page_title: University of Michigan Men's Glee Club
section_title: Modern era
hierarchical_section_title: University of Michigan Men's Glee Club / History / Modern era
caption_attribution_description: English: Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan 1998
context_page_description: The University of Michigan Men's Glee Club is an all-male glee club at the University of Michigan. With roots tracing back to 1859, it is the second oldest glee club in the United States and is the oldest student organization at the university. The club has won the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod on four separate occasions. Since 2018, the Club's musical director has been Mark Stover who has continued to expand the Club's repertoire and arranged performances.
  The origins of the club stem from a variety of groups that came together in 1876. After a number of years including banjo and mandolin players in the club, it reverted to simply a vocal group by the mid-1920s. It received a substantial rise in profile under the directory of Philip Duey in the 1950s, who organised national, then international tours, and numerous television appearances. Since then, the club has continued to tour internationally at high-profile venues.
  The club is entirely managed by students, except for the musical director, taken from the university staff. It has a number of traditions, including the practice of snapping fingers instead of clapping.
context_section_description: The club performed the pre-game festivities for the final game of the 1984 World Series at Tiger Stadium, but their performance was overshadowed by scenes of violence and rioting after the game. Their tour bus was set upon by rioters, who vandalised it, while the singers fled to safety. A more favourable appearance occurred the following year when, under the direction of Patrick Gardner, the club undertook a 36-day tour across Europe, which culminated in another appearance at Llangollen, where they placed third.
  Under the direction of Jerry Blackstone, the Michigan Men's Glee Club embarked on four major overseas tours. In 1989 the Glee Club spent three weeks touring Asia with concerts in Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea. In 1992 the Club embarked on a trip to Eastern Europe, where they were one of the first American groups to visit the new country of Estonia, which had recently declared independence from the defunct Soviet Union. 1996 brought the Club to South America including Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and Peru, and the Club most recently traversed Australia in 2000. The highlight of this tour was the inaugural Men of Song Festival hosted by the Brisbane Boys' College in which 140 pupils participated in a workshop and joint concert.
  Under Blackstone's direction the Club was invited to perform at several conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, including the 1997 National Convention in San Diego. The Club also released six compact discs during this time and was featured on Mannheim Steamroller's 2001 album Christmas Extraordinaire, with Blackstone co-credited as choir director. In the spring of 2001 the combined Men's Glee Club and Smith College Glee Club and Chorale gave a performance of Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem in Northampton, Massachusetts. The following fall the endeavor was repeated in Hill Auditorium with the Smith and Michigan Women's Glee Clubs. Blackstone retired in 2002, with the club's CD I have had singing being a retrospective of his tenure as conductor. His time spent conducting the club has been well-received, with the secretary of the Warsaw Philharmonica stating, "I was completely enchanted. It is unbelievable that an amateur group could surpass our most professional choirs with such ease of execution."
  Stephen Lusmann took over leadership until 2005; highlights of his tenure include an appearance at the Intercollegiate Men's Choruses National Convention at Harvard University, a sixteen-day tour of Great Britain and Ireland in 2004 and the club's premiere performance at Carnegie Hall with the Smith College Glee Club in 2005.
  From 2005 to 2011, the Club was under the direction of Paul Rardin. Notable achievements during this time include international tours to Spain in 2008 and Cuba in 2011. The Cuban tour was considered especially significant, given that Americans have not easily been able to travel to the country legally, but the University gave financial assistance and an offer of a cultural exchange to make the tour happen. In 2010, the club celebrated its 150th anniversary, and as part of the celebrations performed a set of joint concerts with the Harvard University and University of Virginia Glee Clubs, taking a variety of music including contemporary American songs, folk and Renaissance music. Rardin said "It's a wonderful opportunity for all of us to see, hear and learn from three different ensembles."
  Rardin left the University of Michigan after the Cuban tour to accept the position of Director of Choirs at Temple University in 2011. As of the fall term of 2011, Eugene Rogers assumed direction of the club. Notable achievements during his tenure include an international tour to China in 2012, a major tour of the East Coast of the United States which concluded in a joint concert with the Glee Clubs of Harvard and Yale Universities, and the nationwide extension of the Club's Brothers in Song program which partners with underserved young men's choral programs in public schools. As of 2018, Mark Stover has been directing the group. There was a planned spring 2020 tour t
caption: The club appeared at the 1984 World Series at Tiger Stadium in Detroit
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