Who are The Din & Tonics?

As I think about the roles that I have held on campus, and the organizations that I find salient in shaping my Harvard experience, one in particular stands out—one which I actually joined during my first days on campus. The organization is The Harvard Din & Tonics, a jazz a cappella group which rehearses eight to ten hours a week, performs in and around the Boston area during term time, tours annually on a domestic three-week Winter Tour and biennially on an 11- week World Tour through four continents and over a dozen countries. The Din & Tonics are known for dressing in white tie attire with green socks and pocket squares, singing our own takes on jazz standards (and some jazz not-so-standards), and being silly and goofy in our performance style—the conglomeration of which allow us to perform in venues ranging from concert halls to board meetings to schools to parties. We call it: “a cappella...with a twist!” Here's a performance from my first year in the group!

Chapter 1: My Beginnings in "the Dins"

When I arrived on campus, I auditioned for a bunch of music groups, and ended up finding myself attracted to the Dins very quickly. The group was founded in 1979 as a subsidiary of PBHA, and so service is in the history of and remains important to the mission of the Dins (to spread good music and bring enjoyment to our audiences around the world). The members of the group and the travel and performing which the group did my first year started showing me the world, which was immediately intoxicating as a small-town boy. In April 2017, I became the Business Manager for the 2017-18 year, which meant that I would build out and manage our term-time performance schedule, our three-week domestic tour in January, spring break in Bermuda, and shoulder half of the planning for our 2018 World Tour. This was an enormous amount of responsibility on my 19-year-old self, effectively hailing from the middle of nowhere. I had 12 members to take care of, and a six-figure budget to balance without any faculty guidance. The freedom that we have is incredible, the sky is the limit, but we are responsible at the end of the day for everything that we do, which can be a very heavy burden to carry.

Chapter 2 : Business Manager

In all honesty, being Business Manager for the Dins sort of consumed my sophomore year. I did very little else, putting in 30 hours a week or more, while working four part-time student jobs on the side in an attempt to save up enough money to cover the personal costs of our upcoming World Tour during summer 2018 (which I was in charge of planning, in addition to our other business ventures and tours). In the Dins, your flights, lodging, and some meals are covered—but any meals not provided by events are your responsibility, not to mention that it would make sense that you want to do some adventuring while traveling around the world—it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity!

Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I ended up almost entirely broke coming back to campus after spring break at the beginning of March. So, the rest of the semester had very little focus on academics, because my top priorities were earning enough money to eat while on tour for 11 weeks that summer, making sure everyone had flights, places to stay, and that performance logistics were airtight. While this time looks bad on my transcript, the honest truth is that I’d prefer straight B’s on a transcript (or worse!) over losing one of my friends in Thailand due my own failure to plan—I had a promise to uphold, so I had to make it work. Now, don't get it twisted—many of these realizations are in hindsight. In the moment, I was loving every second, and even in hindsight, I wouldn't change a thing.

Chapter 3: ...So, What Now?

This year, coming off of World Tour, I am the Stage Manager for the group, which has almost no work load compared to Business Manager. I manage aesthetics, image, and branding for the group (how we look, how we perform, choreography, merchandising, etc.), and then basically any special initiatives I choose to pick up. This spring is the 40th Anniversary of the Dins, and we will host a huge Anniversary Jamboree (April 13, 2019!) where alumni from around the world will come to Cambridge to celebrate the history and future of the Dins—a major production and exercise in planning, to say the least.



The challenge that has arisen in the Dins in recent years is that as Harvard’s student demographics change, family incomes become more stratified, and with increasing frequency, we run into students being in stressful and difficult positions due to the monetary costs of being in the Dins. While an overwhelming majority of the experience is paid for by the group, the personal costs are around $3,000-$4,000 on tour years (factoring in meals, buying a tuxedo when you join, and other extraneous expenses), which can easily create a lifestyle of only school, Dins, and working to pay for the first two. I have long been turning over thoughts and ideas of how such burdens could be lightened for future Dins to prevent a predicament like my sophomore year. The idea: to establish an endowment to subsidize personal expenses. Especially as this year is the 40th Anniversary of the Dins, and we will have visiting alumni (some of whom are quite successful), if we present a unified vision, plan, and future for an endowment, I think we could easily rally support for enough money that Dins could receive traveling stipends. Would these pay for tour fully? Likely not, but they could pay for tuxedos when new members join, or a few dozen meals on tours. This window is small but special, and if I can lead the group to a new place monetarily, it could secure longevity of the group in attracting future members and sustainably funding future ventures of the Dins.

Conclusion: Why Now?

I came from the middle of nowhere and the Dins have shown me the world; I want to provide that same opportunity to future members while improving the way that we are able to deliver the experience. I believe in the mission of the Dins: to spread music and fellowship around the world, represent Harvard and the United States, and shatter expectations about liberal arts education and what a "Harvard student" looks and acts like. I would love nothing more than to secure this organization's success for the future!

Want to learn more about The Dins? Check out our online space!

So, where does this project start?  Follow for my plan of action!