With integrity, passion, unparalleled showmanship and attention to every detail, the members of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club have proudly served as ambassadors of the University with honor and dignity for more than 125 years.
Founded in 1893, this select ensemble has entertained on behalf of Purdue University for campus, community, state, national and international events, averaging between 50-60 appearances each year. Embodying the spirit of service above self, the members of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club represent different backgrounds and hometowns across the country, consistently maintaining a high level of academic excellence with majors ranging from engineering to education to management to biological sciences.
This dynamic musical troupe employs a versatile repertoire including gospel, vocal jazz, swing, contemporary hits, romantic ballads, classical choral selections, barbershop, folk melodies, patriotic standards, familiar opera choruses, country and novelty tunes, and utilizes small groups and outstanding soloists to further enhance each show.
Under the direction of William Griffel and Scott Hines, the Purdue Varsity Glee Club continues to share a sound all its own through one-of-a-kind arrangements in tailor-made performances for audiences of all ages.
For additional information about the ensemble, including the audition process, please email director Bill Griffel at wgriffel@purdue.edu.
For more than a century, young Purdue students have given their best in performance to audiences at the University, throughout the nation, and around the world. The spirit and success of the Varsity Glee Club also inspired the birth of Purdue Musical Organizations over 85 years ago. Today, as throughout its memorable history, the Glee Club brings recognition and honor to Purdue University.
As a part of PMO, the Glee Club shares the mission to make music that fosters camaraderie among students as they learn, rehearse, travel and entertain. The members of the Glee Club represent virtually all academic areas. As Purdue’s official ambassadors of song, their accomplishments are even more impressive in light of the fact that Purdue has no school of music.
In 1893, eleven Purdue students sang in the first Glee Club, directed by Lafayette organist Cyrus Dadswell. At that time, Purdue University was still building its foundation, giving more attention to agriculture and engineering than music appreciation. Despite its environment and numerous changes in leadership, the Glee Club persevered. In 1910, E.J. Wotawa directed the group and later composed the fight song “Hail Purdue.” During the 1920s, director Paul Smith brought to the ensemble a strengthened sense of purpose. However, it was largely due to the enthusiasm of the Glee Club’s first full-time director, the irrepressible Albert P. Stewart, director from 1932 to 1972, that music found a home at Purdue.
When Al Stewart first asked Purdue President Edward C. Elliott for funds to pay for Glee Club uniforms, he was met with a vigorous refusal. But as the Glee Club gathered admirers, Elliott yielded and generously formalized Stewart’s position, hired more staff members, and provided rehearsal space.
Under Stewart’s direction, the Glee Club increased in size to more than 60 members. Concerts took the ensemble to a variety of venues across the nation and abroad. In 1942, popularity of the Glee Club received an important boost when Purdue was a finalist in Fred Waring’s national Glee Club Sing-Off in New York. Other performance highlights were to follow, including U.S. presidential inaugurations, a goodwill trip to West Germany after World War II and a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1974, William Luhman succeeded Stewart as Director of PMO and the Glee Club. A man described as a “piano wizard with perfect pitch,” Luhman was a former Glee Clubber himself, graduating in 1949. Luhman’s career had developed at Stewart’s side, having accompanied the Glee Club for 17 years before taking the helm. While loyal to Stewart’s music philosophy, Luhman expressed some of his own interests by starting many Glee Club specialty groups.
When illness and an untimely death cut short Luhman’s efforts, he was succeeded by accomplished pianist William Allen in 1983. Under Allen’s direction and accompanied by assistant director, DeDe Thompson, the Glee Club continued to gain notoriety as they bolstered their reputation as some of the finest ambassadors for the University.
From 1989-2007, under the direction of Brian Breed, the Glee Club continued to share its eclectic and unique style of entertainment with audiences everywhere. Stunning venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Crystal Cathedral, and multiple trips to Washington D.C. to perform at the White House solidified the Glee Club’s prestigious reputation.
In 2008, William E. Griffel became Director of the Glee Club and began a new era for PMO. Today, these ambassadors of goodwill for Purdue University continue to entertain audiences throughout the world. Eleven European tours along with tours to Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, China, the United Kingdom and South Africa have served to showcase the talents of these fine student performers and carried on the storied legacy of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club.
The Purdue Varsity Glee Club has many strong traditions, some of which are described on this page, and others that will be carried on only by the mouths of its members. There are many that the public has come to love and expect in Glee Club performances, and many that most of our audience members will never be aware of. The most important tradition, though, is one that is difficult to describe.
The Varsity Glee Club has been entertaining audiences for more than a century with fun, lively, varied musical programs that appeal to audience members young and old alike. But it’s not necessarily our music that is our proudest tradition.
It is our commitment to excellence in all we do that defines the Purdue Varsity Glee Club. Not just excellence in showmanship, but excellence in character as well. Glee Clubbers have set themselves apart both within the group and beyond, creating a name for this organization that is synonymous with versatility, commitment, energy, enthusiasm and character. That is the Glee Club’s greatest tradition, and it is the goal of every Glee Club member to further this tradition of excellence.
The Glee Club is fortunate to have, along with the Purduesirs, an organization composed of outstanding University administration, faculty and staff members. This organization, known as the Purduesires, is also composed of 12 members, individually assigned to each committee.
These individuals graciously volunteer to act as advisors and counselors to their respective Sirs and other Glee Club members. A Sire serves as someone with whom a Sir or other Glee Club member interacts through many varied activities, both formal and informal. The Purduesires also represent a commitment on the part of Purdue administration, faculty and staff to offer a model for achievement and success and an inspiration as a mentor and friend.
It is traditional for the members of the Glee Club to spend a short time mingling with audience members after all full concerts and other appropriate performances. Mingling gives the members of the Glee Club an opportunity to become better acquainted with the audience and also gives them a chance to show their appreciation to the audience for supporting the Glee Club.
Many members of Glee Club audiences are Purdue, PMO or Glee Club alumni who are interested in hearing about new developments on campus. Mingling is an important part of each Glee Club performance. Each individual is responsible for nurturing the rapport between the Glee Club and its audience.
As “goodwill ambassadors” of the University, members of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club serve as a nostalgic link with the past, an encouraging example of the present and, a positive image for the future.
The traditional mascot of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club is Glee Club Pete. Glee Club Pete is “Purdue Pete” decked out in the full dress uniform. What many people don’t realize, however, is that this symbol started as a joke.
In 1954, Dr. Al Stewart and the Glee Club were performing for the Rotary Club of North Manchester, IN. Always on the lookout for the opportunity for a good-natured prank, the members of the local Rotary Club decided to play a little joke on the group. One particularly creative Rotarian by the name of Slim Warren took the traditional Purdue Pete and made a few modifications. Slim fashioned a 4-foot replica of Pete dressed in the complete Glee Club full-dress outfit and positioned him at the side of the stage. Dr. Stewart liked this fellow so much that he adopted him as the official mascot for the Glee Club. Thus, on January 28, 1954, in North Manchester, Glee Club Pete was born. He continues to symbolize the Glee Club spirit of music and fun wherever he appears.
White carnation boutonnieres are traditionally worn by the Glee Club at every full dress concert. They are worn on the left lapel of the full-dress uniform, centered and approximately two inches from the top of the lapel.
After each concert it is customary for a Glee Club member to present the carnation to an audience member. Thus the carnations act as much more than just a decoration for the full-dress outfit — the carnation becomes a token of appreciation for audience members to take home as a reminder of their evening with the Glee Club.
The Varsity Glee Club’s medallion is one of the first items on the Glee Clubber’s full-dress uniform that is noticed by audience members after a performance. The original medallions worn by the Glee Club were furnished by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in thanks for charity work done for MS. In 1990, the NMSS discontinued the production of these medallions, and they ceased to become a part of the full-dress uniform.
In the fall of 1991, the Glee Club acquired new medallions with the Purdue seal on the front and Glee Club Pete on the back in commemoration of the group’s upcoming centennial (1893-1993). The Purdue seal has two prominent features: the griffin, which symbolized strength in medieval heraldry, and the three-part shield, which represents the three stated aims of Purdue — education, research and service. As Purdue’s “goodwill ambassadors,” it is appropriate that the seal is worn as a prominent part of the Varsity Glee Club’s full-dress uniform.