The Belfast Rotary Club recently invited the Harvard Glee Club to perform a charity concert in aid of Rotary’s massive drive to eradicate polio from the world. This concert, held on Friday 27th March in the Spires Conference Centre, Belfast appealed to all ages interested in traditional and classical choral works. It provided a wonderful opportunity to hear the jubilant voices of America’s oldest collegiate chorus, the world class Harvard (University) Collegiate Glee Club perform. Founded in 1858, the Harvard Glee Club is considered by many to be the America’s premier collegiate men’s chorus. Former members of the choir include composer Leonard Bernstein and US Presidents Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt. It consisted of about 65 men, mostly undergraduates at Harvard College, plus a few students from Harvard's graduate schools, from all over the USA and abroad. They delighted a large audience with men’s choral music of every era from around the world.

Next morning the party travelled to the internationally recognized knowledge-based NI Science Park in Titanic Quarter. They were greeted in the Pump House by Norman Apsley who gave them a presentation on Titanic Quarter and the Science Park. The students were delighted to see Titanic’s dock as the ship has such a significance for their University. Harvard’s magnificent flagship Widener Library was built with a gift from Eleanor Widener in memory of her son Harry, a graduate of the university who perished aboard the Titanic. In the afternoon the students were entertained by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Tom Hartley, in his temporary parlour at Clarendon Dock. Before leaving the parlour the Lord Mayor ensured he sampled the music of the choir. Then it was a dash to the Spires Conference Centre for rehearsal before the concert while stage manager Brian Clements continued his busy day.

President Courtenay’s wide-ranging contacts, combined with the hard work of our PR officer John Hunter, meant that the concert received excellent publicity in the Belfast Telegraph and on radio, which helped swell the audience numbers. The doors opened at 7.30pm and Maurice Brooks, Brian Ferguson and Hilary Gault were kept busy selling tickets. Then with a warm and cheerful welcome the ever-helpful Belfast Rotaract Club members showed the audience to their seats.

Before introducing the choir and its conductor Dr Kevin Leong, President Courtenay reminded the audience that the Belfast Rotary Club had invited the Glee Club to perform this charity concert in aid of Rotary’s massive drive to eradicate polio from the world.

President Courtenay thanked the people of Belfast for their tremendous support in helping the campaign to get rid of polio from the remaining four countries where it still exists. "We are delighted that Harvard Glee Club has come to Belfast to support us in our efforts to help eradicate Polio from the world and it has given the people of Northern Ireland a wonderful opportunity to hear the jubilant voices of this world famous collegiate Glee Club perform in here in Belfast.

Polio eradication has been Rotary’s top priority since it commenced the campaign in 1985. We are so close to stamping out polio. It is vital that we eradicate it now as otherwise the likelihood is that the disease will spread again to the countries which have been cleared. With the public’s help we can achieve this goal”.

The Glee Club did not charge us for their appearance or for the appearance of their conductor Dr Kevin Leong (Associate Conductor of the Holden Choruses). Every dollar we made will be matched by the Bill & Belinda Gates Foundation which has challenged Rotary to raise $200million by the middle of 2012 and it will contribute $350 million. In announcing the challenge Bill Gates said: "… complete elimination of the polio virus is difficult and will continue to be difficult for a number of years. Rotary in particular has inspired my own personal commitment to get deeply involved in achieving eradication."

The President’s introduction was followed by an “End Polio Now” video.

Resplendent in white ties and tails, the Glee Club then took the stage and opened with a romantic piece by the Russian composer Pavel Chesnokov, “Spaséñniye Sodélal” (Salvation is Created). It was a real musical treat to listen to the jubilant voices of the world class collegiate Glee Club and “HGC Lite” perform traditional and classical choral works in Belfast. The performance showcased choral works both old and new, including Renaissance music and songs arranged specifically for the all-male chorus.

Even the critics were bowled over, one stating it was the best male choir he had heard in a very long time. The evening ended with a Harvard football song. Following tradition the conductor invited any former members of the HGC to join the choir for this piece and Brad Kemp who had flown over from London for the concert was quick to join them.

Our thanks are due to all the hosts and our Club members who contributed in many different ways to the success of the concert; to Henderson Printing for printing posters, flyers etc at cost, to Tesco for providing sandwiches during the interval, to the Lord Mayor, to Norman Apsley and to the Spires Centre.

Our very special thanks are due to the Harvard Glee Club for their wonderful performance and to our hard-working concert committee, Maurice Brooks, Brian Clements and Trevor Hinds, and to President Courtenay’s secret weapon Doris Houston.

No matter where life may take the young men of the Harvard Glee Club they will always have fond memories of Belfast and the warmth of hospitality of the Rotary Club of Belfast.

Following the recent successful concert held on Friday 27th March in the Spires Conference Centre, Belfast, President Courtenay wrote to the President of Harvard University, Drew Faust.

On behalf of The Rotary Club of Belfast, I wish formally to place on record our extreme gratitude to the members of the Harvard Glee Club, its conductor Dr Kevin Leong and assistant conductor Michael McGaghie for cooperating with the Rotary Club of Belfast in putting on a superb concert, on 27th March 2009, in aid of the Rotary International’s project “End Polio Now”. In musical terms the performance was without fault and the citizens of Belfast undoubtedly experienced the choral event of the year. The members of the HGC are some of your university’s most talented ambassadors and the party from the US consulate in Belfast who attended the concert have every reason to be proud of their countrymen and the very favourable impression they created.

The previous concert in the choir’s spring tour of Ireland was Lisdoonvarna, an Irish town with a famous tradition for its “Matching Fairs” where the single young men would go to win over the hearts of the local girls from the county. Lisdoonvarna eat your heart out! All the Rotarian families who happily gave the members of the club home hospitality during their stay in Belfast have lost their hearts to the charming, mannerly and courteous young men of the Harvard Glee Club. In these days of student protest, parties that get out of hand and general poor behaviour it is very rewarding to highlight a group of young male mainly undergraduates who set a remarkable example.

The proceeds of the concert in Belfast, in aid of “End Polio Now”, will attract matching funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and thus we anticipate a very worthwhile outcome in US$ terms, which we hope will help eradicate polio in those last four countries in the world; Pakistan. Afghanistan, India and Nigeria. It may not bury polio but we hope we have helped put one of the last nails in its coffin.

Once again President, my warmest thanks to you and the Harvard Glee Club for giving us such a superb evening’s entertainment and assisting us in our charitable aims.

The following reply was received:

Many thanks for your thoughtful letter about the Harvard Glee Club’s recent visit to Belfast. I am pleased to learn that their recent visit and concert were so well received and I am especially delighted that they were able to help the Rotary Club raise money for such a worthy cause.

I have shared your letter with members of the Glee Club and I am certain they will appreciate your kind words.

For those who did not buy a CD and would like to listen to the Glee Club’s music, it can be sampled at www.harvardgleeclub.org.