About Us
Who we are: The Poor Richards are Franklin & Marshall College's oldest and only co-ed a capella group*. Founded in 1968, our group is named after Ben Franklin's The Poor Richard's Almanack.
What we do: We sing. Without instruments or sheet music. Since we are an a capella group, we provide the music, the beats, the rhythm, and all those other background noises you may hear in a song by using only our voices. All of our music is self-arranged by talented musicians in our group and is learned during weekly practices.
Music We Sing: From oldies to contemporary, from country to a medley of Beatles classics, and from Elvis to Dispatch, we sing it all. Every May we record a CD that features our best songs and all members of the group. To learn more about our music, please visit MUSIC.
Concerts: Each year our group holds a series of concerts in which we showcase our music to the college, families, friends, and alumni. Our concerts usually include a Fall Opening Concert, a Holiday Concert, Trilogy, and Almanack. Trilogy features F&M's two other a capella groups, The Chessman and Sweet Ophelia while Almanack is our final concert which includes all of the music sung by The Poor Richards during the school year and by our graduating seniors during their time with PR. The Poor Richards can also be heard at F&M sponsored events including open houses, faculty gatherings, and other festivities around campus.
Tour: Every October during Fall Break, The Poor Richards make a five day tour visiting and singing at member's high schools, nearby colleges, and houses of friends and family. We also sell our latest CD's during this tour. If you are interested in learning more about Tour and whether we will be in your area, please visit NEWS or CONTACT for the latest!
Interested in learning more about our group? Visit http://www.b-eleven.com/poorrichardsalums/alumni.html for some old-school fun.
*Every Fall and Spring semester, The Poor Richards holds auditions for new members. To learn more about Audition information, please visit NEWS.
