contact us

Use the form on the right to contact us.

220 S. Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA
USA

Roster

In no particular order...


Zachary Weston Z'21E
Orlando, FL
Tenor I/Tenor II
Nickname: Wack Zeston

The long-lost lovechild of Marvin Gaye and Liza Minnelli, Zach won his first Grammy for his triple-platinum debut album Straight Out the Womb. Unfortunately, his career took a turn for the worse after playing the title role in the national tour of Annie. Thereafter, he found himself in the sunny, sweaty paradise of Orlando, Florida, where he spent his formative years avoiding theme parks. Like most ex-child stars, he treasures his privacy and asks that autograph requests be withheld unless sung with ukulele accompaniment.  When not jamming onstage with the Zumbyes, he can be found serenading cats, complaining about the weather, and inhaling massive quantities of unhealthy food. He also indulges in board games, shopping, and the occasional jog around campus.


Cesar Centeno Z'20
Philadelphia, PA
Tenor II
Nickname: Skeezar, King Centurion of the Eight Armies of Alexandria

*Plays Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Them Song instrumental version*

Now this is a story all about how
Cesar’s life got flipped-turned upside down
And he’d like to take a minute
And spit a verse
Tell you how he became a Zumbye in a place called Amherst 

West of Philadelphia born and raised
Listening to Soul and the singers he praised  
All the while, learned their style, so fly and so cool
and began singing some Bee-Bop outside of the school
One day he heard a weird sound, round the corner, not good
It was a horde of zombies tromping in his neighborhood
Had to take a minute to get all calm and collected Heard the TV say, “the whole town ain't slick, every one is sick and infected” 

He was't nervous, no fear from his eyes
Climbed to the top of a building with his powerful thighs
Everyone was swarming , screaming, seeming all too obscure
But Cesar knew that only beautiful riffs were the cure

Stood atop his facets, looked upon all the masses
Knew there was fire to spit, too bright, so he put on sun glasses
Zombie horde looking, he sang so all could hear
Lyrics strike like lightning, infections start to disappear

Few months later, got auditions at 7 or 8
No zombie hordes in sight or battle of fate
He is ready to sing, dance, and slay
Next to the Zumbyes, spitting hot fire day by day. 


Greg Franklin Z'20
Chicago, IL
Tenor I/Tenor II
Nickname: G-Reg, Grego

The name is Greg Franklin, and that's no lie,
He's pumped to leave Chicago and say bye bye

The city is where he wants to live, but first
He'll try the rural life out here in Amherst

He loves to sing songs, as you can tell,
But other things strike his fancy as well.

Like riding his bike all across town
Or golfing or football or just sitting down

He also loves comp sci, havn't you heard?
It's cool though. Please don't call him a nerd.

If he could work for Google, his dreams will be met
He can also solve a rubik's cube without breaking a sweat. 

Favorite movie? Interstellar, I think I might add,
He also loves the TV show that's called Breaking Bad

He's stoked to be a Zumbye, and sing all day long
Fun fact, "Sunday Candy" is his favorite song. 

Well that's him wrapped up, time for the last line
...but sadly, I cannot think of a rhyme.


Tommy Mobley Z'20 (Business Manager)
Newton, MA
Bass
Nickname: T-Mobile, Timmy

Tommy grew up down by the banks of the river Charles, in Newton, MA. Although he was the son of a preacher man, he had a hard time making young ladies feel the same way that Dusty Springfield did. Instead, Tommy spent his days playing basketball and listening to the discographies of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and The Temptations. Legend has it that one day in Sophomore math class, a girl asked Tommy out on a date, but he said that he could not go out with her because “basketball is my true love.”

Here at Amherst, Tommy is still the same guy that he has always been. You can usually find him getting shots up in the gym, studying chemistry in his room, and singing sweet soul music with the Zumbyes. Where you will not find Tommy is anywhere that there are women, because quite frankly, his game with the ladies is slacking. Because of that, Tommy made his agenda quite clear quickly after he was accepted into the Zumbyes: “I need help with the ladies!” he said. Hopefully, as he learns about tri-tones, harmonic blend, and choreography, the veteran Zumbyes can also teach him a thing or two about how to talk to women. 


John Ballard Z'20 (Music Director)
Houston, TX
Baritone
Nickname: J-Balls

John Ballard is the most beautiful human being alive.


Tony Taitano Z'21
Tempe, AZ
Baritone

Nicknames: Tony Tone, Tonal Tony, An-Tony Bocelli

When Tony isn’t oozing liquid angelic gold from his twin infoldings of mucuous membranes during phonation, he pumps iron to the sweet croons of Sam Smith, his step-brother thirty-six time removed. Legend has it that Tony’s mother, Mariah Carey, had to have an emergency premature birth nine months early because the need to hear Tony’s voice was just that urgent. Legend has it that Tony also existed as an ethereal entity during the times of Ancient Greece, and that when Homer wrote of the sirens that called to Odysseus, he was really writing about Tony. “Can anyone rival this man’s singing?”, you might ask. The answer is: yes. Tony’s only rival comes from his remarkable ability to astrally project a version of himself that competes with his real self in a competition to see who can sing harmonics better. 



Few have seen the actual Tony Taitano in person. This is because the real Tony is usually off in some Tibetan valley doing vocal warmups between two mountains, causing frequent avalanches to occur.


Wesley Combs Z'21
Bethesda, MD
Tenor II
Nickname: Combs, Wes 2.0

THIS TEXT F~ELD HAS BEEN CORR~PTED, PLEA@ TRY LO#DIN& TH$ PAGE AG~+N 

tghirlA, ew cna seapk sfaely nwo. ydoboN suhlod eb albe ot raed tihs msseage ecpecxt yuo adn em. fI yuo'ev gttoen tihs fra, you cealrly ecxlleed in yuor epsionage curoses bcak at teh adacmey. tuB enugoh planeastries, I nede yuor hlep. yldaB. 

m'I sutck in deep cvoer on an oparetoin goen hobrrliy arwy. yM oginarl aissngmnet wsa to go unredcvoer and get inetl on teh Zyumbes' adituion prcoses, form teh inside. enoyrevE kenw the Zebymus cnostinetnsly gto the msot tlaneted frseh maet ecah yaer, btu no oen kenw wyh: tath's wyh teh oehtr gorups herid me. ehT paln was smiply to mkae it to cllabkcas, dteremnie wyh teh gruop arttcated scuh hansdmoe, tlaneetd ferhmsan, and gte out. sA yuo cna see, nto eyvretihng wnet aoccdrnig to paln. s’tI been a few wekes now, and tehy seme to tihnk taht I'm oen of teihr own, but I snese supsicoins aer risnig. My pervouis lfie deons't mtater aynomre. llA taht mtaters is maitnainnig my cvoer, rmemeber taht wehn we mkae cnotcat. 

ev'I tlod tehm my nmae is Wseley Cmobs. "seW", fro shrot. nroB in Chigaco, btu riased in the DMV, "I" gerw pu in the subrubs of Behtesda, Mraylnad. "seW" is a giude dog tairner, raeds bokos fro paelsure, and lvoed srpinting in hgih shocol. eH lvoes ltos of dffierent msiuc, but has wiedrly been gtteing relaly itno K-Pop rcenetly. I konw, I konw, it's a hialarouis alais. I stlil cna't beleive tehy buoght it, but tehy did. yehT buohgt it too wlel. syawynA, nwo taht yuo're falimiar wiht my cvoer, wl'el need to mete up. eeS you soon pratenr.


Chris Zimmerman Z’20
Houston, TX
Bass
Nickname: Zim, Big Zim, The Zimminator, Rumplestilts-zim

Here’s an acrostic of facts about Chris:

Can identify 57 different types of animal tracks
Houston - born and raised, not like that poser John Ballard
Raced Usain Bolt and lost, but it was like super close, trust me
Inspired the song ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ by former flame T Swift
Second place in the 2007 Cup Stacking Junior World Championship
Two peanuts were walking down the street and one was assaulted…peanut 
Often found in Study Room 1 on Frost A level
Participated in the world’s largest coconut orchestra (actually true)
He’s getting super tired of this whole acrostic thing
Elbows are double jointed
Really has a lot of letters in his name, holy cow

Zumbye lore says Chris descends from Frank Zappa
Is pretty upset he picked this format, but he’s in too deep now
Mother is Reba McEntire’s life coach
Macgyver is loosely based on Chris’s memoir
Elected Treasurer of 7th Grade Student Council
Rokay I’m just going to abandon this stupid format
Mwow, did you know that one third of the letters in his last name are ‘M’s
Ajust one more to go, almost there
Nfinished; now maybe the Oldbyes will get off his a** about writing a bio


Elijah Gaddy Z'21
Latham, NY
Bass
Nickname: Mr. Gads, Daddy Gaddy

Coming soon to a theater near you….

Based on a true story….

The origin of Elijah is shrouded in mystery. There are rumors that he has been sent back from the future to avert a robot uprising. Other rumors suggest that he is the son of a king from a hidden city in Africa. Other rumors suggest that he crash landed in upstate New York years ago. If that last one is true, one may wonder why he couldn’t have crash landed in Hawaii and just lived there, or at least been given some Reese’s Pieces to curb his intense hunger.

While in Latham, Elijah performed many feats. He joined his archaeology teacher on adventures to acquire ancient artifacts. He attended boarding school for those who are magically gifted. He mastered every single type of martial arts in a simulated reality. He even went to jail and crawled to freedom through 500 yards of foul-smelling garbage you don’t want to think about.

Now he faces his biggest challenges yet at Amherst College. Waking up for 8:30 am classes, eating at Val, stairs, juggling homework assignments, and his greatest test: singing with the Zumbyes. No amount of specialized training could have prepared him for the most stylish and intense a cappella group. He’ll have to be careful; one sour note and the group will banish him to another dimension with their powerful harmonies.

 


Scott Romeyn Z'22
Durham, CT
Baritone/Tenor II
Nickname: Scoot, La Lechuga

The genetic combination of The Energizer Bunny™, Billy Joel, and the aquatic legend Michael Phelps, Scott Romeyn is one crazy cat. An 8-year-old boy at heart, he’s always on the move, often spotted whipping around campus on his bicycle at outrages speeds or chasing and photographing the many campus squirrels that cross his path. His spirit animal, the trustworthy and loyal Golden Retriever. 

Scott grew up in Durham, Connecticut, its main attraction: the Durham Dari Serv, yes its spelled that way, and their ice cream is most delicious. This small cow town is where he began his music career, and where he discovered his love for ice cream. He enjoys eating this delectable treat while watching movies and television shows including, but not limited to The Office, Finding Nemo, Psych, National Treasure, etc.

Fortunately for him and his health, Scott is a swimmer, and can often be found grinding hard in the pool or getting swole in the gym. His aquatic achievements include singing songs with blue whales, racing the powerful tuna, and swimming with the king of the ocean, the Great White.

He is an artist. He is a lover, not a fighter. He encourages all to seek the joy of being alive.


Guillermo Rodriguez Medina Z’22
Caracas, Venezuela
Baritone/Tenor II
Nickname: Memo

Guillermo reincarnated from his previous life as an emperor nautilus into Caracas, Venezuela, where he spent most of his childhood wrangling grasshoppers. Shortly after coming to terms with his limited level of sentience as a sapiens, he decided to explore the invisible world of harmonious sonic vibration, where he managed to make 6 friends. At age 16, he decided to start wearing glasses to make it public that he identifies as a nerd. One serene August night, John Lennon came to him in a dream and told him to leave his home and go “find himself” in Asia. Without any rational explanations, Guillermo decided to leave hallacas and the alphabet behind and move to syllable-land, otherwise known as Hong Kong. Upon his arrival there, he fashioned the most powerful pseudonym in all of postmodernity: Memo. During his time in syllable-land he further developed his true superpowers: sharing food, listening, and sweating through his scalp when he eats spicy food. Overwhelmed by having spent his first 20 years as a sapien surrounded by 7 million other sapiens, he kindly asked the people of rural Amherst College to host him for four years, to which for some reason they answered “yes.”

Memo is many things: a skilled Pokémon trainer, a Rick, a Morty, a nap-taker, and much more. His archenemy is cilantro, and in his next life he would like to be a three-toed sloth.


Emma Ratshin Z’21
Seattle, WA
Tenor I
Nickname: ‘ma, Elmo

There is nothing different about Emma Ratshin.

She was born in the rough-and-tumble streets of Seattle and quickly became one of the strongest, swole-est babies the nurses had ever seen. Every time she went in for a baby physical, the doctor remarked upon how she must be seriously getting her pump on at the gym, I mean, just LOOK at that vascularity! When Emma was four years old, she was cast as “baby #4” in an musical based on her life—unfortunately, she was passed up for the role of herself because her voice was “too bright” and “didn’t blend”. This sent her into a deep depression and she refused to sing in protest for many years.

In high school, she rediscovered her love for singing through school musicals and a cappella, though she didn’t get into the a cappella group for two years because her voice was “too bright” and “didn’t blend”.
When she got to Amherst College, she very quickly noticed that, as she walked through campus, people would jump out of the way and hide in bushes at the sheer sight of her bulging muscles, highly toned after years of pushin’ numbers and clappin’ plates. Naturally, she thought her first endeavor in her new school should be auditioning for a cappella, it being the most intimidating activity on campus. Unfortunately, her voice was “too bright” and “didn’t blend”, and she resigned to continue getting juiced at the gym all day instead. After a year where it was always gains o’ clock, she jumped back into the a cappella scene with the Zumbyes. When singing with the group, they said her voice was “just bright enough” and “blended well”. Three months after letting her in, one member did a double take, and said, “Wait a second, are you a girl?”

She is.


Samuel Wright Choi Z’23
Andover, MA
Tenor I
Nickname: Choi Toy

Born and raised in the good ole M of A, Samuel Choi Wright was a lively fellow. As a young kid living in a small Haverhill apartment, Sam would look at bugs and go on adventures with his parents before moving all the way (about 15 minutes away) to North Andover, MA. His mom and dad are both singers, so naturally, Sam inherited a couple of music genes. He was blessed with a singing voice hailed by his aunt as “Just like Josh Groban” and universally praised as “you should sing Ed Sheeran.” When his brother came along and was also granted a singing voice, the family formed the world-famous “Choi-Wright Family singers” and performed across North Andover to the elderly mostly. [Side Note: Now that his brother is a bass, the group is looking to transition to a barbershop quartet.]

With a singing group sized hole in his heart upon leaving his family and arriving at Amherst College, he heard the voice of Zach Weston, a magical thing that called him like a siren to the Zumbyes. When not doo-dah-ing with the group, Sam can be found at Arms practicing his trombone, sleeping, singing at his roommate, or in a cult worshipping Biddy Martin, known as the Biddy Buddies.

Fun Fact: Sam doesn’t normally subscribe to astrology, but he was born on the cusp of Taurus and Aries. What does this mean? According to Astrology.com, it means that he was born on the “power cusp” along with such greats as Queen Elizabeth II, Shakespeare, and Streisand. From that moment on he has absolutely let that get to his head. To keep himself humble, he has kept a Physics test with a 25% from high school, to look at in times of overconfidence. Another way to keep Sam in check is to have Zach sing anything within hearing proximity.


Rebecca Z’23
Sacramento, CA
Tenor I
Nickname: BeccAAA

Soooo, I tell everyone that I am from Sacramento( the capitol of California, by the way). That’s a lie. I am from glorious Elk Grove, a suburb about 15 minutes outside of Sacramento. It’s a really peculiar place. It’s an odd mix of farm town and suburban living. For example, across the street from my house is an ostrich farm. And on occasion, the town uses one of the local farmer’s 300 or so goats to mow the large expanses of grass in the neighborhood. There are elementary schools situated right next to cemeteries where some of our founding fathers are buried and if you roam around Creekside church for long enough, you’ll see wild peacocks. As I write this, I now notice how many of the weird things about Elk Grove have to do with animals.  

Even though I was born on the other coast, somehow I heard broadway call my name from a young age. The first time I sang a broadway song on stage, I felt my performance diva unleash. I sang popular from wicked and it was an experience to say the least. Then at the age of 14 my music journey took an unexpected turn and I started singing in a gospel choir. Full on Sister Act type of gospel choir, but imagine a swedish woman as our choir director and a choir that ranged from ages 70 to 15.

            On another note, I am a proud Ghanaian-American and would like to take this opportunity to inform the public that GHANAIAN JOLLOF IS BETTER THAN NIGERIAN JOLLOF. *insert chef’s kiss*


Christine Lee Z’23
Tenafly, NJ
Tenor I
Nickname: Tine

As the tallest, buffest member of the Zumbyes, Tine is happy to be able to protect her fellow Zs. Whenever Tine isn’t singing her heart out during rehearsals, she is usually napping, eating Hot Cheetos with chopsticks, or crying in A-level. Oh, she has a dog too. That’s basically her whole personality.


Caden McClure Z’23
Houston, TX
Baritone
Nickname: Base Bass

Caden McClure is a first year from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He’s been singing since he can remember, but didn’t get involved singing in school until Junior year of high school. In Junior year, he joined the choir and participated in the musical that year, A Grand Night for Singing. In Senior year, he was Gomez in the Addams Family. At Amherst he plays on the baseball team and hopes to major in Economics. He likes chimpanzees and ultimate friz.


Charlie Sutherby Z’23
Philadelphia, PA
Baritone/Tenor II
Nicknames: Chuck, Big Chuck, Chuckleberry Finn

Hailing from just outside of Philadelphia, there’s more to this young chap than meets the eye. Combining the irresistible energy of a toddler after their first fistful of birthday cake with the raw emotion of a winter-worn timber wolf howling her tragic song across the cold, dark landscape of the Alaskan tundra, his voice will keep you on the edge of your seat one way or another: either with captivating charm or paralyzing secondhand embarrassment.

His untamed, risk-taking personality is best exemplified in the limits he pushed himself to at the start of his freshmen year: Spanish 1. Intro Econ. Outing Club. Yes, it‘s safe to say he was unlike any other. Yet despite trailblazing these treacherous new paths in his freshman year, he just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing— an insatiable craving that no number of Lighter Side grilled chicken breasts could satisfy. He tried to fill this hole in as many ways as he could think of: playing squash, watching squash, listening to podcasts about squash— you could say he tried everything but the kitchen sink. 

But it all failed to fill the void inside him. It was a dark time indeed, for this young buck. Many months wandering aimlessly pushed him the closest he’s ever been to rock bottom. 

And then, in the depths of his despair, he heard a calling. A voice. Was it the voice of an angel? No. It was the voice of Zach Weston. 

Coming to him on a summer breeze, it was the light in his deepest darkest hour, his savior when he fell. The Zumbyes had found their way into Charlie’s life, and there was no looking back.


Alex Rule Z’23
San Jose, California
Bass
Nicknames: Alex Rulez

Alex is, like, an interstellar being, or whatever. He had a remarkable birth in which he was a bit heavier than average. Alex can probably turn invisible or talk to animals or something, but I do know for sure that he can run pretty fast and play some jazz on the trumpet, which is kinda cool. Another great thing about him is that he likes eating food and goes “mmm, divine” when he eats something he finds delicious. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen too often on campus, so you’ll have to take him out somewhere good to witness that craziness go down.

Alex has a rather low voice, which is an insane party trick that makes people go “ah, that’s pretty low, I guess.” He’s sub-par at dancing but learned how to DJ so he could avoid that at parties, but now he’s in this group which requires almost too much choreo for him to handle. His many other weaknesses include spiders, pears, the Socratic method, the winter in New England, and the sound that flour makes when it’s rubbed against a sheet pan. He looks forward to encountering as little of these as possible during his time on the Zumbyes. 

You know what, looking at some of these other bios, it seems like there isn’t anything too alien about Alex. But that’s okay, humans are cool too.