A Natural Performer
Horton was born in Van Nuys, Calif., where he lived for approximately two months before his family moved to Boulder, Colo. His first exposure to theater was in second grade, when he landed the leading role in a production of “Pinocchio,” performed by a community theater troupe known as the Peanut Butter Players. He decided to join the group, which he enjoyed immensely, remaining with them for a few years. Horton was also active in his elementary school and high school choirs.
Horton further pursued his interest in theater in high school, performing with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and the prestigious Denver Center for Performing Arts. Although it was not one of his favorite productions and was not eagerly anticipated by his classmates, “The Sound of Music,” in which Horton performed his senior year, was one of his most memorable performances. It was also during his senior year of high school that Horton was introduced to a cappella music; he joined a group that specialized in jazzy songs, and worked alongside dedicated and serious singers and musicians.
Taking the Stage
Horton decided to enroll at the College because of its liberal arts education. He had no idea what he wanted to do, although he toyed with the idea of majoring in physics. After taking an introductory Physics class, however, he found that he didn’t particularly care for the subject. He then switched to a theater and dance major, specializing in set design rather than acting. Although he knew that it wasn’t something he wanted to do for the rest of his life, theater was enjoyable and was a suitable choice for the moment.
Horton’s outgoing personality seemed fitting for a theater and dance major. Senior Resident Artist Peter Lobdell, who instructed Horton in a beginning and an advanced acting class, made note of Horton’s zeal, stating, “As always, Brendan was engaged, curious, funny and passionate. Sometimes that led him to throw himself off a cliff, but he always came out OK.”
Just Having Fun
Horton’s first year resident councilor happened to be involved with the two-time director of the Amherst College Zumbyes, whom she introduced to Horton. Horton heeded the director’s advice to audition for the a cappella group, and was accepted into the Zumbyes. He soon developed close friendships with the other members. “The singing is what brings us together,” said Horton. “We revel in our ridiculousity,” he explained, referring to the group’s notorious on-stage antics. Recalling a concert in which one member of the Zumbyes zip-lined down from the second floor balcony of Johnson Chapel to the first floor, he said, “It’s one thing to fantasize about doing crazy shit. It’s another thing to do it.” Although the Zumbyes take performing very seriously, they like “doing fun things for the sake of fun, simultaneously singing while doing it.” The Zumbyes received third place in last year’s International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella competition. Although they didn’t clinch first place, Horton was pleased with the Zumbyes’ performance because, he said, they refused to modify their routine to appeal to the judges; they left everything the same and simply had fun with it.
Known for donning large plastic glasses during his a cappella performances, Horton channels all of his energy into every song. “Brendan’s best quality has to be his reliability. Never late for a practice, always willing to help out, and always wearing the same pair of khaki beige pants with solid colored T-shirt,” teased fellow Zumbye, Jorrell Bonner ’11. Bonner has only known Horton for one year, yet has spent “literally hundreds of hours” with him, practicing for concerts and recording their newest CD.
Horton considers the a cappella group to be an important part of his college experience. As business manager of the Zumbyes, he is in charge of booking gigs, purchasing necessities and handling the money they earn from their performances. Said Horton, “All a cappella groups are self-run businesses,” which means they have to earn money for travel and recording CDs. This year’s director of the Zumbyes, Gregory Curreri ’09, remarked, “Brendan takes his responsibilities very seriously and he is a very driven individual. Even though this semester was really demanding of him, with his theater and dance thesis, two Zumbyes shows, CD recording and just regular work, Brendan always showed up when he was needed and never complained.” Business aside, Curreri is a close friend of Horton, and finds Horton “energetic and entertaining,” but also “approachable and willing to listen.”
Famous in Japan
As a member of the Zumbyes, Horton has recorded CDs (“Feed the Puma” and their upcoming album) and has also had the opportunity to travel. During the group’s trip to Kyoto, Japan, they sang with the Doshisha University glee club. “Our performance was a real wake-up call for us,” wrote Horton in an e-mail to his family, describing the experience. According to Horton, “Japanese audiences are stone cold. They do not whoop; they do not, under any circumstances, laugh.” The comedic a cappella group wasn’t accustomed to this lack of discernible reaction from their crowds. Nevertheless, the Zumbyes were able to win over the audience with their rendition of “Thriller.”
Following their concert at the university, the Zumbyes performed at an elementary school, which Horton said was “perhaps the greatest gig that the Zumbyes had ever had.” When describing their entrance to the Doshisha elementary school, Horton recalled, “We arrive at the gate, and before we can even look around, we hear screaming. Not laughter, not shouting, SCREAMING. ‘ZHOOMBAHS!’” The group was greeted by “25 to 30 Japanese third graders running as fast as they [could] across the dirt playground” towards them. Horton said the Zumbyes were taken aback when a mass of children approached them, asking for autographs. Of course they couldn’t refuse the children’s requests.
The tour culminated in a performance by the Zumbyes as well as a special performance by the elementary school students. “We took in as much of this moment as we could,” said Horton. “Something truly special was going on here, and we were so lucky to be a part of it.” The Zumbyes were satisfied with their performance at the elementary school, which couldn’t be topped—not even by their gig at Tokyo Disney. Reflecting on the Zumbyes’ memorable trip, Horton jokingly remarked, “We can say the following in earnest: one, we are legends in Japan; two, we have fans that run screaming towards us; and three, the Zumbyes are filled with college kids who mingle and have the most fun with other similar people … five-year-olds.”
Discovering a New
Passion
Horton continued with both his involvement in the Zumbyes and his theater and dance major during his first two years at the College. But it wasn’t until the second semester of his junior year that Horton found his true passion. On a whim, he decided to take the introductory geology course, taught by Professor of Geology Tekla Harms, and discovered that he loved the subject. “What is most outstanding about Brendan is his ability to see things in three dimensions,” remarked Harms. She was especially impressed with Horton’s decision to make “a full 3-D model of his Geo 11 final project,” stating that “it was stunning.”
After completing the course, Horton made the decision to attend field camp, where he and other aspiring geologists “were out in the blistering Montana summer, mapping miles and miles of terrain,” every day from 7:30 in the morning until 7:30 at night. Field camp was “the most difficult fun I have ever been able to enjoy,” said Horton. He found it challenging “being disconnected with the outside world,” without access to the Internet or his cell phone. “For the most part,” Horton said, “we reveled in the beautiful rocks.”
Although he never had a lot of free time between field work and homework assignments, Horton felt comfortable among his fellow “geology nerd[s].” “This was my first exposure to geology ‘for real’ since I had only taken an introductory course,” said Horton. He believed that his work out in the field “shaped the way that [he thought] about geology.” Recalling his experience, Horton stated, “Overall, field camp was one of the most influential experiences of my life, and it gave me the motivation and the direction that I am currently enjoying.”
When Horton returned to the College for his senior year after spending his summer at field camp, he spoke with Harms about the option of attending graduate school for geology. Even though he knew it was too late in his undergraduate education to change his major, Horton continued taking advanced geology courses to learn as much as possible about the subject.
Bringing “The Illusion”
to Life
While Horton was busy learning about geology, he was also beginning to work on his thesis for his theater and dance major. Horton decided to do a joint thesis with two other theater and dance majors, William Cranch ’08 and Christopher Gillyard ’08. The three collaborated on a production of “The Illusion,” with Horton designing the set, Cranch directing the play and Gillyard acting in a leading role.
The first semester of Horton’s senior year was largely devoted to the planning process. The set could not be constructed until Interterm, when Horton began attending rehearsals for the play, in order to better visualize the stage on which the actors would perform. Describing the construction process, Horton said he simultaneously designed and built the set, viewing it as a piece of art that also had to serve a practical function. Horton’s visual concept for the design of the set was “a lot like tetris” in that various pieces of the stage went together to create the whole set, including a raised platform on which the audience was to sit, bringing them in close proximity to the actors. He completed the set in time for “The Illusion”’s opening night on Feb. 14, and Horton’s innovative set design garnered rave reviews.
As he awaits the evaluation of his design thesis, Horton is figuring out what he wants to do after college. He has been admitted to graduate school for geology at the University of Montana, and although he is certain that he wants to attend graduate school for geology, he hasn’t decided whether or not he will attend this institution. Horton doesn’t seem too worried about the future, however; he is also considering the possibility of moving to Texas to find a job in the geology field while applying to more graduate schools.