The battle of the sexes will turn into more of a collaboration tonight when the Penn State's all-male Glee Club performs with Smith College's all-female Glee Club.
The concert is the first of two the glee clubs will perform together this year. For this show, the groups will perform separately in the same concert. In the spring, the groups will join forces and perform together, said Penn State Glee Club Conductor and music professor Chris Kiver.
"The Smith College is a very highly regarded women's liberal arts college. The Glee Club is a women's choir and it's very well-respected throughout the U.S.," Kiver said.
Between the two groups, 243 years of history exist, Kiver said, "which is really quite something."
This is the second time the two glee clubs have held a performance together.
The first collaboration was in the 1980s and tonight's has been in the works since last spring.
Penn State's Glee Club will perform four "fairly modern" pieces.
The Smith College Glee Club, on the other hand, will offer music spanning from the seventh century to contemporary music, Kiver said.
"We're doing 'Salve Regina,' which is sort of a chant without meter. The meter is really important. That's a completely different sound," Smith College Glee Club member Caroline Framke said. Framke is one of the co-tour managers for the group.
The Penn State Glee Club will perform a variety of songs as well, including a traditional Estonian piece called "Laulja," Glee Club member Ben Woolston said.
"We also do some more modern stuff as well," Woolston (junior-chemical engineering) said.
The group will also perform a song from the Polynesian islands.
"It's very tribal, I guess you could say. It's definitely a contrast," Penn State Glee Club member Peter Gray (junior-industrial engineering) said.
Penn State fight songs will also be on the bill for the Glee Club.
Both glee clubs have smaller groups that specialize in more contemporary, upbeat music. Both of these groups will also perform. Penn State's group is called the Hi-Lo's, and Smith College's is called Groove.
Woolston, Gray and Framke all expressed excitement about performing with the other groups.
"Penn State was a viable option for us. I'm looking forward to the tour," Framke said.
