June 10, 2005

Purdue Varsity Glee Club to play Carnegie Hall in November

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University's Varsity Glee Club has been invited to perform a November concert at New York City's famed Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops orchestra directed by Skitch Henderson.

The group will perform at 8 p.m. on Nov. 11 in the Isaac Stern Auditorium under the guidance of Purdue Musical Organizations director Brian Breed.

"We all know the old joke that asks 'How do you get to Carnegie Hall?'" Breed said. "The answer is practice, practice, practice, and that's exactly what the Glee Club will be doing before our appearance on one of the country's greatest stages."

The program will include the "Airborne Symphony," written in 1946 for male choruses by Marc Blitzstein. Actor William Hurt will narrate. The Glee Club also will perform popular World War II-era music.

Tickets for the performances are on sale beginning June 20 and range in price from $24 to $95. To order, call CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800 or visit http://www.carnegiehall.org.

Founded in 1893, the Purdue Varsity Glee Club is a university tradition. The group has performed around the nation, including on national television, at five presidential inaugurations, and at national and international concert events and expositions.

Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu

Source: Gwyn Zawisza, Purdue Musical Organizations, (765) 496-6091, gzawisza@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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