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Center Stage: Glee Club Camp Day 1
Monday, August 13, 2012
The first day of camp with the New Men and Old Men put together kicked off in the Upper Sanctuary of University Church. The Brothers in Song were reunited after a long summer of separation and had a lot to accomplish early in the morning.
Andrew James, the drummer for the Purdue Varsity Glee Club, was able to join the gentlemen at camp for the first time. He added some extra energy to the songs during the first rehearsal.
Discussing the fun and hard-work that they put in over the weekend, the New Men take a break.
The New Men nervously joined the Old men for the first time in rehearsal and got a great introduction to the kind of excellence that is expected by the Glee Club.
Checking to make sure everyone was prepared, Caleb Larsen, the Manager of the Glee Club, asked the New Men to hold up their folders which has all of the music they learned over the summer.
Adjusting some of the properties set up, Max Showalter, Sir of Properties, instructed the New Men how to remove a section of risers, in preparation for First Nighter.
The group tackled several charts in the many rehearsals held, including some very important songs from the past: “Brothers Sing On”, “Lost in the Stars”, and “Prayer from Lohengrin”.
Throughout the day, the gentlemen were given breaks to rehydrate and rest their voices so that they didn’t strain themselves during the intense week of learning music.
Several members of the Junior Class (and Sophomore Blake Nash) reunited for dinner at the Purdue favorite, Potbelly’s!
Purduettes, old and new, introduced themselves to sophomore Ryan Smith and enjoy some great sandwiches!
After dinner, everyone regrouped in the upper sanctuary for choreography rehearsal. First was a refresher on the crowd favorite, “Strike Up the Band”!
The last number of the long rehearsal day was Ted’s newest arrangement, “I’ve Got Rhythm”. The group debuted this number last spring, and will incorporate it into this year’s performances more often.
Today was the first official day of the 2012 Glee Club camp and it was really exciting! All summer I was looking forward to getting back together with my brothers in song and making music. It was definitely worth the wait! We spent the majority of the day rehearsing things out of the New Man folder. The New Men were very prepared on most of the music, and that allowed us to produce some high quality sound! We were given nice, long lunch and dinner breaks, which were great opportunities to catch up with everyone or get to know the New Men better. It was a great way to start the camp week and I can't wait to head to Camp Tecumseh!
In song,
Matthew Lancaster