Records of the New York University Men's and Women's Glee Clubs and the University Choral Arts Society
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Abstract
The New York University Men's and Women's Glee Clubs and Choral Arts Society collection is composed of concert programs and ephemera, newspaper clippings, photographs, and audio recordings spanning the clubs' long history.
History of the New York University Men's and Women's Glee Clubs and the University Choral Arts Society
In 1873, the New York University Men's Glee Club, composed of seventeen young men, sang their first formal concert in New York's Chickering Hall. The Club continued to grow in size and popularity under the direction of Dr. Joseph H. Bryan, founder and conductor of the Men's Glee Club through 1892. The NYU Men's Glee Club served as a model for other universities and performed around the world on some of the biggest stages. In 1934, the Club was the first to establish a training camp held one week prior to the university's opening in September and soon thereafter, the Winter Training Camp was added to the club's intercession schedule. Inspired by the NYU Men's Glee Club's dedication, many college choruses created their own training programs. The Club performed 38 concerts at the then NYU-owned Town Hall and has toured in Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and throughout Europe and the United States. The Men's Glee Club was also featured on the Ed Sullivan show and chosen to sing before Pope Paul II at the Vatican, the Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and in 1956 performed atop the Pepsi Cola sign in Times Square. The Men's Glee Club was just one of the many choral singing groups at the University. In 1965, the Women's Glee Club was created and four years later, Professor and Conductor E. Jon de Revere consolidated the Men's and Women's clubs with the School of Education Chorus to form the New York University Choral Arts Society. Professor de Revere also started the Goliards, a twelve-man group selected from the Men's Glee Club. In 1962, the Goliards were selected by the U.S. Department of State to do a USO Tour in Germany and France, and the elite group also provided annual Christmas entertainment at the Caneel Bay Plantation in the U.S. Virgin Islands from 1964 to 1970.
The Men's Glee Club was revived in 2012.
Arrangement
The New York University Men's and Women's Glee Clubs and Choral Arts Society collection is organized into seven series. The material within each series is arranged chronologically. Series IV Concert recordings is further divided into eighteen subseries based on each album's date.
Series I: Concert programs and ephemera Series II: Correspondence Series III: Publications Series IV: Concert recordings Series V: Photo collection Series VI: Audiovisual recordings Series VII: Oversized material
The New York University Men's and Women's Glee Clubs and Choral Arts Society collection is organized into seven series. The material within each series is arranged chronologically. Series IV is further divided into eighteen subseries based on each album's date.
Missing Title
- Concert programs and ephemera
- Correspondence
- Publications
- Concert recordings
- Photographs
- Audiovisual recordings
- Oversized material
Scope and contents
Series I largely contains Men's Glee Club concert programs from 1866 to 2008. Many of the programs document the club's annual performance at the then-NYU owned Town Hall. Other ephemera within this series includes concert advertisements and event calendars.
Series II consists of correspondence from and to Glee Club members, conductors, and alumni.
Series III is largely composed of publications about the Men's Glee Club. In addition to newspaper clippings, student publications like the Glee Club Bulletin (1938-1967) and Encore described the club's activities. This series also includes songbooks utilized by club members.
Series IV contains recordings of the Men's Glee Club performances between 1942 and 1970. Most recordings are of the club's annual Town Hall concert.
Series V contains photographs of the Men's and Women's Glee Club ranging from 1898 to the 1980s. The oldest images of the Men' s Glee Club are yearbook portraits. Many Glee Club concerts and tours were photographed including the Times Square performance, Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Ceremony, and the Goliards at Caneel Bay. In addition, there are many images of the Men's Glee Club training camps. Finally, several disassembled scrapbooks within this series, such as the Heights Women's Chorus scrapbook, contain photographs and other club ephemera.
Series VI holds additional Men's Glee Club recordings.
Series VII contains oversized photographs of the Men's Glee Club.
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Access Restrictions
Administrative records and unpublished reports of New York University are closed for a period of 20 years from the date of their creation. Access to files spanning multiple years will be opened to researchers based on the date of the most recent materials. Board of Trustees records are closed for 35 years from the date of creation. Materials related to personnel, grievances, job and fellowship searches and applications, and all files that fall under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) are permanently restricted. Additional restrictions may apply to other materials in this collection. For questions regarding specific restrictions, please contact the University Archives.
Use Restrictions
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by the creator are maintained by New York University. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from New York University Archives, (212) 998-2646, university-archives@nyu.edu.
Source of Acquisition
These materials were transferred to the University Archives from a storage room in the School of Education Building in 1996.