This month, the Purdue Varsity Glee Club Choir makes the long trip from West Lafayette, Indiana to Sydney, New South Wales. For Australians, it will be a rare opportunity to experience a truly American tradition.

A notable feature of American campus life, glee clubs are choral ensembles – historically made up of male voices, but increasingly featuring female and non-binary voices – specialising in the singing of a diverse array of music from ecclesiastical to barbershop, the patriotic to the popular.

Purdue University Glee Club Choir. Photo supplied

Purdue’s Varsity Glee Club dates back more than 125 years, back to the early years of a university founded after the American Civil War as a college of science, technology and agriculture. William “Bill” Griffel is the Glee Club’s Director and has held the post since 2008. He also serves as a guest conductor and collaborator with Purdue University Bands and the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, among others.

“These students rehearse every day and they perform between 20 and 30 times a year,” Griffel tells Limelight. “They tour all across the state and a couple times a year, during their fall or spring breaks, they...