Vocal Music at Yale Today
By John H. Stewart
Everywhere around the country, choral groups are finding ways to continue and communicate. Here’s some of what’s going on at Yale. The Glee Club (let me remind you that in our day there were four: Freshman Glee Club and Chorus, the Apollo which I had the great honor to conduct our senior year – a sort of JV, as well as the big kahuna) is doing great. They had a great intake and if you visit their website, there’s information, video tracks, and news about a recent joint concert with Harvard and Princeton benefiting Equity and Justice in Arts Education. Upon the admission of women, Glee Club Director Fenno Heath went immediately to a co-ed group, expanding enormously the repertoire possibilities. There’s a very active and energized (and generous!) alumni organization which supports the group’s travels, as well as the purchase of music and other expenses, and the endowed professorship of the simply wonderful current director, Jeff Douma. The Alumni Glee Club, with ca. 200 or more members – our class strongly represented – has done some great foreign tours. For those of us connected to this great institution, it warms our hearts that the current president of the associates is Fenno Heath’s daughter, Sarah.

John as Tom Rakewell
The Yale Russian Chorus has undergone a renaissance, reuniting after a fifteen-year lacuna with alumni, and attracting a large component of Yale students, also including women. A year ago in Woolsey, there was an exciting 65th anniversary concert with the founder, Denis Mickiewicz, presiding. Recently, through the magic of Zoom, they put together their second online effort. It’s a gorgeous piece from the Georgian musical tradition. Here’s a link to it and also a link to the press release.
Many of the a capella groups from our days including The Duke’s Men (now known as The Dooks), The Baker’s Dozen, The Alley Cats, the SOBs and the Spizzwinks are going strong. Although they’re just as serious and disciplined as they were in our day, the rep has changed to mostly covers of various kinds of rock or pop material. Here’s a sample with music.
There are many many other a capella groups or just small groups. One of my favorites is the all-women Yale Slavic Chorus – lively and attractive rep very well done. But there are at least 16 and here’s a list.
Further, here is the unbelievably large list of the larger choral ensembles available to all Yale students. The list is under the ISM (Institute of Sacred Music) but includes School of Music and other groups. Yale Choral Ensembles.
On a personal note, I had no idea of any of this when I got to Yale in the fall of ’58. What an enormous, pleasant surprise to find that singing had social cachet. Pitching the Spizzwinks for two years did more to prepare me for my second career, directing the Washington University Concert Choir, than the subsequent, very valuable experience as three-year assistant director of the YGC or the Apollo. The first reward, and it was, was an TA-ship at Brown, assistant directing the four glee clubs while pursuing vocal and opera studies at the New England conservatory. But more important are the lifelong bonds of friendship formed through singing at Yale.
We invite your comments.
PS Here’s an absolutely glorious performance of a Fenno Heath arrangement by the ’21 Whiffs, sent to me by Peter “Pop” Sipple.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtCNZp_vAfs
John:
Thank you for the historical account. I remember being with you on several occasions in those years and, of course, enjoying your performances at the NYCO. See you soon, I hope.
ALEX
John,
I listened to the excerpts from the Spizzwinks which were quite good. But I had one question: this is an a cappella group but the recording has an instrument accompaniment
including a rather prominent percussion section. Why? And would they have accompaniment during a regular concert?
Larry Price
As I was listening, I heard a great one by the Whiffs about voting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17DT4EBKSj8
Tim Hall