Glee Clubs Sing Again

Men’s Glee Club members spanning five decades came together last spring to celebrate the organization’s 100th anniversary.

An honored tradition is raising its voice on campus once again. The Men’s and Women’s Glee Clubs, once a staple of the College’s Department of Music and two of the oldest university singing ensembles in the country, have regrouped.

Under the direction of L. Brett Scott, assistant professor of music, the Men’s Glee Club celebrated its 130th anniversary last spring by inviting past members to join the present singers in a concert. Scott notes that the Women’s Glee Club will be celebrating its 95th anniversary soon as well.

The clubs were popular on campus for the greater part of the 20th century, their fame peaking in the 1950s, when the men’s club toured the United States, performed for presidential families, and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

But, Scott says, “These things have their cycles,” and in the 1990s, with interest on the wane, the two clubs were combined into the University Choir.

Alumni who cherished singing in the glee clubs encouraged a revival, and last year Scott held auditions for the men’s and women’s clubs. Both are open to students (who receive course credit for participating), faculty, staff, alumni, and Rochester residents.