By Carol Tannenhauser
There are treasures to be found on the UWS. One historic “gem” was showcased last Tuesday night at Merkin Concert Hall on West 67th street. The Mendelssohn Glee Club, an all-male, amateur singing group, was joined by opera luminaries, local politicians presenting plaques, family, friends, and music aficionados to celebrate 150 years of continuous performances, while raising money to sustain the club, which is a nonprofit. Formed in 1866, it is the oldest singing group and second-oldest musical organization in the country, following the NY Philharmonic by one year.
“It all began a few months after the end of the Civil War,” wrote John van Couvering, 84, Mendelssohn’s oldest member, “when a small group of young men met in a Manhattan parlour to demonstrate to their high-society friends the new, four-part vocal style (bass, baritone, first and second tenor) that they had been hearing in Europe. The group was a great success, and other all-male ‘Apollo Clubs’ and ‘Glee Clubs’ began to spring up across America, fanning a growing appreciation for classical music. Through the Gilded Age, two World Wars, and the electronic revolution, that original glee club still sings on.”
The 150th anniversary concert featured eclectic fare, ranging from Verdi to a sea shanty written by one of the Club’s members and his daughter to Sondheim, and an array of guest artists, including lyric tenor Barry Banks and renowned soprano Aprile Millo, both of whom have performed with the Metropolitan Opera — Millo more than 180 times. “Bravo!” could be heard throughout the hall, when, in a swirling green satin cape, she finished “O Solo Mio,” collapsing in laughter, reflecting the unspoken theme of the evening: the pure joy of singing.
“The wonderful feeling that sweeps over you when your voice is caught up in harmony, as the music solidifies into one beautiful sound,” is how John van Couvering described it. “The total dedication of every Club member to ‘doing good’ in the purest sense is also a great feeling,” he said. “It beats watching TV.”
The Mendelssohn Glee Club gives two concerts a year, in early May and early December, most recently at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on West 68th street. The concerts are free and open to the public (donations welcome).
Rehearsals are Mondays from 7 to 9:30 pm at the Church of St. Paul And St. Andrew at West 86th street and West End Avenue. Visitors are welcome. To join the Club all you need is the ability to read music and sing on key; no membership fee until the second year. For more information go to mgcnyc.org.
AND DON’T LET THE AUDITION DAUNT YOU!
Here’s how John van Couvering described it: “Man stands beside piano. Gene (Wisoff, the conductor) hits middle C. Man sings scale, la la la LA la la la. Gene goes down, or up, man sings scale from that note. After 3 or four la las, Gene says, ‘OK, you’re a second tenor,’ or whatever.”
“In the beginning we were an exclusive ‘rich-man’s club,’” wrote President John Memmolo. “Today we are an inclusive chorus, with members from all walks of life and ethnicities, ‘richer’ in ways the founders could not have imagined.”
Currently, the Mendelssohn Glee Club has about 36 members, including a dentist, a bus driver, a priest, several lawyers and doctors, a geologist (Mr. van Couvering), and a contractor. Most live on the Upper West Side.
