University of Michigan. Men's Glee Club.

As early as 1846 University of Michigan students met regularly to sing "for pure enjoyment." In 1859 the university formally acknowledged this activity through the establishment of a Glee Club. Michigan's group was the second such college organization formed in the nation.

In its early days the club included from seven to twelve singers who performed college songs, humorous vaudeville numbers and skits. In the 1870s the larger group began to divide into smaller performing units, trios and quartets, which allowed for greater individual recognition. In the 1880s the club began to tour and in 1884 the organization made its first excursion outside of the state. Because of the demands of touring the size of the club was expanded, first to sixteen members, four men per part, and by the turn of the century to around fifty members.

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