JOIN US DURING ORIENTATION WEEK!

Tuesday, August 20, 2024: Learn the Cornell Songs! (4 pm at Sage Chapel)

Wednesday, August 21, 2024: Choral Showcase (4 pm at Sage Chapel)

Thursday, August 22, 2024 at 4 pm: Choral Showcase (4 pm at Sage Chapel)

 Explore the rich collection of choral ensembles available to you at Cornell. Learn more about each of them below.

All of these ensembles share the same audition process. You will be selected for ensembles based on your eligibility, commitment, and skill level. Fall 2024 auditions will occur during orientation week. Click the link above to check out the audition process!

Chorale

The Cornell University Chorale is a mixed voice choir of over 100 singers that focuses on the developing each individual's vocal technique and musicianship. Members learn crucial skills that enable them to pursue in a lifetime of musical exploration. The group is comprised of both Cornell students and Ithaca residents, allowing members to meet members of their local community. 

Glee CLub

The Cornell University Glee Club (TTBB) is one of our two flagship groups, and a premier touring ensemble. It boasts a history of 150 years of brotherhood and musical excellence. The group performs regularly on campus, sings for major university events, and embarks on domestic or international tours every year.  The Glee Club frequently collaborates with the Chorus to explore SATB repertoire.

Chorus

The Chorus (SSAA) is a premier touring ensemble and our other flagship group. The Chorus is comprised of treble singers who also happen to be incredible leaders, collaborators, and friends. They perform at Cornell University and in the Ithaca area, and embark on domestic or international tours every year.  The Chorus frequently collaborates with the Glee Club to explore SATB repertoire.

For a freshman or incoming sophomore, the Glee Club, Chorus, or Chorale offer one of the earliest opportunities to join a student run organization at Cornell. It is also a great opportunity to meet and befriend literally hundreds of other Cornell students. The Glee Club, Chorus, and Chorale contain members from every school, from the College of Engineering, to the College Arts and Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and College of Human Ecology. There are singers that study architecture and urban planning in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, or study in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations or School of Hotel Administration. Singers play intramural sports, lead prominent organizations on campus, are members of fraternities and sororities, and are members of project teams. If you are looking for advice, or just looking to make your first lasting friendships at Cornell, you can find it here. 

Our choral community here loves to celebrate our close-knit community with special events. Whether it is an end-of-semester Christmas party at the Glee Club house, a yearly formal celebration, or a Glee Club & Chorus Wine Tour trip, there's always a fun event planned by our student leaders on the horizon.

 In the end, music is and always will be the core of what brings us all together.

All images on this page are of the Glee Club, Chorus, or Chorale in the past few years, including pictures of current members and alumni. Mouse over each photo to see when and where it was taken. Have fun exploring the rest of the page below!

Each year, the Chorus and Glee Club each embark on a tour to bring a selection of the year's repertoire, along with the ensemble's set of permanent music and some good Cornellian spirit to a different part of the world. Every few years, these two ensembles might join forces to embark on an international tour. Past destinations for international tours include Guatemala, Mexico, China, Venezuela, France, and Switzerland. 

Touring is a huge part of the choral tradition for the Chorus and Glee Club. We find incredible value in bringing our choral music to fresh audiences, young children, or underprivileged communities. Music can be an effective educational tool, inspiring the next generation of composers, or the next generation of leaders and thinkers. It can be an even more powerful tool for unity, bridging language barriers and cultural differences by finding common ground in musical melody, a language that everyone can understand. As choral ensembles of Cornell University, we find that it is our duty to use music to its fullest extent in enriching the world and society that we live in.

The Glee Club and Chorus have an extensive and well organized system of leadership, comprised of student officers, executive board positions, and music voice section leaders. Students are given incredible responsibility in planning and managing tours, dealing with ensemble finances, producing a few dozen concerts a year, and communicating with the rich body of alumni that support each ensemble. The lessons you learn as an officer are invaluable, and also ones you cannot learn in a classroom. Discipline and organization become necessary traits to have, as well as being able to establish efficient and respectful work relationships with your peers. The business of running a choral ensemble is surprisingly complex, but functions as a great crucible of leadership that has benefitted hundreds of Cornell students for generations, and continues to benefit them today. 

All choral ensembles at Cornell perform multiple times each year. They take place in the grand performance space inside of Bailey Hall, or under the painted arches of Sage Chapel. Groups can also perform at receptions, and in university events like Commencement and Convocation or at the inauguration of a new president. The a cappella subsets of the ensembles also perform all around campus, for dinners, graduations, and fraternities and sororities. You cannot go through four years of Cornell without hearing our ensembles perform at least once or twice.