The Yale Glee Club Blog

This past November, the Glee Club, along with the Yale Philharmonia, the Camerata, and the Schola Cantorum, performed the East Coast premiere of School of Music professor Aaron Jay Kernis's "Symphony of Meditations." The new work was incredibly complex to learn and to perform, but after months of hard work and preparation, the performance was beautiful and the intricate, fascinating music was brought to life in front of a huge audience as the centerpiece of the 2009 National Choral Collegiate Organization's conference. Here, Michael Haycock '12 shares his own reflections on the piece and its meaning. Aaron Jay Kernis’ Symphony of Meditations begins with an Invocation in which the soloist, preceding the chorus’ thunderous acclamation of divine almight, ponders searchingly, “What could the heart and tongue compose, or spirit’s strength within me to suit you?” The answer, unspoken, is given in its absence, and turning from suiting something to the Lord, Gabirol’s poe...

Below, officers Elaine Sullivan, Danny Townsend, and Dan Schechner '10 describe the annual Glee Club-YPMB football game--in which the Glee Club was, of course, victorious. The 15 th of November, 2009 will go down in history as the third consecutive Glee Club win against the YPMB in the annual football showdown. Members from all years and sections of the 149 th Glee Club (except for sopranos) destroyed the Yale Precision Marching Band in football, 5 – 2, in what was the shortest and perhaps most deadly rampage in the age-old conflict between forces of Glee and forces of YPMB. Led by the 2009 YGC-YPMB Football Captains Sarah Dewey, Dan Schechner, Derek Tam and Rachel Wilf, the team never let the YPMB lead. Quarterbacks Rob Williams and Peter Clune overcame the challenge of low-lying branches to deliver beautifully spiraling footballs arcing through the air and landing in the receiver’s hands. A special shout-out to the YGC Alto Section, whose members (Miriam, Elaine, Phyllis, and M...

The 149 th Glee Club is off to a great start! We welcomed 34 wonderful new members, began rehearsals, and went on a fantastic retreat in northwestern Connecticut. Since not everyone could make it to retreat, this year’s Officer Corps (the group’s student leaders) wanted to virtually introduce ourselves and show that as much as we love Glee Club, there’s more to who we are than our YGC responsibilities. President – Danny Townsend CC ‘10 Danny Townsend is a senior in Calhoun, majoring in Ethics, Politics, and Economics. Outside of the Glee Club, Danny is a Senior Fellow for the Roosevelt Institute Campus Network and a Yale Tour Guide. Originally from Denver, Colorado, he is an unfortunately poor skier. His favorite bird of prey is the Peregrine Falcon. Manager – Mary Schnoor CC ‘10 Mary Schnoor is a Calhoun senior from Brookline, MA. She's majoring in Chemical Engineering and Classics, which is convenient because they're right next to each other in the Blue Book. Asid...

A few pictures from our recent time in Brazil. Overlooking the beach in Copacabana from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain. A snapshot taken during our drive from Rio to Campinas. The famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. In rehearsal with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra and conductor Roberto Minczuk. A view from atop Corcovado Mountain. Glee Clubbers and members of the children's choir from the Cidade de Deus before our joint concert. A view of the beach in the evening.

Below, Dylan Morris '11 shares his memories of performing Haydn's Creation with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra. When YGC director Jeff Douma outlined the schedule for our South American tour, I was excited to learn that, in addition to performing our “tour repertoire” of a cappella and choral-piano pieces, we would be reprising all of the large choral-orchestral pieces we had learned and performed during the year: Brahms’s Nänie , two short pieces by Mendelssohn, and Haydn’s Creation oratorio. We would be performing The Creation in Rio de Janeiro with the professional Brazil Symphony Orchestra. Before a typical tour concert, the YGC will arrive at the venue the afternoon before the show, and rehearse our a cappella repertoire in the space to get a feel for its particular acoustical quirks and challenges. Putting on a large-scale piece like the Creation meant a different kind of tour schedule; in addition to afternoon concerts and outreach, we...

A poetic look at the end of tour from rising sophomore Julia Myers. Having sung for the young girls who gave a standing ovation after every song, for the vast audience spilling into the aisles for the Creation, and for the elderly woman who kissed my cheeks with tears in her eyes, repeating “Obrigada” over and over in my ear and so many other things I only wish I could understand, I found myself sitting on the bus back to New Haven with a very heavy feeling. I couldn’t begin to imagine how a group that had just sung Bright College Years in an ill-formed circle at the baggage claim could be dispersing all around the world. But then I settled on what I remembered best about Rio, this one moment when I looked out of the bus window and saw along the shore a line of white ships poised on the glassy water. Their maiden names once painted in blood red were chipped and faded from the burning sunlight…the waves lapped up against their sides like rivulets of cool relief and when they fell...

Below, Cynthia Weaver '12 talks about our days in Campinas, Brazil.  After a scenic 9-hour bus ride filled with song, mischief and sleep, the Glee Club arrived in Campinas, home of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas, or Unicamp for short. On our first day in Campinas, we gave a concert at Unicamp to a small but enthusiastic audience. After a lunch in the university dining hall, we headed to rehearsal. That evening, the Glee Club enjoyed an American-style pizza dinner with some music students from the university. It was great to get to talk with some local music students, many of whom hope to eventually study music in the United States.             The next morning was a free morning, so the Glee Club enjoyed an evening of socializing. After our afternoon rehearsals and some free time at the mall due to drizzly weather, we headed to our evening concert at Igreja Católica Santa Rita de Cássia. The concert was a collaboration with the Unicamp Symphony Orchestra and two local s...