Battle of voice: Men's Glee Club takes on Ohio State

For those wanting to savor the University of Michigan-Ohio State rivalry long after Saturday's game is over, there is an event slightly different from the down-and-dirty happenings inside Michigan Stadium - the down-and-dirty Men's Glee Club Fall Concert. With the friendliest possible competitive spirit, the University's own Glee Club has challenged the Buckeyes to a battle of a different sort, the battle of the voice.

PREVIEW
	Men's Glee Club Saturday night at 6 and 9 Hill Auditorium Tickets are $7-$12 at Hill Box Office

The University of Michigan Men's Glee Club was founded in 1859, and is the second oldest collegiate chorus in the United States, as well as the oldest continually run student organization on the University campus. Considered to be one of the world's best male choruses, the Glee Club has achieved this status by maintaining the traditions that have been established during its 138-year history.

Among the traditions honored by the Glee Club is that of winning prizes and that of touring the world. The Glee Club was honored in 1959 to be the first American male chorus to win first place at the International Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales, and has since won three more first prizes at the same competition. The Club performs regularly within the state of Michigan, and each year tours a region of the United States or goes abroad. Among the places to which the members have travelled are the Far East, Russia, Central Europe and South America. Within the country, the Men's Glee Club has made appearances at Avery Fisher Hall in New York, the World Series, the Intercollegiate Men's Choruses National Seminar at Harvard University,

The Men's Glee Club will challenge the Ohio State Glee Club to a battle of voices.

and the Central Division and National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association. Next stop for the Wolverines: the Pacific Northwest.

Rob Aylesworth, an LSA sophomore, spoke recently about his Glee Club experience. "We have a really solid group this year," he said, "and I am really amazed at the levels of concentration and our ability to focus."

The Glee Club is led to one victory after another by its conductor, Jerry Blackstone, who said that the Michigan-Ohio State Glee Club concert is "a long-standing tradition" for both teams, and is always held in the same town as the football game that year. "It's always a very exciting concert, but especially if we win the football game." With respect to Ohio State's Glee Club, Blackstone remarked that the Ohio State Glee Club is "a wonderful group, one of the finest collegiate singing groups in the world. They are very much an inspiration to us," a respect that is undoubtedly shared by every Glee Club member. Of course, in the spirit of competition that is innate in every Wolverine, he concludes his interview with an emphatic, "Go Blue!"

This is Blackstone's 10-year anniversary conducting the Men's Glee Club.

"Dr. Blackstone is an amazing conductor, and the Glee Club wouldn't be as good without him. He has the ability to make learning the music fun, but also focused," Aylesworth said.

The Wolverine Glee Club has become renowned for its wide repertoire of music that incorporates selections from different musical styles and periods including Renaissance motets, Romantic anthems, opera choruses, spirituals, contemporary works and the Club's specialty, Michigan songs. Tomorrow's game plan includes a variety of these, from folk songs to fight songs, in English and beyond. In addition to the 117-member performance, the Friars, an eight-member a cappella subset of the Glee Club, will perform a few numbers. To keep things fair, the Friars' counterpart, the Ohio State Statemen, will also be performing a few selections.

Both Glee Clubs have been working hard and are hoping for a good turnout. Victory or no victory on the football field, there is sure to be cheering heard at Hill tomorrow night.

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