Glee club facts for kids
A glee club is a group of singers, much like a choir. Historically, these groups were mostly made up of male voices. However, today, glee clubs can also include female or mixed voices. They traditionally focused on singing short songs, often performed by small groups of three or four singers. Glee clubs became very popular in American high schools in the late 1800s. It became a tradition to have them in schools.
The name "glee club" comes from a type of English song called a "glee." These songs were often sung by these clubs. The very first Glee Club started in London in 1787. Glee clubs were popular in Britain until the mid-1850s. After that, larger singing groups called choral societies became more common. By the mid-1900s, traditional glee clubs were not as common anymore.
Glee clubs were very important in 19th-century America. For example, during the American Civil War, a soldier named Henry Stone remembered a glee club from Chicago. They brought a new song called "We'll rally 'round the flag, boys" (Battle Cry of Freedom). This song quickly spread through the army. Stone said it gave the soldiers as much spirit as winning a battle!
Today, the term "glee club" is still used for choirs in North American colleges, universities, and high schools. Most American glee clubs are now just regular choruses. They rarely perform the old "glee" songs anymore.
Oldest College Glee Clubs in the US
Many colleges and universities in the United States have very old glee clubs. Here are some of the oldest ones, listed by the year they were founded:
- 1858: Harvard Glee Club
- 1859: University of Michigan Men's Glee Club
- 1861: Yale Glee Club
- 1862: Wesleyan University Glee Club
- 1862: The University of Pennsylvania Glee Club
- 1865: Amherst College Glee Club
- 1868: Cornell University Glee Club
- 1869: Union College Men's Glee Club
- 1869: Lehigh University Glee Club
- 1871: Virginia Glee Club
- 1872: Rutgers University Glee Club
- 1873: Columbia University Glee Club
- 1874: Princeton Glee Club
- 1874: Worcester Polytechnic Institute Men's Glee Club
- 1875: The Ohio State University Men's Glee Club
- 1877: The Mount Holyoke College Glee Club
- 1886: The University of Illinois Varsity Men's Glee Club
- 1888: Penn State Glee Club
- 1890: Pitt Men's Glee Club
- 1890: The University of Kansas Men's Glee Club
- 1892: The Pomona College Men's Glee Club
- 1892: Wabash College Glee Club
- 1893: University of Michigan Women’s Glee Club
- 1893: Purdue Varsity Glee Club
- 1893: Texas A&M Singing Cadets
- 1897: Case Men's Glee Club (Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University)
- 1901: The University of Oklahoma Men's Glee Club
- 1902: The Pomona College Women's Glee Club
- 1903: West Point Glee Club
- 1906: Georgia Tech Glee Club
- 1907: Wheaton College Men's Glee Club, Miami University Glee Club
- 1911: Morehouse College Glee Club
- 1915: University of Notre Dame Glee Club (Oldest Glee Club at a Catholic University)
- 1916: Tiger Glee Club (Louisiana State University)
- 1927: University of Pittsburgh Women's Choral Ensemble
The oldest glee club in the United States that is not part of a college is the Mendelssohn Glee Club. It was founded in 1866.
See also
- Glee (TV series)
- List of collegiate glee clubs
