HGCA Events & News
Join the "Old Boys" of the Kyoto University Men's Glee Club in Hiroshima in May 2024. This will be the the 12th collaboration since our first joint concert in 1990.
57th Reunion of the 1967 Harvard Glee Club/Radcliffe Choral Society Asian Tour in Newport, RI on October 7-10, 2024.
JOIN YOUR FELLOW HGC ALUMS FOR AN AFTERNOON OF SINGING AND CAMARADERIE! A NEW TRADITION FOR THE CLASSES OF 90'S, 00'S, 10'S AND 20'S. DR. MICHAEL MCGAGHIE '01 CONDUCTING
JOIN YOUR FELLOW HGC ALUMS FOR AN AFTERNOON OF SINGING AND CAMARADERIE! A NEW TRADITION FOR THE CLASSES OF 90'S, 00'S, 10'S AND 20'S. DR. MICHAEL MCGAGHIE '01 CONDUCTING
The program will feature a vibrant and diverse array of choral works from across eras, cultures, and traditions, in addition to recently composed works and the beloved Football Song medleys from each school.
During the upcoming 2021-2022 season, the Harvard Glee Club will be learning and performing works for TTBB chorus and organ, and will feature these pieces in producing the group’s first studio recording in decades. This interactive seminar will explore these pieces, examine the compositional and performance considerations of music for men’s chorus and organ, and share insights into HGC’s approach to this project as we emerge from the pandemic and return to in-person singing.
We are excited to announce our second virtual benefit concert in collaboration with the Princeton University Glee Club and the Yale Glee Club!
Watch the second HGC Alumni Virtual Choir in the TOGETHER AT HOME series sing Sicut Cervus!
Watch the first HGC Alumni Virtual Choir in the ‘TOGETHER AT HOME’ series sing Beati Mortui!
Chanticleer has been at the forefront of the American a cappella sound since 1978. Each season finds the group performing over 100 concerts all around the world, with repertoire ranging from Renaissance polyphony and Baroque counterpoint, to intricate jazz charts and feel-good pop. Performing such diverse repertoire on such a consistent basis comes with a unique set of vocal, musicianship, and interpersonal demands. In this talk, we'll explore all the skills necessary to make it as a 21st century consort singer.
We enthusiastically invite our alumni to join us for a mass-virtual choir recording of Aretino’s “Tenebrae factae sunt.”
We invite current HGC alumni to participate in a virtual choir recording project with the Harvard Glee Club, Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, Radcliffe Choral Society, Princeton Glee Club, and Yale Glee Club.
The Harvard Glee Club has invited us to join them for several weeks on the Italian stops of their virtual world tour. Register now for these exciting events with HGC!
Social distancing measures have closed venues, postponed concerts and left many of us with nostalgia for a great choral concert. The good news is that we have a temporary solution -- stream recent Harvard Glee Club concerts directly into your home.
Notes from Nathan Reiff on the webinar:
The Russian-German composer Alfred Schnittke was one of the leading musical figures of the Soviet Union, best known for mashing together seemingly incompatible musical styles and references in a technique he called "polystylism." Then, with the Concerto for Choir of 1985, Schnittke turned away from his hallmark compositional approach in favor of a work with brazen sacred connotations and which was almost sure to draw the anger of Soviet authorities. Nonetheless, the Concerto saw widespread success among Soviet authorities and audiences alike. It is a work of tremendous beauty and power, reflective of Schnittke's own developing religious beliefs and his savviness in navigating the complex landscape of censorship and audience reception and deeply indebted to the centuries-old tradition of sacred Russian choral music while dramatically different from Schnittke's early compositions.
This webinar will last approximately one hour and will include a Q&A session. Please click on the button below to register. Advanced registration is appreciated, but you can register even while the webinar is in process. Once registered, you will receive an email notification with a unique link to join the webinar.
Active as a conductor, educator, and vocalist, Nathan Reiff holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University, where he has also completed the coursework toward a Doctor of Musical Arts degree. Reiff's work as a conductor has brought him before ensembles representing some of the broad diversity of the choral world, including the Young People's Chorus of New York City, the Yale Glee Club, the Yale Camerata, and the Ann Arbor Cantata Singers. Since 2017, Reiff has served as Resident Conductor of the Harvard Glee Club and Instructor at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. At the Conservatory, he teaches a survey sequence on choral repertoire and conducts Chorale and Choir, two ensembles of undergraduate vocal performance students. Beginning in 2019, Reiff has also served as Guest Conductor of the Falmouth Chorale and Music Director of JourneySongs, an interfaith hospice choir. As a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Yale, Reiff's scholarly projects focused on the intersection of polystylism and incrementalism in Alfred Schnittke's Concerto for Choir. His primary teachers of conducting have included Jerry Blackstone, Marguerite Brooks, Jeffrey Douma, and David Hill.
Prior to his graduate studies, Reiff received a B.A. in Music with distinction at Yale, where he performed as a member and Music Director of the Whiffenpoofs, the nation’s oldest all-male a cappella singing group. In addition to his work as a conductor, he taught music at the International School of Trieste in Trieste, Italy and assisted the violinist Midori with the administration of non-profit organizations specializing in music education and community outreach.
Prepare for holiday delights, moving classics, and the joy of coming together online!
Virtual Rehearsal & Recording Tutorial - Monday, November 30, 4:30pm-5:30pm
Submissions Due by December 4
“This Fall, HGC has been learning, preparing, and recording various holiday pieces for a Lessons and Carols service with our friends from the Ashmont Boys Choir. Our “virtual performance” of the work will take place in late December. We enthusiastically invite our alumni to join us for a mass-virtual choir performance of Biebl’s Ave Maria. It would be wonderful to see as many of you as possible for our joint zoom rehearsal on Monday, November 30! Thanks for your support of HGC, most especially during these challenging times.“
Dr. Andrew Clark, Director of Choral Activities
Alumni are cordially invited to attend a live rehearsal and recording tutorial on Monday, November 30, from 4:30pm -5:30pm. Click on the link below at 4:30pm on November 30 to join the Zoom rehearsal. A recording of the rehearsal will be posted on this site for those unable to make it in real time.
Review the recording checklist below:
Please skim the Harvard website for best practices with webcam position/room lighting:
Key points in the above doc: light primarily from the front, not back; place the camera at eye level.
• If possible, please have a light colored, uniform blank wall behind you that will facilitate separating your image from the background
• Attire: HGC will be wearing our semiformal attire: blue blazer, white dress shirt, HGC tie. No worries if you present a close variation.
• Record in the highest resolution possible (4k is fine) and using headphones (double check to ensure the guide track is not audible in your recording before submitting)
• If recording with a phone, it is preferable it not be hand-held, and record in portrait orientation
• Please hold position at the end of performance, as you would do so live - and smile!
Please name all files in the following format: Part_LastName (e.g. Tenor 1_Clark)
Click on the button below to submit and follow the on-screen prompts:
PLEASE DIRECT ANY QUESTIONS OR INQUIRIES TO INFO@HGCALUMNI.ORG
I am so excited to talk with you at our Webinar, November 7, 4-5 PM, ET. We will reminisce about favorite HGC pieces, performed between 1978-2010. Out of 376, my TOP 13 are: Britten, Little Musgrave; Schubert, Nachthelle; Josquin, Gloria; Jeffers, Waitin’ for the Dawn; Milhaud, Psalm 121; Shaw-Parker, Lowlands, Gentle Annie; Tomkins, When David Heard; Georgian Songs, Shen khar Venakhi, Gazapkhuli; Chesnokov, Spaséniye sodélal; Kodaly, Esti dahl; Palestrina, Sicut Cervus.
I plan to choose 6 pieces from the Top 13, why I especially love these pieces, and in rehearsals what the musical ingredients were on which we spent hours refining them to create memorable performances: pitch (intonation), duration (rhythmic precision), timbre (vowels), intensity (expression): dynamics, phrasing, articulation, linear direction, rubato.
I can’t wait!
Jim
This webinar will last approximately one hour and will include a Q&A session. Please click on the button below to register. Advanced registration is appreciated, but you can register even while the webinar is in process. Once registered, you will receive an email notification with a unique link to join the webinar.
During the webinar Jim will discuss six of the following pieces. Click on the links below to see a PDF of the music for these pieces.
Britten, Little Musgrave
Schubert, Nachthelle
Josquin, Gloria
Jeffers, Waitin’ for the Dawn
Milhaud, Psalm 121
Shaw-Parker, Lowlands, Gentle Annie
Tomkins, When David Heard
Georgian Songs, Shen khar Venakhi, Gazapkhuli
Chesnokov, Spaséniye sodélal
Kodaly, Esti dahl.
Palestrina, Sicut Cervus.
Jim also prepared a PDF with all the repertoire prepared by the Glee Club from 1978-2010 in addition to a list of acting/associate/assistant conductors from the same period. Click on the button below to view and download the PDF.
Jameson Marvin was Director of Choral Activities, Senior Lecturer on Music at Harvard University for 32 years. From 1978 to 2010, Harvard’s Choral Program garnered a distinguished national reputation. Under his conductorship, the Harvard Glee Club, Radcliffe Choral Society, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, rose to be among the premier collegiate choruses in America. These ensembles appeared at nine Eastern Division and seven National Conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, and the Choral Program at Harvard was named by Classical Singer magazine the top collegiate choral program in the United States.
Dr. Marvin's musicianship, comprehensive knowledge of style and performance practices of historical eras, and acknowledged mastery of ensemble music making have been the trademark of his insightful, communicative, and inspiring performances. Some 80 choral-orchestral masterworks from Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 to 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner, Paul Moravec's Songs of Love & War dot the landscape of his comprehensive experience in conducting symphonic-choral works from the 17th through the 21st centuries.
While Dr. Marvin's performances of the masterpieces of the Renaissance and Baroque enjoy a distinguished national reputation, it is his unique knowledge of a cappella gems from the early 15th century through newly commissioned works of the 21st century, for men's, women's, and mixed choruses that reveal the full range of his comprehensive choral artistry.
Through his publications of important articles on choral style and performance practices as well as his many editions of choral literature of the Renaissance, Dr. Marvin's well-known strengths as a choral scholar are revealed. His many folk song arrangements and compositions for mixed, men's, and women's choirs appear in numerous publications and are performed throughout this country. Some 40 of his former Harvard students now hold significant choral positions in the United States.
Through his charismatic spirit, humor, musicianship and passion, over the past 40 years Jameson Marvin has enriched the lives of thousands of his choral singers, students, and choral colleagues through his uncommon wellspring of knowledge, experience, and inspired leadership. He looks forward to his years of retirement to offer his expertise in conducting and teaching in mentoring future choral conductors.
Emotion in Choral Singing explores what it truly takes to experience the transcendent power of choral music and achieve genuine emotional connection between composer, performer, and listener. With unmatched detail and authority, legendary conductor Jameson Marvin surveys the history of singing; effective rehearsal; score study; repertoire selection; and the relationship between a composer s intentions, music notation, and expression. Specifically, this book looks at six complementary areas: Musical Gesture and Emotion: A Guide to Teaching and Performing The Historical Roots of Singing: Notation and Expression Performing Polyphony in the 21st Century Style and Expression in Renaissance Choral Performance The Conductor's Process Mastery of Choral Ensemble A particularly noteworthy feature of this book is its emphasis on polyphony, which, Marvin reminds us, encourages an individual expressivity and musicality in singers that can be applied to all styles of choral music, making it as relevant and vital today as ever. Links to recordings included within this book provide a range of examples from throughout Marvin s career. Emotion in Choral Singing offers a new perspective on the choral art. It is chock-full of practical ideas, tips, and wisdom that will empower and inspire choral directors and musicians of all levels to achieve authentic emotional connection in their work.
Jim’s book can be purchased on Amazon.
For more than a century, the Glee Clubs of Harvard, Princeton, and Yale Universities have celebrated the deep friendship between these storied choral unions with a season of collaborative concerts during the fall semester.
In honoring this tradition at a time of extraordinary change and challenge, on October 17 at 7pm EDT, the three Glee Clubs will present a virtual online benefit concert, Hand in Hand. Proceeds will benefit three non-profit organizations engaged in vitally important work for equity and justice in arts education - Boston’s Castle of our Skins, New Haven’s Music Haven, and Trenton Head Start.
The suggested minimum donation is $5, but we encourage you to give as generously as you can. Students can register for free.
Each ensemble will share new and past performances by its singers, and the concert will end with a joint virtual performance of a new arrangement by Brandon Waddles of the Isley Brothers classic Caravan of Love commissioned for this concert. The song will be introduced by Dr. Cornel West, currently Professor of Public Philosophy at Harvard Divinity School, and a former faculty member at both Princeton and Yale.
You can register to attend and make your donation here:
Join us for an exploratory conversation about Renaissance music and its context within today’s choral canon.
Join us for a stimulating conversation about how contemporary choral music renews itself through critiquing its own past. Modern composers have often found inspiration in the legacies of Baroque forms, notably those of the Bach Passions.
Join us for an exciting conversation about TTBB music and how choral music is evolving in the 21st century.
Harvard Glee Club Alumni stands united with the Harvard Glee Club and supports efforts to change the systemic problems of racial and social injustice.
We are starting the nomination process and are seeking your suggestions for a few good alumni whom you think we should consider for our 2020-2021 slate of Directors.
We invite you participate in the first ever HGC Alumni Virtual Choir for ‘00s & ‘10s!
Join the Harvard Glee Club and the Radcliffe Choral Society for our Junior Family Weekend Showcase! Celebrate timeless works from the last seven centuries.
Junior Family Weekend concert. Program (subject to change) includes Harvard Glee Club: Premiere of "Wall of Mirrors" by Molly Joyce; Premiere of "Those Nights" by Nathan Robinson Class of 2020; "Danny Boy" arranged by Jameson Marvin; "The Sally Garden" arranged by Noam Elkies; "A Robyn, Gentil Robyn by William Cornysh. And RCS: Que buen ano by Guerrero and songs from Puerto Rico; Movements from Anne Frank: A Living Voice; "Four Songs for Soprano Women's Chorus" by Lewis Spratlan.
Tickets: $20.00; Students: Free
or 617-496-2222
Join your fellow HGC Alumni members for an afternoon of singing and camaraderie!
You are cordially invited to join other alums and current members of the Harvard Glee Club and the Radcliffe Choral Society for a Caroling Party around the Harvard Campus and Harvard Square.
Join the Harvard Glee Club, Radcliffe Choral Society and Yale Glee Club for the Annual Harvard-Yale Football Concert!
Tune in for the live stream of the Harvard-Yale Football Concert.
Join the Harvard Glee Club for the 106th Annual Harvard-Princeton Concert on Saturday, October 19 in Sanders Theatre!
