Academy Chorus Welcomes Changes

With an aim of avoiding images of students belting out cheesy 80’s power ballads in the hallways, the PEA Music Department will change the name of one of its most popular choral groups—from the Glee Club to the Exeter Choir Union.“The name Exeter Choir Union more accurately describes the work that the group does—that is, to unite people by singing together in harmony in a choir,” Kristofer Johnson, director of Glee Club, said. “Many kids think that Glee Club has something to do with the TV program Glee, but we don’t do popular music. We do master work.”The Glee Club’s new name is one of several changes to the campus’ musical offerings—a new men’s choir will also be added to the mix of campus choral groups.“Women’s chorus sprang up around ten years ago, from a need to expose young singers to singing experiences and now it’s going very well. We hope that men’s choir will serve the same function for young male singers,” Johnson said.Traditionally, a glee club is a choir group or a musical group performing a specific genre of music—“glee”—a special kind of male a cappella popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Most glee clubs in high schools and universities no longer perform such kind of music anymore, but the name stuck.“Glee Club, or now Exeter Choral Union, is a singing group that does not require audition as part of admission,” Johnson said. “Every student, experienced or inexperienced, is welcome to sing.” Exeter Glee Club currently meets two times a week in Phillips Church, in which Johnson leads students through a musical piece.Prep Cory Mengden, a Glee Club member, believed that the new name would be a more accurate description of the group. “Our Glee Club isn't much of a glee club. When one thinks of a glee club they think of either the music in the show Glee or just modern pop music done a cappella,” Mengden said. “This group is neither of those. We work on largely arranged pieces. Right now, we are working on Benjamin Britten's Rejoice In the Lamb which is over 15 minutes long.”Upper Jad Seligman, another member of Glee Club, added that the appropriate name change would not entail any transformation in the group itself. “The name change is mostly so people know it's not like Glee, the show. It’s still the same fantastic group, just led by Mr. Johnson,” Seligman said.In addition to the club welcoming new students who may not be familiar to the world of music, Johnson said that the name change is part of his larger plan to include more faculty and staff members in Glee Club. He also planned shorter events for Glee Club that would require less preparation time, to entice faculty members who are already busy.The men’s choir, a singing group for male students on campus, will debut next year. As current director of the concert choir, Johnson played a big role in creating this group with the intention that the newly created men’s choir be complementary to the existing women’s chorus.Johnson is excited for the future of these singing choirs and has recently reached out to prospective students, introducing them to the new men’s choir. “I’m in touch with a lot of prospective students,” he said. “I tract students, especially the young men and I reach out to them over the summer to see if they are interested in the singing program.”