Men of Notre Dame,
On behalf of the Notre Dame Glee Club, I’d like to say welcome (or welcome back!) to Notre Dame. The school is home to a plethora of fun, exciting activities, and I cannot encourage you highly enough to dive into them! Now that the school year is right around the corner, I’d especially like to invite you to consider the Glee Club among your options to get involved in our Notre Dame family.
What is the Glee Club?
A university tradition established in 1915, the Notre Dame Glee Club is a 70-man, all-male chorus world-renowned for our rich, full sound. The group boasts a wide repertoire of music, ranging from Renaissance polyphony to American barbershop to Indian ragas. Basically, we sing everything from Beethoven to Billy Joel. We perform five regular concerts a year at Notre Dame (Fall, Christmas [x2], Spring, and Commencement) to packed audiences in the Leighton Concert Hall of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. We tour twice each year across the United States, and once every other year internationally. This summer, we completed an amazing month-long trip through 9 countries in Europe. But in addition to that, the Glee Club is a group of 70+ men united in appreciation of great music and great friendship. Our members form close bonds with each other and take the initiative to plan events such as trips to the Grotto, wing-eating competitions, pickup sports, Christmas caroling, and, of course, some good old-fashioned impromptu midnight concerts in front of the Golden Done. Members also participate in service initiatives on campus and around South Bend in the spirit of giving back to the community.
Musically, the group provides a very special experience at Notre Dame. Rehearsals involve a wide range of vocal and choral technique, as well as exposure to a number of musical styles and foreign languages. Many Glee Club concerts are sold out days before the performances, and many fans travel far distances to hear the sounds that they’ve forever associated with Our Lady’s University—the voice of the Notre Dame Glee Club.
Do you need a music background to audition?
Members of the Glee Club range from Vocal Performance majors with years of training to Mechanical Engineering majors who had previously only sung in the shower. While members are expected to have some basic knowledge of reading music and harmony, you don’t need to have ever sung in a choir to audition.
What is the time commitment?
The Glee Club rehearses four days a week in the evening for an hour and fifteen minutes, plus occasional mini-concerts and extra rehearsals. We make a great effort to work around class and personal conflicts when they arise. It’s a sizable time commitment, but we will always work with you to ensure that you can devote the necessary time to your studies.
How do I audition?
Sign up for University Choral Auditions on Aug. 23rd or 24th online at https://ndcampusministry.wufoo.com/forms/2015-choral-auditions/.If you are interested in Glee Club, mark it down as your first choice. Your audition, held in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, will involve a few singing exercises and the opportunity for you to perform either a prepared piece you bring or a standard audition song available during the audition. Following the music audition, go to the Blue Room in LaFortune Student Center where our officers will conduct a brief, informal interview to get to know you and answer any of your questions.
Any questions can be sent to gleeclub@nd.edu. I look forward to meeting you at auditions!
Follow us on Social Media:
on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ndgleeclub?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ndgleeclub
and on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/user/ndgleeclub
Go Irish, Beat Longhorns
Stuart Streit
President, Notre Dame Glee Club
Class of 2016