At Convocation, Commencement and nearly every significant event along the way, Emory’s all-male a cappella group No Strings Attached (NSA) sings the University’s alma mater while decked out in their signature gold-and-blue ties.

A look into Emory history reveals NSA’s deep ties to the song, which explains Emory students’ immediate association with the men. Not surprisingly, the first hit on Google when searching “Emory alma mater” is a video of NSA singing it.

Legend, on good authority, has it that the founder of NSA happened upon the original lyrics of Emory’s alma mater, rearranged the piece and sang it for the group’s first performance. The song remains at the core of NSA’s repertoire to this day. As part of induction into the group, new members report to White Hall 208, the site of NSA’s semester-end concerts, where they are greeted in darkness by current members singing the alma mater.

“When you get in the group, you get a binder of music and the first song is always the alma mater — and it’s a photocopy of the handwritten arrangement by our founder,” College senior and NSA President Ajay Premkumar said.

The initial tune, “Far Above Cayuga’s Waters,” composed by Wilmot Moses Smith and Archibald Croswell Weeks in 1874, also serves as the basis for the alma mater for numerous other colleges and high schools. Emory’s school song dates back to 1918, when J. Marvin Rast (’18C) created the lyrics. The alma mater debuted with Rast and the Men’s Glee Club that year.

The clock tower in the center of campus which bears Cox’s name chimes the alma mater at exactly 6:36 p.m. (18:36 military time) each evening in honor of Emory’s founding in Oxford, Ga., in 1836.

The alma mater suffered a draught during the reign of University President James T. Laney, who removed the song from Commencement programs in 1978. According to records, Laney believed the song was cliché and not worthy of Emory.

If not for one fateful day in 1993, Laney could have silenced the song forever. Searching through documents in the Choral Music Library, NSA founder Jason Hardy (’96C) stumbled across a copy of the alma mater. Hardy rearranged the piece, quickening the tempo in the second half of the song and adding a solo part.

Like Rast, Hardy marked the emergence of his a cappella group on Emory’s campus with the alma mater. Ever since then, the duty of introducing freshman, as well as reminding upperclassmen and alumni, to the alma mater has fallen to the able-voiced men of NSA.

“It has grown to mean a lot to everyone in the group,” Premkumar said.

Each NSA album ends with the alma mater. During its recent fall and spring concerts, NSA finishes by inviting the group’s alums and current University President James W. Wagner to join in honoring the University with the singing of the alma mater.

With each new NSA album, a new member takes up the solo for their rendition of the school song. College junior Matt Lipkins currently fulfills that role at school-sponsored events, alumni gatherings and wherever Emory spirit is requested. Lipkins said each NSA member who sings the alma mater performs it just a little bit differently, making it unique to himself.

During their alma mater tenure, NSA tweaked the lyrics. The first line of the song began with “In the heart of dear old Dixie.” As Dixie is rarely used in practice anymore, NSA moved to replace “Dixie” with “Emory,” in essence updating the song to fit modern-day vernacular.

NSA’s self-prescribed mission is “to instill school spirit at Emory.” With those striped ties and dedication to the University through song, NSA does just that and, presumably, will until the next young composer comes along to begin a new era of “Hail the Gold and Blue.”

— Contact Christina White.