Purdue Varsity Glee Club to perform first concert of school year

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The concert, sponsored in part by the Purdue Student Union Board, will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Purdue Memorial Union ballrooms. It is free and open to the public. It will be the first performance of the year for the "new men," who join more than 30 returning vocalists in the world-renowned, all-male vocal ensemble.

"We don't ease slowly into the new semester, we burst into it full throttle with our first concert every year," said Brian Breed, director of Purdue Musical Organizations. "Our audiences are treated to surprise after surprise with every concert because we custom fit each performance."

The group spends a week in "Glee Club Camp" in northern Indiana prior to the show, where the new members are indoctrinated into the regime of being a Varsity Glee Club member. The men concentrate on learning new songs and expanding their repertoire of classical to contemporary, gospel to show tunes.

"It's a one-week, 100-percent concentration on the Glee Club," Breed said. "Singing is just a part of it; we work on the whole package. These young men are trained in everything from etiquette to mingling with guests after a performance. Once they join, they represent the Purdue Varsity Glee Club 24-7."

The Varsity Glee Club has daily rehearsals and performs more than 100 shows each year. The group has toured Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, China and, most recently, the United Kingdom. The group has been featured at many prestigious events, including five presidential inaugurations and the Rose Bowl. Working with performers such as Skitch Henderson, Marvin Hamlisch and Garrison Keillor, the men have many opportunities to learn from experience.

The Glee Club is one of five ensembles within the Purdue Musical Organizations. More than 200 students perform with PMO annually. Purdue has no school of music, so nearly every academic major is represented in the organization.

Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu

Sources: Brian Breed, (765) 494-3941, bdbreed@purdue.edu

Steve Schlenk, PMO assistant to the director, (765) 496-6091, sschlenk@purdue.edu

PMO main number, (765) 494-3941

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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