Miami University, Oxford. Ohio, Hall Auditorium. Summer 2015, the setting of musical creation. The album was recorded May 18-23, 2015, to be exact.
That summer, over several grueling evenings, the Miami University Men's Glee Club recorded a professional CD that will now be released to the public. Even as members of the group, we have only heard a few pieces. The members of the group are collectively jumping for joy for the release, whether we part of the recording or not.
Meetings, phone cals, magic from our director Dr. Jones and the hundreds to thousands of clubbers before us and we were afforded this opportunity. That is putting it mildly. We knew we would have this opportunity early on in the year and it was our big highlight of the semester and frankly the year. About 90 or so guys stayed a week passed finals that spring semester to gather in the auditorium to record. For five days we sang for about 5 hours every evening, knocking out 13 pieces. 21st century pieces, some commissioned through our Commission Series Fund and written just for the Glee Club. We worked with two of the best in the business, producer Steve Barnett and sound engineer Preston Smith, affectionately known as just Preston and Steve, a Grammy Award winning producing duo who specialized in choral and classical music. Their credits include recordings of all male professional ensembles like Chanticleer and Cantus.
90 guys on a stage in the summer is already gonna get pretty hot, however to not interfere with the audio equipment, the air conditioning had to be turned off. I love my brothers in song, but some of them wore the same shorts, or certainly did not bathe before coming to recording. I'm pretty sure Hall smelled like a middle school boys locker room for the next month or so. Stench aside, we strove for perfection. We would sing through a passage, thinking we did an amazing job, when Steve would come on the speaker, a small one, stationed behind a cargo short clad Dr. Jones. "Guys..., you were so close, but..." Or simply, and our favorite thing to hear, "We got it". Our desire, dedication, hard work, and water got us through those recording sessions and to a point where we could even record a professional album in the first place. Then came the waiting period. There is actually quite a bit of work that needs to be done in post-production. From editing to finding the right order to put the pieces in, to negotiating with record labels, the team worked tirelessly and we thank them. The wait is finally over and "Veiled Light" is here.
Several other Miami students were included on the album. Known to the group as "the percussion guys", Joe Atkinson, Daniel Brinson, Patrick Schoeppner, and David Watkins, provided their talents for hitting things to several tracks on the album. We truly couldn't have done it without them. Thank God we have worked with them before, I'd hate to see someone trying to site-read under that stress and heat. Miami University associate music professor, professional cellist, and certified bad-ass Pansy Chang brought her skills to my favorite piece on the album "Night-Veiled Night", which was written for the Glee Club by Anthony Maglione, who wrote another piece for us this year entitled, "The Wall Breaks Asunder". There were also several solos performed by clubbers. Loren "Lolo" Reash-Henz and Tommy Wessendaro lent their beautiful voices to the previously mentioned "Night, Veiled Night" and Nathan Lombardi and Chris Paulus sang a gorgeous duet in "Dedication". We also had a small ensemble and a powerful solo by Christopher "Da Truth" Smith" in "Gaudete".
The CD is available online on Amazon and on Albany Records' website (www.albanyrecords.com). Just search for "Miami University Men's Glee Club" or the album title "Veiled Light". The official release date for the album is August 1st. We are all so proud of this record and would appreciate your purchase. It is the first professional recording on a record label in the history of the Men's Glee Club – and of any student ensemble at Miami. I have included the track list, if you're a current or former singer and recognize something or a fan of the club, or simply interested. I hope you enjoy the album and tell me what you think in the comments below.
Track Listing:
1. Gaudete!
2. Lead Gently, Lord
3. Demon in My View
4. Rough Beast
5. Lux Aeterna
6. Wedding Qawwali
7. Night, Veiled Night
8. Five Ways To Kill A Man
9. The Steady Light
10. Abraham Lincoln Walks At Midnight
11. Dedication
12. I Have Had Singing
13. Songs For The People
