Miami University Glee Club
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| Established | 1907 |
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| Location |  Oxford |
| Website | www.mugleeclub.org |
The Miami University Glee Club (or Miami University Men's Glee Club) is a 100 voice, all-male choral ensemble at Miami University in Oxford Ohio. It was founded in 1907 by Raymond Burke, the composer of Miami's Fight Song and Alma Mater, the Miami Men's Glee Club. With its over 100 singers selected by audition of all academic disciplines from the Miami University community, the Club is among the oldest and largest groups of its kind in the nation.
In 1906, Dr. Raymond Burke began his career as a geology professor at Miami University. Previously, a part of the Oberlin Glee Club, Burke wanted to see a similar group at Miami. Fortunately for Burke, then university President Dr. Guy Potter Benton had similar interests for a Miami Glee Club. In January 1907, Burke was offered with a new position as an assistant professor in the new Department of Geology. Benton mentioned the formation of the Glee Club, which Burke willingly obliged to heading the operation. The future of the Miami Men’s Glee Club had begun.
The first Glee Club only had eight members; two for each vocal part. However, it rivaled in popularity with the Miami football team. Burke began his search for more singers in fraternities because that was where many of "the better singers were."
The following year, Burke developed a "top secret" tune that the Club would present at their first concert, on February 28, 1908. This song became the current Miami Fight Song. Now with membership at "21 strong", that night at Benton Hall (now Hall Auditorium) was something to behold. Following the success of the new fight song, Burke began a project of creating a meaningful Alma Mater, premiering it in 1912. Both of these pieces have sustained for the past 100-plus years at Miami, and continue to be a part of the traditional set of the Miami Men's Glee Club.
Under the direction of Dr. Jeremy D. Jones, the Miami University Men's Glee Club engages in international tours and is frequently invited to the Intercollegiate Men’s Chorus Seminar.
The Glee Club hosts its annual concerts each year at Miami University in Hall Auditorium, which was constructed in 1908 for the Glee Club. These main concerts consist of the Fall, Winter, and Spring Home Concerts, the first two of which are paired with the Miami University Collegiate Chorale. In addition to these, the Glee Club will often perform at Miami University events, local churches, and high schools in the greater Ohio area. Each concert features a wide variety of music. Performing pieces from the Baroque era to modern compositions based on Indian Ragas, the Glee Club presents a diverse repertoire.
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