Collegiate male glee clubs have flourished in the United States since the first glee club was established in 1858 at Harvard University. For more than 150 years men’s glee clubs have proliferated from predominately autonomous student-led social organizations singing of school pride and spirit to organizations of musical and artistic prominence. While many collegiate glee clubs still retain certain elements of a social and fraternal-like nature, faculty directors helped instill traditions of musical excellence through various artistic missions, initiatives, and endeavors.
Published historical accounts pertaining to the rich histories associated with individual glee clubs, as well as the movement as a whole, are sparse, and continued research in this field is needed to enhance the historical contributions of the male choral arts. This document serves to supplement the literature available on glee clubs through an historic overview of the development of male glee clubs among American colleges and universities. Selected glee clubs are discussed in Chapters IV and V serving as representative organizations in this broad artistic movement. Prior to the accounts of the selected American collegiate glee clubs, brief historical perspectives on Western European male singing societies as found in the English glee and German Männerchor traditions, as well as the early American male singing societies, are presented. The final Chapter concludes the study with pertinent information on professional service organizations, such as the Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses (IMC) and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), pertaining to the advocacy of the male choral movement throughout the nation. Additionally, the concluding Chapter provides information on four well-known professional and community male choruses in the nation: Chanticleer, Cantus, the Turtle Creek Chorale, and the Washington Men’s Camerata. The document ends with an Appendix of forty-five recently composed twenty-first century works for male chorus commissioned by or written for specific male choruses. Its intent is to supplement available repertoire guides and provide conductors a valuable resource for programming quality literature for male choruses.