Both are among America’s most storied collegiate choral groups.
Harvard Glee Club, the nation’s oldest (1858), helped establish the university choir as a fixture at U.S. institutions of higher education. The Fisk Jubilee Singers (1871) have garnered national and global fame over the decades, pioneering choral versions of African American spirituals, preserving and presenting the unique tradition to new audiences.
Members of the Harvard group say it once had been club lore that theirs was the nation’s first collegiate choir to tour internationally. That is until they discovered Fisk, which first toured Europe in 1873 (and performed for Queen Victoria), had beaten them by about 50 years.
Oddly enough, until this past spring break, the two groups had never shared a stage over the past 155 years.
“These are two of the oldest choirs in the United States, and two choirs that, I think it’s safe to say, have a bit of historical significance, but they’ve never performed together,” said Andrew Clark, director of choral activities and senior lecturer on music at Harvard. “This has always seemed like an omission, or an opportunity that was worth exploring.”
