In recent years, glee clubs have gained more popularity thanks to television shows like “Glee” and its spin-offs. Those who want to experience a glee club performance in person can see the University’s own Varsity Men’s Glee Club on Saturday at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
The VMGC, which celebrated its 125th anniversary last spring, is among the oldest student organizations on campus. The group will host its annual concert at the Krannert Center in Foellinger Great Hall in honor of Dads Weekend.
“The Dads Day Concert is a celebration of choral music and UI history, as we take listeners on a trip through a diverse array of musical styles, from the Renaissance all the way through modern barbershop and pop, with an even split between sacred and secular pieces,” said Tim Garbaciak, club president and senior in Engineering.
Garbaciak said a particular highlight of Dads Day Concert is “the final set of traditional VMGC numbers where we invite our alumni to perform with the club, including our unique ‘Big Ten Medley’ of fight songs and alma maters of each school in the Big Ten.”
There will also be guest performances at the event from the Women’s Glee Club and The Other Guys, which is a subset of the Varsity Men’s Glee Club.
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Ryan Paroline, club vice president and senior in LAS, said the theme is Glee-gnam Style, so the crowd can be sure to expect performances influenced by the Korean rapper PSY.
The Varsity Men’s Glee Club hosts two concerts each year, one for Dads Day and the other in the spring.
In addition to the concerts they hold at the Krannert Center, they sing at various events on and off campus.
“Each theme usually involves some pun or play on words using pop culture and the word ‘glee,’ such as this year’s Dads Day Theme, Glee-gnam Style,” Paroline said.
Past names of their concerts include “Glii Music,” “The Good, The Bad, and the U-Glee” and “Glee-Ception,” which refer respectively to Nintendo Wii, the 1966 spaghetti Western and the 2010 science fiction film.
The glee club’s achievements include traveling throughout the United States and Europe multiple times as musical ambassadors for the University.
Barrington Coleman is the current director of the Varsity Men’s Glee Club. Paroline credits Coleman’s “highly evocative and expressive conduction style” as to why the club has a wide range of dynamic and emotional expression in its music.
The club holds auditions at the beginning of the year, and any male student is welcomed to attend.
Garbaciak said that the club has been preparing for the Dads Day Concert since the first week of September. John Junk, sophomore in Business, said what makes all the rehearsals worth it for him is seeing audience members connect to their performances.
The event starts at 7:30 p.m. and lasts about two hours with a short intermission. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door and cost $4 for students, $7 for seniors and $10 for general admission.
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