"Creative Kinship" from The Exeter Bulletin, Winter 2010

January 25, 2010

Liam Cook '10 stands at the black baby grand piano, flanked by nine other students. There is laughing and chattering until Cook, a charismatic leader with an easy smile, strikes a few keys, tuning everyone's attention to the sheet music before them. A few beats later, the harmony begins.

They start singing "Lucky" by Jason Mraz. The melody is buoyed by vocal percussions emulating instrumentation. Despite the 8 p.m. rehearsal time, these members of Exeter's only coed a capella group clearly relish putting studies aside for an hour to stretch their vocal cords, and their minds.

The PEADQUACS, or PEADS for short, is one of the nearly 150 clubs at Exeter, and its 12 members (six girls and six boys) represent just a fraction of the more than 800 students who participate in these groups.

Read the full article to learn more about the PEADs and other student organizations—both old and new—that represent the broad diversity of interests on campus.

Also in this issue…

Peter Greer '58, emeritus chair of the English Department, shares excerpts from the journal he kept while teaching at King's Academy in Jordan last year. From the hilltop ruins of Herod the Great's castle to an impromptu picnic with strangers on the Islamic holy day, Greer offers intimate glimpses into Jordanian customs and culture.

Big Red football rolls over Andover at Homecoming and ultimately secures the team's third undefeated season in history.

In "Table Talk," a look at the multimillion-dollar cooking empire built by Chris Kimball '69, publisher of Cook's Illustrated magazine and host of "America's Test Kitchen." Kimball offers insight on Americans' eating habits, his efforts to improve those habits, and why his publishing company continues to thrive in the digital age. 

Plus, Principal Tom Hassan speaks about building community, a modern enactment of Lysistrata debuts at Fisher Theater, nationally recognized authors visit campus, and students get dirty at a local archaeological dig.