Cornell Glee Club at the Kennedy Center · Save the date · Sold out

The Cornell University Glee Club kicked off its Northeast tour in Washington D.C. with a sold-out performance at the Kennedy Center on Saturday, January 9, 2010. The Washington Post, in a rave review which appeared the following Monday, praised the “virtuosic choral sound” of the 142-year-old ensemble. In describing a concert repertoire “as diverse as it was challenging,” the Post was particularly complimentary of “masterful readings” of two new works commissioned for the Glee Club from American composer Daniel Kellogg, “Innisfree” and “Winter Lullaby.” The Hangovers, the a cappella subset of the Glee Club, also performed a few popular arrangements with “tightly choreographed moves.” The concert concluded with more than thirty alumni of the Glee Club joining the current members on stage to sing some traditional songs of Cornell.

After a performance at the Newseum on Sunday, the Glee Club sang with students at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda on Monday afternoon and performed a concert at Holton-Arms School that evening. In addition, on Tuesday, at the invitation of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ‘54, the Glee Club performed a private concert at the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Ginsburg graciously greeted the students before the concert and was clearly beaming with pride in her alma mater as she introduced the group to a distinguished audience including Justices Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor. Following the performance, Justice Ginsburg talked with the singers about the history of the Supreme Court.

The Glee Club extends its thanks to the Cornell Club of Washington for helping to publicize the concert at the Kennedy Center, and to area alumni for attending and for sponsoring the Glee Club’s visit to Washington. Special recognition also goes to Austin Kiplinger ‘39 and the Kiplinger Foundation, Joe Manelsky ‘56 and Dale Lazar ‘74. Without all of your support, these ambitious, high-profile performances would not have been possible.