Musical Groups
1929: Men's Glee Club Tour of Chicago and Buffalo
The Men’s Glee Club was established in 1876 and often travelled in the region to perform. In this silent film from 1929, the group heads to Chicago and can be seen outside the landmark Field Museum. They performed in Oak Park and also at the Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church in Detroit. They returned via Buffalo, and stayed at the Hotel Statler.
1960: Men's Glee Club appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Men’s Glee Club, conducted by Ward Woodbury, submitted a test record (shown here) to the Ed Sullivan Show in 1956. The show was sponsored by Kodak and this connection did seem to help with booking the Club on the show. The group made an appearance as part of Sullivan’s Easter Program, with fellow performers Mahalia Jackson and Charles Keonaonalaulani Llewellyn Davis (a native Hawaiian opera singer and musician). Along with Kodak, the Sullivan show was sponsored by the laundry detergent Fab -- the Fab Four wouldn’t show up until 1964.
1965: Berlioz' Requiem
The combined women's and men's glee clubs performed Berlioz' "Requiem" for Parents' Weekend in 1965. The massive undertaking included the All-University Symphony Orchestra, two additional choral groups, and tenor soloist John Braund '53.
Of the performance in the Palestra, Fredric Kroll ('65, '73PhD) reviewed it in the Campus Times using phrases like "true joy," "entirely professional," and "complete triumph."