eight, including a handful who, along with the bridegroom, provided music during the ceremony. They didn't know it at the time, but it was the premiere of a new singing group.
"We had so much fun practicing in the weeks prior to the wedding and the performance was so well received that we decided to just keep it going," Longsjo said. After 8 was born.
The Boston-based, nine-member group, ignoring the obvious numerical discrepancy, adopted its name as a tongue-in-cheek bow to their Colby choral history. All of the current members--Longsjo, Marc Winiecki '90, Kris Boynton '92, Jun Shirahama '92, Chris Frothingham '92, David O'Shea '93, Peter Caruso '93, Mark Griffin '95 and Jonathan Frothingham '95--sang for the Colby Eight and jumped at the opportunity to perform again, Longsjo says. "This has nothing to do with income or wanting to quit our day jobs," he said. "We all love to sing, so we're doing something we enjoy and we're doing it with our best friends."
Longsjo said the guys in the group lost touch with each other shortly after graduating and After 8 pulled them back together. Busy personal lives and career opportunities mean occasionally losing a member. Curt Stevenson '92, a charter member of the group who often held rehearsals at his home, left After 8 a few months ago, and Griffin will depart soon to return to his hometown of San Francisco. "Nobody can promise they will be here for the next year, so we set our goals for three months and play it by ear after that," Longsjo said. "I hope we can establish a revolving membership by bringing in new Colby Eight singers who graduate and move to Boston."
The group has become well established, usually lining up engagements weekly at local restaurants, civic organization meetings, weddings and private parties. Their first official gig was as a warmup for a comedian at the Comedy Connection at Faneuil Hall. "We've been doing this for about eighteen months now and it has developed its own momentum," Longsjo said. "I hope we can keep it going well into the future."