Cornell Glee Club follows California tour with concert in Sage Chapel

Following a 14-day, 7-city tour of California, the Cornell Glee Club returned to Ithaca this week and will present its post-tour concert on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 8 p.m. in Sage Chapel. Tickets will be available at the door only and are $5 students, $7 general admission.

Scott Tucker leads the Cornell University Glee Club.

Led by director Scott Tucker, the 60 singers visited San Francisco, Berkeley, Sacramento, Menlo Park, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles on the 2005 tour. The tour program is a musical exploration of war and peace, spanning four languages and five centuries, using words and music from the victors and the vanquished, from observers, from warriors and from victims. The music is varied and evocative, from a 15th-century arrangement of the Biblical chapter Samuel II mourning the loss of a fallen son, to the rowdy "Soldier's Chorus" from the French opera, Faust, to a Vietnam-era Australian folk song calling into question the very foundations of war.

Other highlights include a modem arrangement of Yeats' "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death," the traditional Irish folk song "The Minstrel Boy" and Anton Bruckner's moving "Inveni David." Echoing the Glee Club's 137-year history, the concert will conclude with a set of popular Cornell songs, including "Our Fair Cornell," a new Cornell song composed by current Glee Club member Rob Shapiro.

The Cornell Glee Club, founded in 1868, is one of the oldest remaining all-male choruses in the country. The Glee Club has performed throughout the United States and in more than 20 countries, including the People's Republic of China, Germany, Great Britain, the former Soviet Union and Japan. The group also has performed live on NBC, CBS, PBS and the BBC. Recent accomplishments include performances of Brahms' "Alto Rhapsodie" with the Orquestra Sinfonica da Escola de Musica in Brazil and Mozart's Mass in C Minor with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. This upcoming year features Haydn's "Creation" on March 12 with John Hsu conducting.

Tucker is associate professor and director of choral music at Cornell where he conducts the Glee Club, Chorus and World Music Choir. He also oversees the activities of the Cornell Chorale, Chamber Singers and Sage Chapel Choir, and he teaches courses in music theory and conducting.

Under Tucker's leadership, the Cornell choirs have established a strong relationship with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, with whom they perform regularly. The glee club and the chorus recently have collaborated with such acclaimed artists as Anonymous 4, Peter Schreier and Samité Mulondo. Each choir also tours extensively and has been featured on a number of festivals and concert series both in the United States and abroad. In addition to his work in Western art music, Tucker has traveled to and studied traditional music of East and South Africa and leads workshops in Xhosa and Zulu song style.