Happy New Year!
For the past seven years, members of the Carnegie Mellon University community have created new arrangements of "Auld Lang Syne" to honor the school's Scottish roots. Erik Pintar, who graduated in2016 with a bachelor's degree in electrical and computer engineering(opens in new window) and an additional major in human-computer interaction(opens in new window), shared the joy of American Sign Language (ASL) through his Student College (StuCo) course called "Sign Language Through Pop Music." First taught in the spring of 2014, the course continues to be offered each semester.
Year in Review
From renewed commitments to the Carnegie Mellon University community to out-of-this world experiences, Tartans used their resilience and their humanity to trek toward a new normal in 2021. See some of the year's top stories.
Erik Pintar graduated in 2016 but stays in touch with CMU via the ASL course he created.
While ASL does not have a written component to it, below is an example of ASL Gloss, which is a simplified notational system to transcribe it into another language such as English, to show how Pintar approached the song.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
LOOK-BACK, LONG-AGO, BEST-FRIEND FORGET NEVER
And never brought to mind?
MEMORY ENDURE ALWAYS
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
LONG-AGO CHERISH BEST-FRIEND
And days o’ lang syne!
DAYS SINCE CELEBRATE TOGETHER
For auld lang syne, my Dear,
LONG-AGO SINCE DEARLY-BELOVED
For auld lang syne,
LONG-AGO SINCE BEST-FRIEND
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
CHEERS TOGETHER CELEBRATE TOGETHER
For auld lang syne.
SINCE CELEBRATE GRATITUDE
— Previous Arrangements —
Director of Piping Andrew Carlisle arranged a version performed byCarnegie Mellon Pipes and Drums with vocals from Manu Narayan, a 1996 graduate of the School of Music; Alyssa Vieau, a senior in music; Emily Gallagher, a 2019 graduate of the School of Music; and Kaya Rose Giroux, a junior in music.
Madi Lippmann, who graduated in 2021 with a master's degree from the School of Music, arranged the piece performed by then-graduate students Alyssa Hensley, Katelyn Croft, Caroline Haines and sophomore Alice Statham, all of whom studied withGretchen Van Hoesen.
Faculty and students involved with
Exploded Ensemble and Activated Anamorphs brought School of Music 2018 alumnus Jacob Randall Holmes' arrangement to life in a limestone mine.
The Tartan Tuba Band performed an original arrangement of "Auld Lang Syne," by Assistant Teaching Professor Lance LaDuke.
Ujjal Bhattacharya, who graduated in 2017 with a degree in percussion performance and an additional major in math, arranged and performed "Auld Lang Syne" on marimba in the Kraus Campo on CMU's campus.
The CMU Treblemakers,an award-winning co-ed a cappella group, helped ring in the new year with the first "Auld Lang Syne" video.