Glee Club releases 18-song compact disc

The Glee Club has entered the digital age. The first fully digital compact disk ever to be produced by the University was released recently by the Glee Club. Recorded in Saint Mary's Episcopal Church, the disc was recorded on three recording dates. "We chose St. Mary's because of the acoustics, which were wonderful," Bruce Montgomery, the Director of the Glee Club said. The disk has given many in the group new insight into the detailed work involved in making a CD. Advanced Audio Productions, a production company located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, did the mastering for the CD. The company used a mobile production studio, recording the music in the church and then mastering it at its studio in Bala Cynwyd. The work was meticulous with each track being recorded over and over to allow the sound mixers to pick the best possible tracks. And that requires time and energy. For example, one of the songs on the album, Shenandoah, required 37 takes according to Wharton senior James Mendelsohn, business manager for the Glee Club. "We recorded 14 hours of raw footage [for that one song]," Mendelsohn said. There are 18 songs on the CD, which runs for more than 30 minutes. Three of the songs were performed along with 25 instrumentalists from the Penn Band. All of the lyrics are printed in an insert in the CD cases. Also in the insert are the program notes for each song. The Glee Club produced 1000 CDs and about 500 tapes. They will both be available at the Bookstore for $15 for a CD and $10 for a chrome cassette. They will also be on sale at the Glee Club concert during Alumni weekend on Friday, May 17. The Glee Club, in its 129th season, has not recorded an album since 1987 for its 125th anniversary. All of the songs on this CD are new performances, even though some of the songs are the same. Included on the CD are such favorites as Drink a Highball, Cheer Pennsylvania, The Red and Blue, and Afterglow.

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