A Gleeful Celebration of Song : The Glee Club Performs at Harvard Art Museums

Crowds of families and friends gathered in the Calderwood Courtyard of the Harvard Art Museums, listening as a chorus of voices reverberated through the open space and Italianate columns.

The Harvard Glee Club performed at the Harvard Art Museums on Oct. 27, the last day of Family Weekend. The one-hour show showcased a diverse array of songs from the Georgian war dance “Khorumi” to the Glee Club classic “Ave Maria.”

Founded in 1858, the Glee Club has been a fixture on campus for almost 166 years, drawing from the traditions of British and European singing clubs. Today, the group mainly performs music written for tenors and basses.

Oct. 27 marked the first time the Glee Club had performed at the Harvard Art Museums in over a decade, according to Glee Club Music Director and Conductor Andrew G. Clark. It was also the first full-length concert they performed there since the museums’ extensive renovation in 2014.

“It’s impossible not to be inspired by the museum’s collections across different periods of history, different cultures, different themes,” Clark said. “We think of our music in much the same way as a curator puts together an exhibit around particular themes or ideas.”

While there was not a specific unifying theme connecting all the songs, the setlist presented a wide range of music showcasing the versatility of the group, resulting in what Clark called “an eclectic mix of works.”

“You heard doo-wop, a cappella songs,” Clark said. “There was sacred music that's often performed in a church service, or liturgy pieces from traditions outside of the U.S. and Europe.”

For some songs, including “Ave Maria,” the Glee Club split into two choirs. A small group of nine went to the second floor of the museum, creating a sensation of surround sound as voices echoed around the resonant space.

“The acoustics are amazing,” said audience member Jay Fiske. “The setting was terrific. I think for this kind of choral music, in particular, the acoustics work really, really well. And then to split ‘Ave Maria’ with the nine singers up in the balcony juxtaposed with the main chorus was pretty special.”

The show also featured two pieces by Glee Club Lite, the a cappella subset of the Glee Club. Other than that, most pieces were accompanied by piano — played by Clark as well as Teaching Fellow and Pianist Andrew M. Courtney ’24— and percussive clapping.

President of Glee Club and baritone Max V. Semegran ’25 enjoyed being able to perform in the Museums.

“It was incredible,” Semegran said. “We went on a tour last year to Europe and we sang in a lot of different churches and museums, but performing here in this museum, it has an acoustic that’s really unlike any other space I’ve been able to perform in, and we’re really grateful to the Art Museums for letting us use the space for our performance.”

Not only was the venue special, but so was the makeup of the audience. For many of the singers, especially the first-years, this performance marked their first time singing with the Glee Club for their families and friends.

“Most of our concerts are not in front of parents because they live so far away, so having a concert during Family Weekend where everyone could bring their families and they can see what we’ve been working on is really, really wonderful,” said Semegran.