The Yale Glee Club Blog

Abigail Droge ’12 on the joys of our 150th Reunion Weekend. Above, Commons in its finery for the Singing Dinner (Photo: T Sean Maher) I realize now that “once a glee clubber, always a glee clubber” is an understatement. The sense of community and friendship that I experienced this weekend are like nothing I have ever seen before. The whole weekend was one of the highlights of the year for me, but there are a few moments that especially stood out: Friday, February 11 2:00 pm I’m standing in Hendrie 201 with a smile on my face and my brand new lapel pin clipped to my sweater. As the amazing Reunion Chair Jasmine Dyba ’11 explains the registration process to me, alums pour in, excitedly examining the contents of their registration packets, donning name tags, hugging old friends, and pointing at the rows and rows of photos behind us. These thousands of sepia-tinted faces with bangs, buzz cuts, center parts, or mutton chops (depending on how far back you go) have gazed at me for three yea...

Naomi Lewin '74 put together a wonderful piece about us for "Morning Edition" on Sunday, February 6. Listen to it here. A partial transcript is below: My freshman year in college, someone asked me my major. My immediate response was "Glee Club." At Yale, Glee Club is an extracurricular activity, but I continued to "major" in it all through college. The group celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, and next weekend, decades' worth of Glee Club alumni will head to New Haven, Conn., for a reunion. Singing has always been a big part of life at Yale, no matter what you're studying. The Yale Glee Club dates back to 1861, and over time has attracted a diverse crop of future luminaries. Vincent Price and William Sloane Coffin both spent time in Glee Club, as did Cole Porter, who penned Yale's fight song as an undergraduate. Another alum is Richard Brookhiser, who is now senior editor at the National Review. In college, he was already active in...

There will not, as far as we know, be any dancing chickens. That said, many props to Sandra Boynton '74, who drew them. RSVP to the Facebook event for our concert here.

An article from Donna Doherty in today's New Haven Register. All photos Arnold Gold/New Haven Register... and a video in the original article here . NEW HAVEN — It has sung all over the world, survived wars and co-education. Its alums include legendary songwriter Cole Porter, former senators Prescott Bush and James Symington, and peace activist Rev. William Sloane Coffin, so reaching 150 years old seemed cause for celebration.

 The Yale Glee Club, the oldest musical organization on campus, has big plans for that occasion, ones which embrace the community and continue through May, including two specially commissioned works, each composer and writer, unbeknownst to the other, choosing to honor the city of New Haven. 

“City Song,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and former Yale Glee-er Lew Spratlan and renowned Yale poet Elizabeth Alexander, will have its world premiere at a gala free concert at 5 p.m. Saturday at Woolsey Hall, featuring current Glee Club members and five decades...