NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Harvard Glee Club

The Harvard Glee Club is a 60-voice, all-male choral ensemble at Harvard University. Founded in 1858, it is a college choir in the United States.^[1] The Glee Club is part of the Holden Choruses of Harvard University, which also include the all-female Radcliffe Choral Society and the mixed-voice Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum. All three groups are led by Conductor Dr. Jameson Marvin and Associate Conductor Kevin C. Leong. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... Year 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Holden Choruses are the three principal choral ensembles at Harvard University, consisting of the Harvard Glee Club, the Radcliffe Choral Society, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum (respectively a mens, a womens, and a mixed chorus. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... The Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum is an undergraduate mixed chorus Harvard University, comprised of roughly 60 voices, drawing from both the undergraduate and graduate student populations. ... Jameson Marvin (b. ...

The Glee Club was long a fixture of the Boston music scene, performing frequently with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles, but this local prominence has lessened in recent years. However, thanks to over 80 annual spring tours to different regions of the United States and appearances at the Kennedy Center Honors and in Leonard Bernstein's popular series The Unanswered Question, the Glee Club has garnered some national recognition; tours around the world have brought the group further attention. A number of notable people were members of the Glee Club during their time at Harvard, and numerous major composers of the 20th and 21st centuries have dedicated works to the group. â€œBostonâ€ redirects here. ... The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the worlds premiere orchestras. ... Leonard Bernstein in 1971 Leonard Bernstein (IPA pronunciation: )[1] (August 25, 1918 â€“ October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, and pianist. ...

History

Founding and development

The Glee Club was founded in 1858 by a group of students to sing glees and part-songs. The group remained small until the end of the nineteenth century, when growth in its size and on-campus profile made higher musical aspirations possible. In 1919, it invited Dr. Archibald T. "Doc" Davison, the choirmaster of Harvard's Memorial Church, to become Glee Club conductor as well. 1921 saw the Glee Club's first European tour, which, though not the first such tour by a college group, was the most extensive to that point; the group was officially invited by the government of France, and the tour was covered by the press in the US and Europe.^[2] This tour also resulted in a spate of new work written expressly for the Glee Club by such composers as Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, and Gustav Holst.^[3] Under "Doc" Davison, the Glee Club (and the Radcliffe Choral Society) became the choirs of choice for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and frequently recorded with them; their recording of La Damnation de Faust won a Grand Prix du Disc, and a recording of the Mozart Requiem in memory of former U.S. President and Harvard graduate John F. Kennedy received a nomination for a Grammy.^[3] The relationship with the BSO continued until the creation of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus; both Club and Society continue to sing with the BSO on occasion. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A glee is a part song scored for at least three unaccompanied voices, normally male. ... Memorial Church may refer to: Harvard Memorial Church Stanford Memorial Church ... See also: 1920 in music, other events of 1921, 1922 in music and the list of years in music. // Events Clarence Williams makes his first recordings Published popular music Aint We Got Fun? w. ... Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (IPA: ) (September 4, 1892 â€“ June 22, 1974) was a French composer and teacher. ... Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (IPA: ) (January 7, 1899 - January 30, 1963) was a French composer and a member of the French group Les Six. ... Gustav Holst Gustav Holst (September 21, 1874, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire - May 25, 1934, London) [1] [2] was an English composer and was a music teacher for over 20 years. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the worlds premiere orchestras. ... The Damnation of Faust (French: La damnation de Faust) is work for orchestra, voices, and chorus written by Hector Berlioz (he himself called it a lÃ©gende dramatique). The libretto was adapted by Berlioz from Goethes Faust. ... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote the Requiem mass in D minor (K. 626) in 1791. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas US Government Portal For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... John Kennedy and JFK redirect here. ... Grammy Award statuette The Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music... The Tanglewood Festival Chorus is a choir which performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops in major choral works. ...

Since the retirement of Doc Davison, the Glee Club has had only four conductors: G. Wallace “Woody” Woodworth, who led the group from 1933-1958; noted Beethoven scholar Elliot Forbes, from 1958-1970, and who led the group on an extensive tour around the world in 1961;^[4] F. John Adams, 1970-1978; and Jameson N. Marvin since 1978. Elliot Forbes (born August 20, 1917, Cambridge, Massachusetts; died January 9, 2006, in Cambridge), known as El[1], was an American conductor and musicologist noted for his Beethoven scholarship. ... See also: 1960 in music, other events of 1961, 1962 in music, 1960s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 15 - Motown Records signs The Supremes January 20 - Francis Poulencs Gloria is premiered in Boston February 12 - The Miracles Shop Around becomes Motowns first...

Since the arrival of Jameson Marvin as conductor of the Glee Club, the group has continued to tour extensively, and has been invited to a number of conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, invitations that are only extended through a blind audition process. Most recently, the Glee Club appeared at regional conventions in Pittsburgh in 2002 and Boston in 2004 and at a national convention in Los Angeles in 2005. Concerts led by Dr. Marvin have been favorably received across the country and around the world.^[5] The American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization with the stated purpose of promoting excellence in the field of choral music. ... City nickname: The Steel City Location in the state of Pennsylvania Founded 1758 Mayor Tom Murphy (Dem) Area - Total - Water 151. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area City 1,290. ...

Notable alumni

Many Glee Club members and assistant conductors have gone on to become leaders of American music, including composers, choral directors, and orchestra managers across the country. Some notable alumni of the Glee Club include:

Virgil Thomson, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1947 Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 - September 30, 1989) was an American composer from Missouri, whose rural background gave a sense of place in his compositions. ... Elliott Cook Carter, Jr. ... William Lincoln Christie (born December 19, 1944) is a conductor and harpsichordist. ... Leonard Bernstein in 1971 Leonard Bernstein (IPA pronunciation: )[1] (August 25, 1918 â€“ October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, and pianist. ... Irving Fine (December 3, 1914â€“August 23, 1962) was a US composer. ... John Harbison John Harris Harbison (born December 20, 1938 in Orange, New Jersey) is a composer, best known for his operas and large choral works. ... Hugh Wolff (born 21 October 1953 in Paris) is an American conductor. ... Justice Harry Blackmun Harry Andrew Blackmun (November 12, 1908 â€“ March 4, 1999) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. ... Holding Texas law making it a crime to assist a woman to get an abortion violated her due process rights. ... John Reed John Jack Silas Reed (October 22, 1887 â€“ October 19, 1920) was an American journalist and communist activist, famous for his first-hand account of the Bolshevik Revolution, Ten Days that Shook the World. ... The New York Philharmonic is the oldest active symphony orchestra in the United States, organized during 1842. ... The Cornell University Glee Club (CUGC) is the oldest student organization at Cornell University, having been organized shortly after the first students arrived on campus in 1868. ... , This article is about the university in Oxford, Ohio. ... Occidental College, located in Los Angeles, California, is a small private coeducational liberal arts college. ... This article is considered orphaned, since there are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

The Glee Club today

The Harvard Glee Club is faculty-directed but entirely student-managed. Students hold the elected positions of President, Vice President, and Secretary; they also hold appointed positions such as Manager, Financial Manager, and Sales Manager. Each tour and major project, such as a large concert or recording project, has its own student manager. As such, the students themselves are in charge of selecting concert venues, managing a six-figure yearly budget, and taking care of virtually every facet of the group other than rehearsing and selecting repertoire.

The Glee Club rehearses in Holden Chapel in Harvard Yard, one of the oldest college buildings in America (built in 1744).^[12] Each year, major concerts include the Harvard-Princeton and Harvard-Yale Football Concerts, joint concerts that have taken place the night before these football games for more than a century; annual concerts also take place with the Radcliffe Choral Society at Christmas and with all of the Holden Choruses during Harvard's Arts First celebration in May. The Glee Club tours a different part of the United States every spring break; recent spring tours have taken the group to northern California, the Upper Midwest, the Deep South, and Texas. The Glee Club also takes month-long summer tours roughly every 4 years. Recent summer tours have included trips to East Asia (1993), Australia (1998), Scandinavia (2002), and Central Europe (2005). During the most recent tour to Central Europe, the group performed at such venues as the Berlin Philharmonie, the Mariacki Church in Kraków, the Matthias Church in Budapest, and as guests of the Kodály Festival in Hungary and the Dvorák Festival near Prague.^[13] Holden Chapel Holden Chapel Holden Chapel detail Holden Chapel is a small building in Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University. ... Harvard Yard in 1905. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. ... YALE (Yet Another Learning Environment) is an environment for machine learning experiments and data mining. ... Arts First is a celebration held at Harvard University each May that includes performances or shows involving virtually every musical, theatrical, and artistic group on campus. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area Ranked 3rd - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 kmÂ²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 770 miles (1,240 km) - % water 4. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallasâ€“Fort Worthâ€“Arlington Area Ranked 2nd - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 kmÂ²) - Width 773 miles (1,244 km) - Length 790 miles (1,270 km) - % water 2. ... East Asia Geographic East Asia. ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ... Entrance to the concert hall The Berliner Philharmonie in Berlin-Tiergarten is one of the most important concert halls in Berlin. ... For other uses, see Krakow (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Budapest (disambiguation). ... ZoltÃ¡n KodÃ¡ly (IPA: ), (approximate pronunciation, Zol-tan Koddah-ee) (December 16, 1882 â€“ March 6, 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, educator, linguist and philosopher. ... AntonÃn DvoÅ™Ã¡k AntonÃn Leopold DvoÅ™Ã¡k (IPA: , ) (September 8, 1841 â€“ May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer of Romantic music. ... For other uses, see Prague (disambiguation). ...

The Glee Club is currently in the final stages of planning its 150th anniversary celebration, which will include a three-day festival in Cambridge from April 11-13, 2008, as well as a Spring Tour of the Eastern Seaboard and a cross-country Summer Tour culminating in appearances at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Ravinia Festival.^[14] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Ravinia Festival is the summer music program offered at Ravinia Park in Highland Park, Illinois. ...

The group performs most of its "home" concerts in Harvard's Sanders Theatre, which is renowned for its excellent acoustics.^[15] Sanders Theater or Sanders Theatre is the premiere lecture and concert hall at Harvard University. ...

Musical tradition

The Glee Club performs a wide range of repertoire. Music of the Renaissance is integral part of that repertoire, as is folk music, especially of America and Eastern Europe. Download high resolution version (1024x768, 301 KB) Memorial Hall at Harvard College This is the civil war monument that now serves as Sanders Theater and the Annenberg freshman dining hall Photo © 2004 Jacob Rus File links The following pages link to this file: Harvard University Image:Harvard college - annenberg hall. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 301 KB) Memorial Hall at Harvard College This is the civil war monument that now serves as Sanders Theater and the Annenberg freshman dining hall Photo © 2004 Jacob Rus File links The following pages link to this file: Harvard University Image:Harvard college - annenberg hall. ...

In recent years, the Glee Club has performed numerous major works for male choir, including Schubert's Gesang der Geister über den Wassern, Brahms's Alt-Rhapsodie, Schoenberg's A Survivor from Warsaw, and Argento's Revelation of St. John the Divine. Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 â€“ November 19, 1828) was an Austrian composer. ... Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 â€“ April 3, 1897) was a German composer of the Romantic period. ... Arnold Schoenberg, Los Angeles, 1948 Arnold Schoenberg (the anglicized form of SchÃ¶nberg â€” Schoenberg changed the spelling officially when he left Germany and re-converted to Judaism in 1933; September 13, 1874 â€“ July 13, 1951) was an Austrian and later American composer. ... A Survivor from Warsaw, Op. ... Domenick Argento (born October 27, 1927, York, Pennsylvania) is an American composer, best known as a leading composer of lyric opera. ...

Symphony collaborations over the years have included multiple performances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) under all of its conductors since 1917, as well as with the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, and the Italian Radio Orchestra. Some BSO highlights include the American premiere of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, later recorded with the BSO under Bernstein, two Berlioz recordings - Romeo et Juliet and La Damnation de Faust, and Mozart’s Requiem. In 1973, the Glee Club performed Bernstein's Chichester Psalms with the composer conducting at the Vatican. The Glee Club now frequently performs with Boston's Orchestra of Emmanuel Music.^[3] The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the worlds premiere orchestras. ... The New York Philharmonic is the oldest active symphony orchestra in the United States, organized during 1842. ... The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LAP) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. ... Igor Stravinsky. ... Painting of Berlioz by Gustave Courbet, 1850. ... The Damnation of Faust (French: La damnation de Faust) is work for orchestra, voices, and chorus written by Hector Berlioz (he himself called it a lÃ©gende dramatique). The libretto was adapted by Berlioz from Goethes Faust. ... â€œMozartâ€ redirects here. ... Score of page 1, Movement I of The Chichester Psalms, Boosey & Hawkes edition. ...

Finally, the Glee Club frequently performs traditional Harvard football songs, such as "Yo-Ho," "Ten Thousand Men of Harvard," "Harvardiana," "The Gridiron King," "Soldiers' Field," and "Up the Street."

Glee Club Lite

The Glee Club also has a subset called "Harvard Glee Club Lite" (or simply "Lite"). This group, which features 12-16 singers and performs pop and jazz a cappella arrangements, was formed in 1985 to give Glee Club members a chance to sing a wider range of music; Harvard has over a dozen a cappella groups on campus, and Lite allows students to experience both types of ensemble - a small, student-directed pop-driven group and a larger, faculty-led choral ensemble.^[16] At any given point in time, much or all of Lite's repertoire is arranged for voices by student members of the group.

Composers who have dedicated works to the Harvard Glee Club

Another cornerstone of the Glee Club's repertoire is contemporary music; the group has a long history of commissioning or simply receiving work from prominent composers, some of whom are listed below, with the title of the work when available; each published work notes the dedication to the Glee Club on its title page: Image File history File links Milhaud. ... Image File history File links Milhaud. ... Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (IPA: ) (September 4, 1892 â€“ June 22, 1974) was a French composer and teacher. ...

In addition, the Glee Club's conductors have a long tradition of dedicating folk song arrangements and editions of Renaissance vocal pieces to the group; Jameson Marvin's arrangements are published primarily by Oxford University Publishing and Earthsongs.^[17] Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (IPA: ) (September 4, 1892 â€“ June 22, 1974) was a French composer and teacher. ... Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (IPA: ) (January 7, 1899 - January 30, 1963) was a French composer and a member of the French group Les Six. ... Gustav Holst Gustav Holst (September 21, 1874, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire - May 25, 1934, London) [1] [2] was an English composer and was a music teacher for over 20 years. ... Walter Hamor Piston Jr. ... Irving Fine (December 3, 1914â€“August 23, 1962) was a US composer. ... Samuel Adler (1809-1891) was born in Worms Germany, and became a rabbi in 1842. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Leonard Bernstein in 1971 Leonard Bernstein (IPA pronunciation: )[1] (August 25, 1918 â€“ October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, and pianist. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... John Harbison John Harris Harbison (born December 20, 1938 in Orange, New Jersey) is a composer, best known for his operas and large choral works. ... Virgil Thomson, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1947 Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 - September 30, 1989) was an American composer from Missouri, whose rural background gave a sense of place in his compositions. ... Randall Thompson (April 21, 1899 - July 9, 1984) was an American composer. ... Tōru Takemitsu (武満 徹 Takemitsu Tōru, October 8, 1930 - February 20, 1996) was a Japanese composer of music, who explored the compositional principles of Western classical music and his native Japanese tradition both in isolation and in combination. ... Morten Lauridsen (born February 27, 1943 in Colfax, Washington) is an American composer with Danish roots. ... Sir John Tavener (born 28 January 1944 in London) is an English composer. ... Stephen Paulus (born August 24, 1949, Summit, NJ) is an American composer, best known for his operas and choral music. ... Domenick Argento (born October 27, 1927, York, Pennsylvania) is an American composer, best known as a leading composer of lyric opera. ...

Footnotes

^ Student Organizations: Harvard Glee Club. President & Fellows of Harvard College. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
^ "Invites Harvard Glee Club." New York Times: 22 December 1920. Available here, accessed 1 Feb 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Dr. Bernard Kreger. Harvard Glee Club (Men's Choir). Bach Cantatas website.
^ 11 Awarded Honorary Degrees. The Harvard University Gazette. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
^ Tim Page. Harvard Singers. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
^ Paul Wittke. Virgil Thomson: Vignettes of his Life and Times. The Virgil Thomson Foundation. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
^ Geoffrey Norris. I owe my knowledge of music to the Harvard Glee Club. The Telegraph of London. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
^ ^a ^b Feeney, Mark, and Edgar Driscoll Jr. Elliot Forbes obit. Boston Globe, 13 January 2006. Retrieved 20 January 2006. Available here
^ "News from the Library of Congress", 17 February 2006, retrieved 20 January 2006. Available here.
^ Trainor, Bernard, & Warren Weaver. "Washington Talk." New York Times, 29 April 1988. Retrieved 20 January 2007. Available here
^ American Arts Alliance Board of Directors. American Arts Alliance.
^ Alvin Powell. Newly Renovated Holden Chapel Opens Its Doors to Song and Study. The Harvard University Gazette. Retrieved on 2006-11-03.
^ Glee Club website: Tour schedule. Retrieved 1 February 2007. Available here.
^ Harvard Glee Club homepage. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
^ Sanders Theatre. Office for the Arts at Harvard. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
^ Harvard Glee Club Lite website, Retrieved 20 January 2007, available here.
^ Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Marvin, see References.

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References

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