A Gleeful Song
Among the most talked-about nominees at Sunday night's Emmy Awards are the TV show "Glee," all about a high school chorus. It's nominated for 19 Emmys. Why the fuss? Mo Rocca now sings the praises of singing:
This story originally aired Dec. 6, 2009.
How are Emily, a trumpet-playing high school sophomore; Michael, a star varsity football player; Elly, a German Club enthusiast; and Brian, a 4H member and wrestler, connected?
They're all members of Central Ohio's Olentangy High School Show Choir.
Show choirs, or glee clubs, are nothing new. But with the popularity of singing competitions, and a hit TV show about a glee club, they're riding a pop culture crescendo.
"You get ready to go on stage and your excitement builds and then it just explodes while you're out on stage - you're having so much fun singing and dancing," said R.J. Smith, a member of Olentangy's Keynotes.
Emily Moore says show choir has given her extra moxie.
"Oh yeah, I can walk down the hall dancin' to a song in my head if I need to," said Moore. "It's completely changed me, like I'm a completely different person."
In the past twenty years the Keynotes have brought home a shelf full of trophies, even if show choir doesn't enjoy quite the status of team sports.
"My dad told me I could meet girls in show choir," said Michael Raiff.
Football player Michael Raiff met his girlfriend, Elly Freytag, in the group.
"In football if you're in show choir you get made fun of; it's kind of like a natural thing," Raiff said. "So we usually cover it up. Say we have something to do that night, somewhere to go," he laughed.
"Well, you're gonna get caught eventually," Rocca said.
"Yeah. Now we will!"
Raiff may have joined the Keynotes to meet a girl, but he's still in it.
"Admit it: You like singing and dancing?" Rocca asked.
"Yes, I do," was Raif's response, which his girlfriend applauded.
In fact, glee clubs were originally all-male. The first, founded in London in 1787, sang unaccompanied three- or four-part songs called glees, like "Glorious Apollo," as sung by the Harvard Glee Club. It's America's oldest, founded in 1858.
Today, the names "glee club" and "show choir" (along with choruses and acapella group) are often used interchangeably.
Which brings us to the hit Fox TV series, "Glee."
The show may be about a struggling glee club full of misfits, but the cast is treated like rock stars . . . and songs from the show's soundtrack regularly top iTunes' list of hot sellers.
This glee club's characters are an unlikely mix: The idea that a Korean American goth girl with a stutter, an athlete, (a diva), a special needs kids, a gay student can all be brought together by the glee club - Is this realistic at all?
"I think it's completely realistic," said Amber.
Lea Michele plays Rachel, the unpopular girl with a powerhouse voice.
"There's nothing that brings people closer together than have to sort of like express yourself in that way. That sometimes you feel very vulnerable. There's all different emotions that go on when you're learning to sing or learning to dance together. You're like using your bodies and stuff in a way that's a little scary even if you're really, you know, good at it."
"You kind of have to give blind trust to the people that you're around that, okay, they're going to respect what I'm doing," said Kevin McHale who plays Artie Abrams.
The 85 women of Long Island's Greater Nassau Chorus rehearse every Tuesday in a church basement. No wonder they took fourth place at this year's Sweet Adelines World Championship.
The singers ranging in age from 27 to 90 are driven by their fearless leader, Harriette Walters.
"It's much more than the music," she told Rocca. "The music is what brought us together, but it's the people, the friendships and the relationship and the teamwork that keep us coming back week after week after week."
There is no "i" in glee.
"When you walk in the door you have to recognize that you're bigger than yourself," said Sylvia.
"Okay, but, Arlene, there must be a temptation sometimes, just sort of go all 'American Idol' and sort of be the big soloist."
"No," said Arlene.
"It's like salmon all going in the same direction, going to the same goal," said Blanche.
And this fishie was going back to school when the Keynotes invited me to rehearse the guys' medley. I wasn't going to say no.
Warming up meant stretching, crunches, pushups . . . then vocal exercises.
I sing tenor, so I shadowed veteran tenor Keynote Brian Cagnon.
We worked on our enunciation . . . and our facial expressions! Then it was time to bust some moves.
Yes, there's a reason it's called show choir. If it looks like hard work, it is. If it looks like fun, it's not. It's really fun!
For more info:
"Glee" (Fox TV)
Greater Nassau Chorus
Harvard Glee Club
Olentangy High School Keynotes
Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sweet Adelines International