By Suzanne Morrissey

Cheers, applause, and even a few screams filled Brewster Academy’s Anderson Hall recently

when Ball in the House, a Boston-based a cappella group, performed for the student body.

Great Waters, a Wolfeboro institution bringing live music to the Lakes Region since 1995, made

the event possible through its Community Outreach program. “Partnerships like this one are so

important to a school that emphasizes learning from one another,” said Head of School Kristy

Kerin. “The team at Great Waters has incredible relationships with artists from all genres, and

anytime we can bring new experiences to our students through community friendships, we are

grateful and excited.”

Delivering an engaging educational presentation that was part lesson, part high-energy concert,

the five musicians (baritone Oscar Hall, tenor Tyler Nordin, bass Kevin Cincotta-Guest, high

tenor Wallace Thomas, and founder/vocal percussionist Jon Ryan) amazed with their blended

sound on R&B, soul, and pop tunes. The audience included all 347 students, many faculty, and

members of the Great Waters Board. Ball in the House explained and demonstrated the roots of

a cappella music, cultural influences in music, some of the technical aspects of producing a

professional sound, how finding one’s voice can be a powerful tool in life—and threw in a

beatboxing lesson as well. The group has performed internationally and can boast a long list of

achievements, including opening for top-tier acts like The Temptations, Lionel Richie, The Jonas

Brothers, and more. They have also appeared on America’s Got Talent and NBC’s Today Show.

Under the guidance of new Brewster music teacher Jeremy Mathison, an accomplished

performer in his own right, Ball in the House also took time to workshop a performance of “My

Girl” with Brewster’s newly formed a capella group. Curvey Scholar Logan Cliche ’25 from Alton,

Than Boonkrong ’25 of Bangkok, and Hannah Reugg ’26 of New Harbor, Maine took the stage

alongside the pros and delivered the classic Temptations tune.

“They were awesome and generous with their time—very professional and had a lot of

positivity,” Mathison said. “The students enjoyed working with them in the morning and they

were great with the students. We will keep in touch and hopefully collaborate again in the

Future.”

Ruegg, who says she grew up hearing the song “My Girl” and performed a different

arrangement of the song in her middle school chorus, took the lead among the student singers.

“In our workshop with Ball in the House we learned about how they put together arrangements

and blend everything together,” she shared. “It really impressed me how they had five very

different and unique voices and were able to blend them together so well! I was also very

impressed by the fact that the group travels all over the world to perform. They were all so nice

and supportive; I think I can speak for all three of us student singers when I say that they were

very fun to work with.” Ruegg and Cliche will be performing in Brewster’s upcoming winter

musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” though Hannah’s dream song doesn’t

appear on that show’s setlist: “One of my dream songs to perform is ‘Believe’ by Cher. I recently

heard a really cool acoustic cover of it and I would love to try pulling off something like that!”

“We want to express our deep thanks to Great Waters for this wonderful opportunity,” Head of

School Kristy Kerin said. To learn more about Great Waters and its upcoming season of

performances at Brewster and Castle in the Clouds, visit greatwaters.org. Find out more about

Brewster’s unique academic, arts, and athletic offerings for grades 9-12, visit

brewsteracademy.org. And catch Ball in the House (and their upcoming tour dates) at

ballinthehouse.com.