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Colin Britt ’10MusM and Arianne Abela ’10MusM: Millions of viewers call them maybe.

By the staff | 12:20pm September 27 2012

What they did over Labor Day weekend: arranged the pop hit “Call Me Maybe” for full chorus and orchestra, threw together a group of musician and singer friends, recorded the song in the Glee Club room at Hendrie Hall, and posted it on YouTube—where it has since garnered more than 2 million views.

What they did last week: performed the thing in front of millions more on NBC’s Today Show.

A spiffy September sideline for Colin Britt and Arianne Abela, both 2010 graduates of Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music. Britt, who is now music director at the Divinity School’s Marquand Chapel, and Abela, who teaches and performs music in Connecticut, did the arranging. Britt orchestrated, and Abela conducted the 23-piece orchestra and 32-voice choir—many of them fellow Yale music alumni. The performances caught the attention of some celebrity-watchers who don’t normally focus on classical musicians, including Ryan Seacrest (well, the blog that bears his name) and Perez Hilton.

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