Under the direction of conductor Carole Ann Maxwell, DSM, P’02, 150 alumni singers from the past seven decades will join current Glee Club members on stage for a special 75th anniversary performance on April 1.
On Saturday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m., the Fairfield University Glee Club – the oldest and longest-running student organization on campus – will celebrate 75 years of music with a special Diamond Jubilee Concert at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.
The performance will be conducted by Dr. Carole Ann Maxwell and accompanied by pianist Beth Palmer. Alumni of the Men’s Glee Club, Women’s Chorale, Chamber Singers, Bensonians/Men’s Ensemble, and Sweet Harmony will perform traditional school songs and favorite choral pieces alongside the current Glee Club singers.
Among the 150 Glee Club alumni singers returning to the stage to perform in the anniversary concert will be classmates Rev. Keith Maczkiewicz, S.J.,’04, director of Campus Ministry and University chaplain, and Michael A. Ciavaglia ’04, DMA, co-director of the Music program in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Ciavaglia is helping to organize the Diamond Jubilee celebration. “It has been a pleasure to work with Carole Ann Maxwell, Janet Canepa, and Jess Colligan [of Alumni Relations] in the planning of this concert,” he said, “and to be invited — both as an alumnus and faculty member — to participate musically in the concert.”
Since its founding in 1947, the Glee Club has had a special role in the University’s life, through concerts and participation in Commencements, major liturgies, and ceremonies. The group also provides an opportunity for friendship and fellowship among the talented members who share a deep love for music and a common desire to achieve excellence in it. As "ambassadors of song," over the years they have represented the University in performances at major venues in the U.S. and abroad. This Spring Break week, they are in Italy and had the honor of singing at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
Dr. Maxwell, an award-winning conductor of collegiate, community, and professional choral ensembles, has served as director of choral music at Fairfield University since 1980. In her 43 years with the Glee Club, she has encouraged her singers to explore diverse styles of music and a wide variety of repertoire, and has enriched audiences with programming that challenges and inspires.
“We are so happy to welcome so many alumni to the stage, and to come together in song to celebrate this legacy,” said Dr. Ciavaglia.
Tickets for the Glee Club’s Diamond Jubilee Concert are $10 and are available online or by calling the Quick Center Box Office at 203-254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396. For further information, visit events.fairfield.edu.
