Our Guiding Pillars
PERFORMANCE
Since its first performance in 1862, the Penn Glee Club has embraced its unofficial role as the musical ambassador of the University. In addition to performing on campus and around Philadelphia, the Singing section also has performed at the White House in 2014, Carnegie Hall in 2018 and 2019, and the Hôtel Ritz Paris in 2022. In addition to performing in Glee Club shows, the Penn Glee Club Band has performed at venues such as the Hard Rock Café, Kung Fu Necktie, and at Penn’s Spring Fling. Members of the Glee Club Tech Crew often provide technical work for other Penn performing arts groups as well as Glee Club shows.
In the fall semester, the Club has an annual collaborative show with Penn Dance Company. In the spring semester, the Club performs an original, Broadway-style musical revue, a tradition that dates back to 1969. Additionally, at the end of each school year, the Glee Club goes on a roughly two-week performance tour; this past year, we toured Santiago, Chile and Panama City, Panama.
BROTHERHOOD
The Penn Glee Club is more than a performing arts group. We strive to create community through avenues such as our big-little mentorship system and numerous social events; some of the Club’s members also live together in on-campus housing as well as the affectionately termed Glouse, the off-campus Glee Club house. Additionally, with one of the most active alumni networks on campus, membership in the Glee Club extends well beyond your time at Penn. Members of the Glee Club Graduate Club (GCGC) keep in touch with each other and return to campus each year to reconnect with their fellow Clubbers and the current Club.
As the oldest performing arts group at the University, the Glee Club’s history is intimately tied with that of the University’s, making it a core part of Penn. By performing at Convocation and Commencement each year, the Glee Club bookends every Penn student’s experience.
Due to our founding in 1862, many Penn Glee Club traditions have spawned, evolved, and flourished. While some have developed fairly recently, others are as old as the Glee Club itself. Some of the Club’s most cherished musical traditions include “Afterglow,” the Club’s anthem, the “Penn Glee Club Toast,” sung to anyone who deserves recognition, and the Glee Club “Grace,” sung “spontaneously” every time the full Club gathers for a meal. The Club also maintains numerous non-musical traditions, such as giving all new members nicknames, building community through our big-little mentorship system, and inviting alumni onstage to sing “Afterglow” at our shows and performances.