Founded in 1862, the Penn Glee Club is the oldest performing arts group at Penn and one of the oldest glee clubs in the country. Despite its age, the Glee Club has consistently updated its repertoire, with our Spring Shows featuring elements such as choreography and a script. We are also one of the few groups on campus to perform choral music and have the privilege of working with a professional director. The Glee Club is proud to maintain a full Band, piano accompanists, and Technical Staff, which are integral to every performance we put on.

In addition to our two annual shows, the Glee Club has the privilege of serving as Penn’s unofficial music ambassador, performing at countless University events such as Convocation, Homecoming, Alumni Weekend, Baccalaureate, and Commencement, as well as at special University events, such as Penn President Liz Magill’s Inauguration ceremony.

The Glee Club remains guided by its core principles of Performance, Brotherhood, and Tradition, making it more than a performing arts group. Our members find their Penn home, roommates, and lifelong friends in the Glee Club. Our alumni network, which numbers in the thousands and includes politicians, film and theatre producers, and musicians, is one of our strongest support groups. We also embark on a ten-day performance tour at the end of each year, sharing music and memories alike.

The Glee Club fully believes that participation in any of our activities should not be restricted by financial concerns, towards which we offer a no-questions-asked full financial aid policy.

Join us today or come meet us at one of our upcoming events!

All individuals affiliated with Penn are eligible to join the Glee Club. All four of our sections – Singers, Accompanists, Tech, and Band – are gender-inclusive. The Glee Club’s membership is primarily comprised of undergraduates, but anyone at Penn (including grad students and staff) who can commit to our schedule of rehearsals and performances is eligible to join.

While our auditions and interviews are competitive, all four sections of the Glee Club welcome people with all levels of experience to audition or interview for the Club! As long as you love performance, we’d love to meet you!

After conducting a range test to see how high and low you can sing, we ask potential singers to sing a verse and chorus of a prepared song (roughly one minute). The song should accurately reflect your style and vocal range, although it is perfectly okay to perform something as simple as “Happy Birthday to You!” We also ask auditionees to perform a tonal memory exercise to test how well they can match pitch. Additionally, there will be a short interview to get to know auditionees better.

The President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Co-Chairs, and Director of the Glee Club are in the audition room for all Singers auditions; they may be joined by the Accompanist and Student Conductor(s).

We ask potential accompanists to play a prepared piece from the repertory of your choice that reflects your style and proficiency (e.g., classical, jazz). We may also ask you to sight-read a piano part from the Glee Club’s repertoire as well as a vocal score from our repertoire. Additionally, there will be a short interview to get to know auditionees better.

The Accompanists, President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Co-Chairs, and Director of the Glee Club are in the audition room for all Accompanist auditions.

We ask potential tech members about your interest in both the Glee Club and in the technical aspects of theater. Some of the technical aspects we often look for include lights design, set design, sound design, costumes, props, construction, photography, videography, and stage management.

Additionally, there will be a short interview to help the Tech Director, President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Co-Chairs, and Director of the Glee Club get to know you better.

We ask potential Glee Club instrumentalists to play one minute of a prepared song, which should accurately reflect your style and proficiency. Auditionees will be expected to play through given chord changes by rhythmic accompaniment or improvisational solo, as well as play through a brief sight reading passage. Additionally, there will be a short interview to get to know auditionees better.

The Band, President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Co-Chairs, and Director of the Glee Club are in the audition room for all Band auditions.

Singers and Accompanists have a comparable rehearsal commitment to that of other Penn performing arts groups. In a standard week, Singers and Accompanists can expect about 10 hours of rehearsal commitments. During Tech Weeks, there is more of a time commitment, as is true of all Penn performing arts groups. In addition, the Singers have gigs around campus and the city, which add to the commitment time but are one of the coolest things that the Glee Club does. The Band rehearses roughly 6 hours a week, with that time commitment increasing during Tech Week. The Band also gigs around Penn and Philadelphia. The Technical Crew has a weekly meeting and the time commitment ramps up in the time leading up to Tech Weeks. Being the University’s unofficial musical ambassador takes a lot of hard work!

We also have some rehearsals for the entire Club to learn core repertoire, miscellaneous meetings for general membership, and numerous social events to enjoy each other’s company. While there is a serious time commitment to being in the Glee Club, the rewards make it one of the most meaningful groups you can join at Penn!

Yes! Many of our members are in other performing arts groups and non-performance clubs. However, as noted in the question above, being a member of the Glee Club is a large time commitment, though the rewards of being in the Glee Club are incredibly worthwhile. Additionally, everybody in the Club is committed to working with every new member to make sure they are successfully balancing their schoolwork and other extracurriculars while still fulfilling the expectations of being a member of the Glee Club.

Like some other performing arts groups, the Glee Club does charge semester dues as well as other expenses, such as payments for our annual Tour. However, we are steadfast in our belief that finances will not impede any member’s experience in the Glee Club, so we maintain a no-questions-asked financial aid policy. For more information, please reach out to our Vice President of Finance, Kyne Wang.

Feel free to fill out our Interest Form and someone will get back to you!