Miami University Glee Club
 | |
| Established | 1907 |
|---|---|
| Location |
 Oxford |
| Website | www.mugleeclub.org |
The Miami University Glee Club (or Miami University Men's Glee Club) is a 100 voice, all-male choral ensemble at Miami University in Oxford Ohio. It was founded in 1907 by Raymond Burke, the composer of Miami's Fight Song and Alma Mater, the Miami Men's Glee Club. With its over 100 singers selected by audition of all academic disciplines from the Miami University community, the Club is among the oldest and largest groups of its kind in the nation.[1][2]
History
In 1906, Dr. Raymond Burke began his career as a geology professor at Miami University. Previously, a part of the Oberlin Glee Club, Burke wanted to see a similar group at Miami. Fortunately for Burke, then university President Dr. Guy Potter Benton had similar interests for a Miami Glee Club. In January 1907, Burke was offered with a new position as an assistant professor in the new Department of Geology. Benton mentioned the formation of the Glee Club, which Burke willingly obliged to heading the operation. The future of the Miami Men’s Glee Club had begun.
The first Glee Club only had eight members; two for each vocal part. However, it rivaled in popularity with the Miami football team. Burke began his search for more singers in fraternities because that was where many of "the better singers were."[3]
The following year, Burke developed a "top secret" tune that the Club would present at their first concert, on February 28, 1908. This song became the current Miami Fight Song. Now with membership at "21 strong", that night at Benton Hall (now Hall Auditorium) was something to behold. Following the success of the new fight song, Burke began a project of creating a meaningful Alma Mater, premiering it in 1912.[3] Both of these pieces have sustained for the past 100-plus years at Miami, and continue to be a part of the traditional set of the Miami Men's Glee Club.
The Glee Club today
Under the direction of Dr. Jeremy D. Jones, the Miami University Men's Glee Club engages in international tours and is frequently invited to the Intercollegiate Men’s Chorus Seminar.
The Glee Club hosts its annual concerts each year at Miami University in Hall Auditorium, which was constructed in 1908 for the Glee Club. These main concerts consist of the Fall, Winter, and Spring Home Concerts, the first two of which are paired with the Miami University Collegiate Chorale.[4][5] In addition to these, the Glee Club will often perform at Miami University events, local churches, and high schools in the greater Ohio area. Each concert features a wide variety of music. Performing pieces from the Baroque era to modern compositions based on Indian Ragas, the Glee Club presents a diverse repertoire.[6]
A cappella groups
The Glee Club also hosts one men’s a cappella singing groups, The Cheezies. This group consists of approximately 15 members auditioned from the Glee Club which perform around campus, throughout Ohio, the Midwest and nation. They are commonly seen serenading students in concerts, at residence halls, sorority functions, and other special occasions. They specialize in arrangements of popular music. Most recently, the Cheezies have been seen performing the National Anthem for the Detroit Lions[7] and Cleveland Indians. In March 2012, they released a CD, entitled "Front & Center".[8]
Tradition
Domestic and international travel
The Glee Club has developed a tradition of frequently touring and traveling to promote the group and Miami University. Every year, students come back a week early from winter break to embark on an annual winter tour[9] which is entirely planned by a single student, elected by the Glee Club in the spring of the last school year. In recent years, the Glee Club has toured to Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., New York City, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis, Nashville, and Boston. In 1927, the Glee Club made its first European Tour.[10] Since then, the Glee Club has toured Europe 11 times, most recently in May 2011.[11][12] In 2008, the Glee Club traveled to China as part of the pre-Olympic Arts Festival in China.[1][12][13] In 2014, the Glee Club traveled to England, Wales, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium. They performed a Memorial Day service at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, and later won the First European Prize with Great Distinction at the Concours Europeen de Chant Choral 2014 (European Choir Competition)[14]
Collaborations
The Glee Club has performed with a number of professional performing artists and groups. Most recently, in March 2012, at the 2012 Intercollegiate Men's Choruses' National Seminar hosted by the Morehouse Glee Club, Pansy Chang, acclaimed cellist of Pink Martini, accompanied the Glee Club in the premiere of "Night, Veiled Night" which was commissioned for the Glee Club and written by Anthony J. Maglione.[15][16][17] Also in the spring of 2012, the Glee Club collaborated with the Miami Tribe to help write and then premiere a new verse of the university's Alma Mater, completely in the Myaamia language.[18] Earlier in January 2012, the Glee Club performed with the United States Army Chorus in a joint concert at a church in Vienna, Virginia. In late 2011, the Glee Club hosted the American Boys Choir for a concert at a local church.[19] In 2010, the Glee Club hosted a performance with Cantus at Miami University. Later that same year, the Glee Club hosted the 2010 Intercollegiate Men's Choruses' National Seminar.[20]
The Glee Club has also worked previously with A.R. Rahman,[20] Morten Lauridsen, Naturally 7, Robert Shaw, Beverly Sills, Dave Brubeck, The China People's Armed Police Force Male Chorus, The Male Choir of the Moscow Institute of Physics, the Mainz-Kostheim Männergesangverein, The Hamilton (Ontario) Police Chorus, the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra with Veronika Dudarova, The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, among others.[1]
Traditional songs
The Miami University Men's Glee Club strives to maintain a basis for tradition. The Glee Club has a set of traditional repertoire sung at the end of every Fall and Home Concert, as well as at the end of performances while on tours. This set consists of "Java Jive", "Johnny Schmoeker", Miami's Alma Mater, and the Miami Fight Song. During the "Java Jive", Club members dress in costumes ranging from silly hats to full Scooby Doo costumes. The set is concluded with "A Parting Blessing", as brothers in song circle around the audience and bid farewell.
Notable alumni
Many Glee Club members have gone on to become leaders of American music, including composers and choral directors, as well as leaders is many other fields. Alumni of the Glee Club include:
- Steven Reineke, conductor of The New York Pops
- Rajiv Joseph, playwright and 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist
- Phillip Shriver, former President of Miami University, from 1965 to 1981 (awarded honorary member in 1966) [21][22]
References
- 1 2 3 "Brief History". Miami University Men's Glee Club. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ↑ "The Miami University Men's Glee Club at the Kennedy Center". The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
- 1 2 Couch, Kevin (1993). The Origins of the Glee Club. Oxford, Ohio: Miami University Men's Glee Club.
- ↑ "Miami University Men's Glee Club Performances". Miami University Men's Glee Club. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ↑ "The Miami University Men's Glee Club Presents: The Home Concert".
- ↑ "Miami University Men's Glee Club - Music". Miami University Men's Glee Club.
- ↑ "Cheezies Perform National Anthem at Detroit Lions Game". Frequency.
- ↑ "Not To Be Cheesy, But...". A Cappella Records.
- ↑ "Miami University (OH) Men's Glee Club Announces Winter Tour". ChoralNet. American Choral Directors Association.
- ↑ Kuethe, Kevin. "Tour 1909". Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ↑ "Miami University Men's Glee Club Performance in Luxembourg". Transatlantic Dialogue.
- 1 2 "Club Brings New World to Local Students". Greensburg Daily News. Greensburg Daily News.
- ↑ "Cincinnati Events". Cincinnati Magazine. December 2008.
- ↑ "Union Grand-Duc Adolphe".
- ↑ "Miami University Men's Glee Club Concert Program, IMC 2012". Miami University Men's Glee Club. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ↑ "IMC 2012 Choirs". Morehouse College.
- ↑ "MU Glee Club Performance". Glee News.
- ↑ "Glee Club premieres new Alma Mater verse in Myaamia language". The Miami Student. The Miami Student.
- ↑ "Club Performs with world-renowned American Boy Choir". The Miami Student. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- 1 2 Albinder, Frank. "IMC National Seminar 2010". Washington Men's Camerata.
- ↑ "Miamians mourn the passing of Phillip R. Shriver, president emeritus of Miami University". Miami University.
- ↑ Kuethe, Kevin. "A Tribute To President Phillip Shriver".