The Pitchforks were the first a cappella group on the Duke campus and have been singing a cappella for over 25 years. Shortly after the group was started in November of '79, Dr. Benjamin Ward, professor of Philosophy, Germanic Studies, and Arabic at Duke, began directing. For nearly 10 years, he led the group and contributed innumerable arrangements to the library of now over 400 songs. This culminated in the group dedicating their eighth recording, Underground, to Ben in appreciation of all he'd done. Ben Ward still sings with the group today.

A lot has changed since our founding in 1979 - at first, the Pitchforks was a group that sang a repertoire of barbershop and traditional music. Now, you'll hear us singing a more modern set of songs from groups and artists like Tenacious D, Maroon 5, Coldplay, Usher, and Dispatch. Our newest CD, Bring It Back, is our 15th album and is going to win a Grammy if you ask us. If you ask around, you'll find our reputation precedes us.

While our main goal is kicking musical ass, it's not the only thing that defines the Pitchforks. Every semester we have mixers with groups like Out of the Blue, and Dance Slam, are a part of sorority-sponsored events, and host our own date functions (activities have ranged from camping to fancy dinners to couples paintball). Each fall we take a weekend trip to Camden, SC to relax at our lake house, and on breaks we go on tour to cities and other colleges.

Outside of our concerts on and around campus, we have performed in Hawaii, Boston, Florida, San Francisco, London, and on cruise ships, subway cars, and street corners. We have performed the banner on national television for the Chicago Bulls in the United Center. Our travels have also brought us to perform for the Queen of Jordan, Dave Thomas, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and our new president and party buddy, Dickie B. Our largest expedition yet was our "Globalfest 2003." where we were sponsored by Chick-fil-a to bring our music to the homes of some of our largest fans, including Melbourne, Sri Lanka, Crete, and Monaco. Part or all of that last sentence may or may not be true, but you get the idea.

There really isn't much else to say that can come across on paper. All we can say is we keep the motto of 'work hard, play hard' alive in this group, and we enjoy what we do.