Message from the president

Hello all you wonderful people! I'm Anthony Arshoun, and I'm the new President of the Pitt Men's Glee Club for the 2025-2026 academic year. I've been in the choir for two years already, and I'm excited to kick off the semester with some new repertoire and social events, and another awesome tour toward the end of the year!

Our lovely director picks out several sets to incorporate in the semester's repertoire, often switching between classical, jazz, and even some pop pieces. Our winter concert, performed jointly with The University of Pittsburgh Treble Choral Ensemble will focus on celebrating the holiday season together; and our spring concert gives us a space to show off our talent alone in preparation for tour.

Speaking of — our most recent tour went international! We explored and held concerts in parts of Italy, Austria, and Slovenia, enjoying the sights, food, hospitality, and company. A few of our concerts were even sold out! We won't be going international this year, but we always do a couple of domestic tours in between so there's no shortage of singing and having fun with the choir!

In the meantime, we'll be sure to hold social events throughout the year for members to get to know each other and have fun on- and off-campus. Movie nights, shopping sprees, weekend retreats, and game nights are just some of the things to look forward to as our new Social Chair takes the reigns! Don't miss out on our annual kickball game to kick things off on Labor Day weekend. See what I did there??

If this sounds like the choir for you, be sure to sign up for an audition slot at the start of the semester! You can come find our table at the Activities Fair on August 24th, or sign up below! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email our director Richard Teaster, at rteaster@pitt.edu.

Hail to Pitt and have a great semester!

Anthony Arshoun

Club Leaders

Director

Richard Teaster

Student Board

President: Anthony Arshoun

Vice President: Jacob Klinedinst

Business Manager: Luke Sandusky

Secretary: Sam Gonzales-Trelles

Social & Outreach Chair: Henry Leavitt

Officers

Fundraising Chair: Jacob Shinder

Merchandise Chair: Luke Sandusky

Librarian: Yodahe Fasil

Historian: Carter Sabin

Tour Manager: Zach Zinderman

Social Media Chair: Henry Leavitt

Greenhorn Chair: Nolan Blaze

We are the oldest extra-curricular organization at the University of Pittsburgh, as well as its first collegiate musical ensemble.

The Club was founded in 1890 by Mr. John L. High. He was a graduate of Amherst College, MA. The group began as a mere octet, consisting of 2 first tenors, 2 second tenors, 2 baritones, and 2 basses. At the time, the school was known as the Western University of Pennsylvania.

In 1891, the University's name was changed to the present one, and the Glee Club Association was merged with the Banjo and Mandolin Clubs. Records show that in 1901, the Club was listed as "purely a student organization, consisting of members of the Glee Club and Mandolin Clubs-It's objective was to stimulate the musical interest among the undergraduates, to promote sociability, to develop the college spirit, and to promote the fair name of 'Old Uni.'" In 1922, the organization was still operating under the combined titles of musical clubs, but in 1923, the group's name was changed to the Glee Club and Ensemble.

In 1926, after performing for a short time with the Dental Chorus (comprised of students from Pitt's Dental School), the Glee Club evolved into the organization it is today. 

We faced some difficulties around the turn of the millennium, with the group almost being dissolved completely, but in 1999 our current director, Richard Teaster, took over, guiding the club back to greatness. Today, the Pitt Men’s Glee Club is respected both in the United States and internationally, with multiple concerts each year in Pittsburgh and tours in Atlanta, NYC, LA, Italy, Austria, and many more cities across the United States and Europe.