Peter Caty/the Mirror
Journey. Queen. Madonna. Lady Gaga. The hit show “Glee” features them all. The show is about a high school Glee Club that takes modern day artists, mixed with classic rock and popular Broadway shows, and adds a quirky spin to them.
The combination of the Club’s amazing voices and outstanding dance techniques leaves the show’s fans, affectionately called, ‘gleeks,’ speechless. “Gleeks” at Fairfield University can look forward to concerts performed by our own talented Glee Club.
There are a few differences between our Glee Club and the show “Glee,” like the absence of fancy costumes and choreography. The Director of Choral and Liturgical Music, as well as the Director of Glee Club at Fairfield, Carole Ann Maxwell, gives us insight to why this is the case.
“The term ‘glee club’ is not what you see on “Glee”. What Fairfield does is called a show choir and that came into existence in the 1980’s where you have pop music, singing, dancing, costuming and in some cases lighting and sceneries,” she said, “It’s really a big difference between a glee club such as ours at Fairfield. The show choirs that you see are primarily in high schools.”
Although our Glee Club may not be seen sporting Lady GaGa costumes or busting out ‘Kiss’ head bangs, they can be seen singing songs from Journey, and other classics. Has “Glee” had a significant influence on Glee Clubs around the world, or at least, at Fairfield?
“I would say definitely it has, in a positive way,” said Maxwell, “The seniors at our pop concert actually did one of the songs by Journey that was featured on “Glee.” I think that the story line is something that my students really enjoy so I know that they watch it. It’s certainly a phenomenon.”
According to Maxwell, Glee Clubs, which were originally restricted to men only, started in the 18th century. What started out as drinking songs grew to choirs in the 19th century, which is when Fairfield University began their own men’s Glee Club.
After women joined Fairfield’s campus in the 70’s, a joint choir was made in 1987. Both women and men, still coined the term Glee Club, which Fairfield University wanted in order to keep the old tradition alive.
With the tradition still kicking, Maxwell agrees that, “The show Glee has certainly taken a very old fashioned word and brought it back in a very fun way.”
So, does this mean that our very own Carole Ann is a ‘gleek’ like the rest of us who have witnessed the extraordinary performances of “Glee”?
“It just gives a very positive outlook, I think, on the popular music that is so exciting when it’s put together well in those arrangements,” she said.
That sounds like a yes.
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