Glee Club

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brovol

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I posted this question on the USMA forum, and nobody responded. Since my son is a USNA candidate (appointed to USMA), I will ask here too.

Does anyone know how difficult it is to make the Glee Club at USNA, or any of the academies for that matter? I enjoy listening to the video and audio recordings of the academy glee clubs, and think it would be pretty cool if my son did that (although not so sure he would want to). He is a musician (guitar), and has a very nice voice. I assume there are tryouts. Is it real competitive? Is it like an American Idol type competition? LOL. Looks like the glee clubs get to do some traveling.

Any insight on this would satisfy my curiosities.
 
Our friend's son was in the men's glee club for his 4 years at USNA and loved it. Yes there are auditions, but he said they are not too intense. That said, he was a trained classical singer, 4 years of high school choir too. The time commitment is not small, and as you noted they travel. Our friend's boy met the President twice and loved singing at games, especially as he didn't have to march to the field. You can contact the music department with questions. My son spoke with them about the choirs when he was there in the summer and they are very nice and encouraging.
 
There will be opportunities to try out. Plebes gets briefs on all kinds of stuff. Experience in choral singing, ability to read music, willingness to put in the time, basic musicality. DH was in Glee Club in the last century, and he has fond memories, still close with guys from Glee. He was also a varsity athlete and figured out how to make it all work and graduate high enough in the class to go Navy air. Best memories: trips to Italy and singing at the Miss America pageant. Many of our USNA sponsor family have enjoyed Glee Club, with some serving as officers or in the small groups. They take some great trips. I believe one of their favorite bennies is not having to march over for home football games, because they have to sing the anthem beforehand and so go early. It is a great outlet from the daily grind, but it does demand time and commitment to the concert schedule. It's also an instant family, interacting with upperclass from other companies who can mentor plebes on how to succeed. There are also Protestant and Catholic choirs who sing at services.

We go to the Messiah concert almost every year, enjoy taking family and friends to the Halloween concert, and occasionally catch others, depending on the program.

I love The Skivs.

 
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And if you don't think fun can be had at service academies...


You Tube has plenty of USNA Men's, Women's, Combined and small groups such as The Skivs, and Stowaways and Sirens. Women's Glee Club toured Brazil a few years ago. Huge hit at the Brazilian Naval Academy.

 
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My DS is a current plebe and made the Men's Glee Club this year. They try out during Plebe Summer and he found out he made it during our visit for PPW. I believe they took 5 plebes in each voice range (bass, tenor, etc) for 20 plebes total. Total choir size is about 80. Don't know how many actually tried out.
 
Instant Family is an understatement:) DS is a plebe in the Glee club and consistently makes comments on how reassuring, comforting, welcoming and down right FUN It has been being a part of the Glee club. As said above tryouts are at the end of plebe summer and are pretty competitive from what my DS said. He completely didn't think he would be chosen just due to the number of people who tried out and the number of positions available.
 
My DH can still do all the tenor parts from the sea chanteys and other standards. Hearing the combined Glee Club sing the Navy Hymn (Eternal Father) in the USNA Chapel, even after many, many years = full body goosebumps and a damp eye. There are verses of the hymn for various branches of warfare, including astronauts and merchant mariners.
 
I thought I had major goosebumps and "proudparent" moment when my DS sang in the Vatican (Rome) and St Patrick's Catherdal (Dublin) as a memeber of his HS Honor Choir, I can't even grasp what the feeing would be like to hear him sing with the USNA Men's Glee Club and singing the Navy Hymn or the National Anthem.
 
I had to dig around to find this one - by the men's a cappella group, the Anchormen. Performed in Memorial Hall, a very special place on the Yard.

I won't put any more up - plenty to find on your own. This one resonated deeply with me, for very personal reasons.

 
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Capt MJ said:
I had to dig around to find this one - by the men's a cappella group, the Anchormen. Performed in Memorial Hall, a very special place on the Yard.

I won't put any more up - plenty to find on your own. This one resonated deeply with me, for very personal reasons.

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That is just beautiful!!! My DD sings in women's a Capella at her high school. She was invited to see the USNA women sing in our town a couple months ago (not sure if it was choir or a Capella??), but she came back glowing at how amazing they were, and is definitely going to try out if/WHEN she gets into USNA! :)
 
During Plebe summer there are religious services that offer opportunities to participate in the choir. For my DS it was a feeling of home because he had been in church choir since age 4. He really enjoyed getting to know those in the music community and I'm not sure it helped him when trying out for the Glee club but I can't imagine it would hurt.
 
midmom19 said:
During Plebe summer there are religious services that offer opportunities to participate in the choir. For my DS it was a feeling of home because he had been in church choir since age 4. He really enjoyed getting to know those in the music community and I'm not sure it helped him when trying out for the Glee club but I can't imagine it would hurt.
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And then there are the Chaplains' Plebe Life Rings after services - donuts. Many, many donuts.
 
Our Plebe just auditioned in. They had 20 spots open. They reported that over 200 auditioned, and they placed 16 new plebes in the Men's Glee Club. He has had lots of musical experience, has sung in choirs for years. Still feels very fortunate to be part of it, said there were some great voices in the tryouts he heard.
 
midshipmantobe said:
Our Plebe just auditioned in. They had 20 spots open. They reported that over 200 auditioned, and they placed 16 new plebes in the Men's Glee Club. He has had lots of musical experience, has sung in choirs for years. Still feels very fortunate to be part of it, said there were some great voices in the tryouts he heard.
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Congratulations! It's a big time investment, but if your DS can juggle academics, sports and plebe stuff, that will be a great mental break and a supportive group for him.

My DH was a tenor, and has fond memories of the trips and concert tours, especially the one where they sang at Miss America or USA, and he was required (oh no) to escort Miss Hawaii onto the stage. He is still good friends with his Glee Club buddies. You will bust with pride when you bring friends and relatives to concerts.

You have to go to the Halloween Concert and The Messiah at least once if not all, if budget permits. Tix sell out quickly. Concert sked will be on USNA.edu Music Dept web page. Tell him you want X tix requisitioned. He will figure it out.

We enjoy going to the Men's, Women's and mixed concerts. Lots of great talent. That link between music and STEM brains!
 
midshipmantobe said:
Our Plebe just auditioned in. They had 20 spots open. They reported that over 200 auditioned, and they placed 16 new plebes in the Men's Glee Club. He has had lots of musical experience, has sung in choirs for years. Still feels very fortunate to be part of it, said there were some great voices in the tryouts he heard.
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Congrats to your DS! He is going to have some very unique opportunities ahead as a part of this amazing group. Yes, there is a considerable time commitment but it is well worth it. Just a heads up that they go on tour during Spring Break and are headed to Los Angeles this year. Not a bad way to spend Spring Break
 
I posted the original question here, and my son is now at West Point. He didn't end up being interested in glee club, but instead is in the process of trying out for the boxing team. Was a suprise to us, but good for him. I must admit though, it would be less stressful for us parents if he was on glee club. Less head trauma.
 
Bringing the balance of the artistic with the analytical is very important to our DD. As mentioned in some of the previous posts, the tryouts were held at the end of Plebe Summer (right before we arrived for PPW). Our DD was already singing in the Catholic Choir on Sundays & then auditioned for both the Gospel & Women's Glee. After Mass on PPW, they brought out the results & she was overjoyed to see that she had made the list for the Women's Glee Club! She also mentioned that during Hell-O night (last night) the upperclassmen reached out with congrats/welcomed her to the group, so the extended family experience has already begun!

IRT her musical experience-we have sung together in our church choir for several years which demands sight-reading skills. For those interested, that would be a suggested skill to work on- just keep singing...but more importantly enjoy the music you make, and tryout for all eligible choirs as it is also based on blend (SATB) & you won't know which level is needed for which choir.
 
DS is in Men's glee. He made the competitive choir in high school which helped at tryouts. The main benefit is that it gets him off the yard for outside concerts which was especially great as a plebe. As mentioned, spring break is always a great getaway and it is a great excuse to fly out to visit him for concerts. As an added benefit, some of the best and most artistic photographs I have of him in uniform were from talented glee club buddies taken while on tour.
 
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