Department of Music

Come join the Virginia Glee Club as it celebrates the season of giving with its 71^st Annual Christmas Concerts.  As the oldest musical organization at the University of Virginia, the group brings the beloved traditions of the University along with a fun-filled, merry concert that provides the best of holiday entertainment for the entire family.

Conducted by Grammy-award winner Frank Albinder, the Glee Club will begin the evening with a showcase of timeless classics and novel pieces that are sure to become instant favorites and warm everyone's hearts despite the brisk cold of Old Man Winter. The evening will include familiar tunes such as The 12 Days of Christmas and We Wish You a Merry Christmas as well as some songs closer to the group and fun for all such as The Winter Song.

The audience will be delighted to see the return of Franz Biebl's perennial favorite Ave Maria as well as our special guests, the Virginia Gentlemen. With this concert we give the Charlottesville and surrounding communities the warm gift of song that will put everyone in the holiday spirit. Don't miss this special, must-have addition to this most joyous season!

The Old Cabell Hall performance will be on Friday, December 2 ^nd, 2011 at 8:00 pm in Old Cabell Hall, located on the Lawn of the Central Grounds of the University. The First Prebyterian Church performance will be on Saturday, December 10 ^th, 2011 at 8:00 pm in 1 ^st Presbyterian Church, located at 523 Park Street. For both concerts general admission tickets are $15 and student tickets are $5.  They can be purchased at the Arts Box Office located in the Culbreth Drama Building, on the Lawn, online at https://artsboxoffice.virginia.edu/ or at the door. For more information visit our website at www.virginiagleeclub.org. The Virginia Glee Club is an affiliated group of the McIntire Department of Music at the University of Virginia.

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Founded in 1871, the Virginia Glee Club is the oldest collegiate choir in Virginia and among the oldest male glee clubs in the United States.  With an extensive history of international touring, the Glee Club has performed in cities throughout England, Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Sweden, Belgium, and Spain.  Additional tours include two visits to the Soviet Union, with performances in Moscow and Leningrad.  In recent year, The Glee Club toured France, performing in Paris and a cathedral in Marseilles, which was broadcast over French radio.  Additional performances include an appearance on the Today Show and for President Clinton’s inaugural address in 1993.  The Glee Club has also maintained a tradition of performing with women’s choral groups from around the country including Wellesley College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College in Massachusetts.  The group is conducted by Frank Albinder, who also directs the Washington Men’s Camerata and Woodley Ensemble, and has won Grammy recognition for his work with the internationally acclaimed male chorus, Chanticleer.

The University of Virginia is distinctive among institutions of higher education. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University sustains the ideal of developing, through education, leaders who are well-prepared to help shape the future of the nation.  Members consider The Virginia Glee Club a fraternity of talent, committed to performing at a professional level, promoting fellowship, preserving longstanding tradition, and upholding the ideals of student self-governance.  The Club is honored to sustain its legacy as the oldest musical organization at the University of Virginia, and proudly remains “Virginia’s Messengers of Harmony, Love and Brotherhood.”