Morehouse College Glee Club
The Morehouse College Glee Club embraces a ninety-year tradition of musical excellence and
achievement. The Glee Club has continued in this tradition through the dedication and
commitment of its members and the leadership that our directors have provided throughout the
years. It is a tradition that has bestowed upon the Glee Club a vast history of attainment and shall
provide it with a secure future of even greater accomplishments. It is the mission of the
Morehouse College Glee Club to keep its standard of excellence.
The origins of the Morehouse College Glee Club precede its official founding date of 1911.
Morehouse College, which was then Atlanta Baptist College, had a music professor named Miss
Georgia M. Starr. She served the College from 1903-1905 and again from 1908-1911. In Miss
Starr's absence, Miss Lucy Z. Reynolds served for two years and Mrs. Grace D. Walsemann
served for one year. Miss Starr directed the choral ensemble, which consisted of ten to twelve
students, and the orchestra that consisted of five to six students. Edmund Jenkins, a brilliant
music student, also led both groups.
Kemper Harreld assumed directorship of these two groups, officially founding the Glee Club when
he joined the College's music faculty in the Fall of 1911. Mr. Harreld was born and raised in
Muncie, Indiana. He was an accomplished violinist who graduated from the Chicago Music
College. He also studied music in Berlin. Mr. Harreld originally planned to stay at Morehouse
College (then Atlanta Baptist College) for one year, but ended up serving the College as Director
of the Morehouse College Glee Club and Chairman of the Music Department for fourty-two years.
He retired in 1953 and was responsible for initiating the Glee Club's strong tradition of excellence
and passing it on to its members.
Wendell Phillips Whalum, Sr., '52, took the helm as the Glee Club's second director upon the
retirement of Kemper Harreld. Dr. Whalum was a prized student of Kemper Harreld and had
served as Student Director during his tenure in the Glee Club. Dr. Whalum assumed directorship
shortly after earning ths Master's degree from Columbia University. For a period of two years,
1961-1963, Albert T. Perkins, '59, served as interim Director of the Glee Club while Dr. Whalum
completed some of his doctoral requirements. Dr. Whalum went on to complete his doctorate at
the University of Iowa in 1965. Dr. Whalum, more commonly known as "Doc", served Morehouse
College and the Glee Club with the continued tradition of excellence until his untimely passing on
June 9, 1987. Under the direction of Dr. Whalum, the Glee Club performed for the funeral
services of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., '48, and for the Second International Choral Festival at
Lincoln Center in New York. In March 1972, the Glee Club made a month-long tour of five African
countries. The Glee Club sang for the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter in 1977 and in the
East Room of the White House with Coretta Scott King in 1978. In the Spring of 1987, the Glee
Club recorded "I'm Buildin' Me a Home", arranged by former Glee Club member Uzee Brown, Jr.,
'72, for the soundtrack of Spike Lee's movie "School Daze".
In the Fall semester of 1987, David E. Morrow, '80, assumed directorship of the Glee Club. David
Morrow was a prized student of "Doc", just as "Doc" was of Kemper Harreld. He was also a
scholar at Morehouse College, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1980 as Valedictorian. He earned
his Master's degree at the University of Michigan in 1981 and then returned to his alma mater as
a part of the music faculty and as Assistant Director of the Glee Club. During the 1992-1993
school year, Harding Epps, '74, served as interim Director while Dr. Morrow finished the
coursework for the doctoral degree. In 1995, Dr. Morrow received the Doctor of Musical Arts
degree from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music.
On January 18, 1993, the Glee Club, as part of the Spelman-Morehouse Chorus, sang at
Atlanta's Symphony Hall with soprano Jessye Norman in a concert celebrating the Martin Luther
King, Jr. holiday. The Glee Club also performed, along with other choruses from the Atlanta
University Center, the National Anthem with Natalie Cole for Super Bowl XXVIII. They
participated with Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan and Trisha Yearwood in the Opening and Closing
Ceremonies of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games held in Atlanta. In the same Summer, the
Glee Club toured cities along the Volga River in Russia. In 1998, the Glee Club toured Poland at
the invitation of opera performer Maria Folton in celebration of her 50 years as a performer. In
May of 2001, the Glee Club took a week-long performing tour of Bermuda and completed a west
coast tour in May 2003. In February 2002, the Glee Club performed for the Witness Concert with
the Plymouth Music Series and premiered the work Of Dreams and Other Possibilities written by
Patrice Rushen.
The members of the Glee Club have earned such honors as the Merrill Travel Study Award for
overseas experience, a listing in Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities, and
membership in Phi Beta Kappa. The members do not receive academic credit, but sing as a labor
of love. Their majors include all offered by the college, and the geographical residencies
encompass the U.S., Africa, and the Caribbean. The Glee Club is the official singing organization
of Morehouse College and is on duty to serve the president at all times throughout the year.
Along with local concerts, there is an annual spring tour which averages ten to fifteen cities in two
to three weeks.
The Glee Club's history is to be treasured by past and present accomplishments, but it cannot
afford to become complacent with its tradition of excellence. The Glee Club's history inspires
each member to reach higher heights as the tradition of excellence continues.
David Morrow
David Morrow is a native of Rochester, New York. He earned the Bachelor of Arts degree from
Morehouse College in 1980. While at Morehouse, he became a member of Phi Beta Kappa, was
awarded the Kemper Harreld Award for Excellence in Music, received departmental honors, and
graduated Valedictorian of his class. He received the Master of Music degree from the University
of Michigan in 1981 and was elected to Pi Kappa Lambda. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts
degree from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music in 1995. He has studied
conducting with Wendell Whalum, Thomas Hilbish, Elmer Thomas, John Leman, Earl Rivers,
Elizabeth Green, Teri Murai, Fiora Contino and Donald Neuen. He has taken conducting master
classes with Stephen Darlington, Jan Szyrocki, Dale Warland and Sir David Willcocks.
Dr. Morrow has been a member of the Music faculty at Morehouse College since 1981. He
served as Assistant Director of the Morehouse College Glee Club until 1987, when he succeeded
Dr. Wendell P. Whalum as Director of the Glee Club. He is also Director of the Wendell P.
Whalum Community Chorus (formerly known as the Atlanta University Center Community
Chorus), Co-Director of the Spelman-Morehouse Chorus, and Conductor for Onyx Opera Atlanta.
In December 1991, Mr. Morrow conducted the Glee Club for the Kennedy Center Honors as part
of the tribute to Robert Shaw, Conductor Laureate, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. On January 18,
1993, he conducted soprano Jessye Norman and the Spelman-Morehouse Chorus at Atlanta's
Symphony Hall in a concert celebrating the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. In January of 1994,
he conducted the combined choruses of the Atlanta University Center and Natalie Cole singing
the National Anthem for Super Bowl XXVIII. In April of the same year, he conducted the
Morehouse College Glee Club in a concert with the Black Music Repertory Ensemble at
Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Illinois. In 1996, Dr. Morrow conducted the Morehouse College Glee
Club during a tour of Russia and for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Atlanta
Centennial Olympic Games. Most recently, he conducted the Glee Club during a tour of Poland in
1998, Bermuda in May of 2001 and South Africa in March of 2008.
In June of 1990, Mr. Morrow conducted combined choirs and brass from the Atlanta University
Center schools for the Academic Convocation for Nelson Mandela at Morehouse College. He was
choral director for the film Trumpet of Conscience, which was produced by Turner Broadcasting
in December of 1985. He lectured on "African-American Music: The Oral Tradition" for the 1992
and 1993 Choral Conducting Workshop at the College Conservatory of Music at the University of
Cincinnati. Dr. Morrow has served as a clinician and/or lectured at the Hampton University
Ministers/Musicians Conference, the Iowa Choral Directors Association Meeting, the University of
Tennessee - Chattanooga, the South Carolina Choral Directors Association Meeting, the
University of Cincinnati, the Detroit Public Schools Mid-Semester Music Workshop and the 1998
Intercollegiate Men's Choruses, Inc. National Seminar. In the fall of 1994, he read his paper
entitled "The Choral Music of Wendell Whalum" for the Association for the Study of AfricanAmerican Life and History, Inc. (ASALH). In August of 2002, he was guest conductor for the first
Festival of Spirituals organized by the Centro Ecuatoriano Norteamericano in Guyaquil, Ecuador.
Dr. Morrow is a member of the Metropolitan Atlanta Musicians Association, and is the President
of the National Association of Negro Musicians. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the
Intercollegiate Men's Choruses, Inc. He is a member of the American Choral Directors
Association, the Georgia Music Educators Association, Sigma Alpha Iota and Phi Mu Alpha
Sinfonia.