A nice Christmas present from the Googlemind: if not a complete run, then a pretty good sampling of the full archives of the Cavalier Daily and its predecessor College Topics, the long standing student newspaper of the University of Virginia.
The boon to a researcher of the University (or the Virginia Glee Club) cannot be overestimated. Just in a few minutes I found:
- A 1906 audition notice, stating the intention of the director to focus on “light opera”. Wonder how that worked out
- A 1916 concert review of a performance of the Glee and Mandolin Clubs under A. L. Hall-Quest, including full program listing and roster
- A missing link from 1917 of the Glee Club’s history between A. L. Hall-Quest and Arthur Fickénscher–and a new director’s name, Dr. Erwin Schneider
- an April 1923 concert review containing a full concert program listing
- a May 1923 tour review, reprinting press clippings from audiences along the way
- a 1925 review of a concert in Staunton, also with a full program listing
- the organization of the 1923 Glee Club under Arthur Fickénscher
- the 1936 predecessor of the (apparently late lamented) Concert on the Lawn, directed by Harry Rogers Pratt, who cast it as an event open to participation by townspeople and students and noted “Baying, booing, and bellowing will be allowed. ‘Sweet Adeline’ will be sung as often as the demand warrants.”
- a 1940 article referencing the Tin Can Quartet and a proposed RCA Victor recording session
- a 1943 Glee Club trip to support the soldiers at Camp Lee
- the fifth annual Christmas concert in 1944
- a possible new addition to the list of directors of the Glee Club, Henry Morgan of the Music Department, in 1948
- in 1948, a performance by eight Glee Clubs including our heroes in the second Virginia Music Festival
- Coverage of the Club’s 1989 Renaissance Fair, its first significant event as an independent group after separating from the Music Department
If Google News’s presentation of archival newspapers leaves something to be desired (I find it much more difficult to manage searching through a single issue than with the UVA library’s search interface), there is still a real treasure trove here, and not just on the Glee Club but on just about ever other topic.