Founded in 1859, The University of Michigan Men's Glee Club is the second oldest collegiate chorus in the United States and the oldest continually-run student organization on the Michigan campus. Long acclaimed as one of the finest male choruses in the world, the Glee Club has achieved this stature by sustaining and respecting the traditions which have been established during its 142 year history. The Glee Club has become renowned for its wide repertoire of music that incorporates selections from different musical styles and periods including Renaissance motets, Romantic anthems, opera choruses, spirituals, contemporary works, and, of course, Michigan songs.
The graduate and undergraduate members of the Glee Club, chosen by audition at the beginning of both the Fall and Winter terms, represent 37 majors in 12 of the 17 schools and colleges of the University. The student officers are responsible for the management of all non-musical Glee Club operations.
The Glee Club was honored in 1959 to be the first American male chorus to win first place at the International Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales, and has since won three more first prizes at the same competition. The Club performs regularly within the state of Michigan, and each year tours a region of the United States or goes abroad. In 1967, the Club circled the globe in celebration of the University's sesquicentennial year. In 1989 it visited the Far East, in May of 1992, toured Russia, Estonia, and Central Europe, in 1996 performed in several South American countries, and most recently toured Australia during its 2000 spring tour. The Club has made appearances at Avery Fisher Hall and Alice Tully Hall, both of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, the pre-game festivities for the 1984 World Series, the Intercollegiate Men's Choruses National Seminar at Harvard University in 1986, and the 1992 Central Division Convention of the American Choral Directors Association. In March of 1997, the Club returned to perform for filled houses at the ACDA National Convention in San Diego, California.
5/12/99: University of Michigan Men's Glee Club
