When Allie Grant jokingly brought up the idea of Algonquin starting a Glee club, Patrick Newell was sold.
“Allie is extremely passionate about singing and acting,” said Newell, the SA clubs and communities co-ordinator. “I thought it was a great idea, especially with the popularity of the TV show Glee.”
Grant, a second-year advertising student, partnered with a first-year in interactive media design Matthew Jason Dever, and hosted the new club’s first meeting in January.
It was a hit.
“The ‘aha’ moment that this club was really going to take off was when we all sang Royals,” said Dever.
“Half way through everyone started to join in and harmonise with the song. By the end the whole room was singing and it was really magical,” said Grant.
She said she has been overwhelmed with the amount of interest shown in the group, especially at Clubsfest on Jan. 27 where she received 20 new members sign up.
She hopes to have a showcase in April where the group will certainly perform Lorde’s popular song Royals.
Students of all different programs and backgrounds are encouraged to join the club. Ricardo Cristofolini, a second-year computer programming student, said that he heard about the Glee Club at Algonquin from a friend on Facebook. He is originally from Brazil with a background in music and hopes to bring some of that in to the group.
“I’m hoping that I can build something that I can pass on when I am done at the college,” said Grant. “I feel like this is going to be way bigger than I ever imagined, but that is so great.”