Ten Thousand Voices is a history of choral music at the University of Virginia viewed through the lens of the oldest musical organization at UVA, the Virginia Glee Club. On the occasion of the Glee Club?s 150th anniversary, the book explores the roots of singing at Mr. Jefferson?s university and traces the evolution of the Glee Club from a student serenading group at the close of Reconstruction to its current state as an independent organization. It also examines the social, political, and cultural forces that shaped the Glee Club along the way, including post?Civil War technology and mobility; the influence of football on youth culture; issues of race, including minstrelsy, integration, and civil rights; the advent of coeducation at the university; the rise of a cappella and its impact on more traditional choral performance; and more. Capsule biographies of prominent Glee Club alumni are included, as are the histories of many of the university?s celebrated and infamous student songs, including "The Good Old Song," "Virginia, Hail, All Hail," and the "Cavalier Song."
