Morehouse College Glee Club Celebrates 100 years

On Sunday night, 60 tuxedoed young African-American men will briskly walk down the aisles, onto the stage of New York’s Lincoln Center and launch into a Norwegian folk song. It’s the Morehouse College Glee Club, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary Sunday.

From their arresting entrance, the club’s concerts are marked by energy and dynamic subtleties. Their programs include classical choral music, barbershop quartet, spirituals, arrangements and — always — “Betelehemu,” the Nigerian carol they perform at every full concert. When they do that song, some of the singers come off stage shouting into the audience while African drums play at center stage, in front of the chorus. It’s their show stopper. The Morehouse Glee Club has been singing “Betelehemu” for more than 50 years.

Morehouse College was founded in Atlanta in 1867, and it remains the only all-male historically black college in the nation. Almost from the beginning, the Glee Club members have been the school’s official performing ambassadors. The club has earned an international reputation through its annual tours and has traveled through Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.

[li] Full article at: www.npr.org, By Terrance McKnight[/li]

Source: NPR Music
Photo Courtesy of Morehouse College, The News & Advance