Men’s Glee Club

Eleven days. Thirty college boys. Four European cities.

It almost sounds like a new… Eleven days. Thirty college boys. Four European cities.

It almost sounds like a new reality show. “American Idol Austria,” anyone?

Well, not quite. The experience was probably better than the TV show would be, since these guys can sing.

The Pitt Men’s Glee Club director, Richard Teaster, said the group performed so well, they did not have enough songs in their repertoire to satisfy the number of encores the Hungarians requested. Budapest was just the first stop before the group also hit Salzburg, Vienna and Prague on the group’s European tour.

“We did a nice tour through each of the places with a nice tour guide,” said Teaster. “We had terrific audiences. We were very well received.”

The group traveled through the Alps to different churches and landmarks throughout Eastern Europe.

The audiences loved the traditional American numbers by George Gershwin, Pittsburgh’s own Stephen Foster and Count Basie, as well as the many spiritual songs performed. Some other European musical groups even requested the music to some of the spirituals.

Some alumni and group members who were not able to perform during the past semester because of time conflicts went along for the ride and were able to tour Mozart’s birthplace and spots from scenes in the musical “The Sound of Music.”

At one point during the trip, a local folk choir from Salzburg dressed in traditional Austrian clothing, joined the club at a concert.

The Men’s Glee Club is the oldest non-athletic organization on Pitt’s campus – it was founded in 1890. This was the group’s first European tour since its centennial trip 18 years ago.