Who We Are

From its earliest days as a group of thirteen men from the Class of 1863 to its current incarnation as an eighty-voice chorus of women and men, the Yale Glee Club has represented the best in collegiate singing for nearly a century and a half. The students who sing in the Yale Glee Club might be majors in music or engineering, English or political science, philosophy or mathematics. They are drawn together by a love of singing and a common understanding that raising one's voice with others to create something beautiful is one of the noblest human pursuits.

A broad spectrum of great music

The Glee Club’s repertoire embraces a broad spectrum of choral music from the 16th century to the present, including Renaissance motets, contemporary choral works, world folk music, and traditional Yale songs. Committed to the creation of new music, the Glee Club presents frequent premieres of newly commissioned works and sponsors an annual competition for young composers. The great choral masterworks are also an important part of the Glee Club’s repertoire; recent performances have included Verdi Requiem, Orff Carmina Burana, Mozart Requiem, Britten War Requiem, Rossini Stabat Mater, Fauré Requiem, Haydn Missa in Tempore Belli and Creation, Brahms Nänie, Mendelssohn Elijah, Penderecki Credo, Aaron Jay Kernis Symphony of Meditations, and choral symphonies of Mahler and Beethoven.

One of the most traveled collegiate choruses in the world

One of the most traveled choruses in the world, the Yale Glee Club has performed in every major city in the United States and embarked on its first overseas tour in 1928. It has since appeared before enthusiastic audiences throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. In the summer of 2005, the Glee Club made its first trip to Australia and New Zealand. This season, the Glee Club will travel domestically from coast to coast and will retrace the steps of its first European tour (1928) to Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and France, adding a stop to Istanbul. Historically a leading advocate of international choral exchange, the Glee Club has hosted countless guest ensembles at Yale and at New York's Lincoln Center in conjunction with its own International Choral Festivals.

Bringing musicians of the world together

The Yale Glee Club has had only seven directors in its 149-year history, and is currently led by Jeffrey Douma. Previous directors have included Marshall Bartholomew (1921-1953), who first brought the group to international prominence and who introduced serious classical music to its repertoire; Fenno Heath (1953-1992), under whose inspired leadership the Glee Club made the transition from male chorus to mixed chorus; and most recently David Connell (1992-2002), whose vision helped carry the best traditions of this ensemble into the twenty-first century. The Glee Club has appeared under the baton of many distinguished guest conductors from Leopold Stokowski to Robert Shaw. Recent collaborations included performances under the direction of Sir David Willcocks, Krzysztof Penderecki, Sir Neville Marriner, Dale Warland, Helmuth Rilling and Nicholas McGegan. In 2011 the Glee Club will perform with guest conductor Simon Carrington.

Join us

Auditions are held during the first week of fall classes, and are open to all Yale students.