Performing Arts Profile: Students say 'Monty' is a living legend

In 40 years with the Glee Club,In 40 years with the Glee Club,he has traveled to 26 countries At age five, Bruce Montgomery wrote his first musical composition entitled "The Sea." Years later, this piano piece resonated throughout the off-Broadway theater where Montgomery's first original show, The Amorous Flee, opened in 1964. Montgomery is currently celebrating his 40th year as director of the Penn Glee Club and his 25th year as director of Penn Singers. And Saturday night, the Glee Club and the Glee Club Graduate Club will honor Bruce Montgomery and his 40 years with a gala tribute. "Monty is the closest thing I've ever seen to Leonardo DaVinci -- he's mastered everything he has ever tried ," said College and Wharton senior Michael Adelstein. "And if in my lifetime I can reach just a little bit of what he was able to reach, I will consider myself a success." And Glee Club President Todd Shotz also praised Montgomery and his impact on the University. "When alumni think of music at Penn, they think of Monty," he said. "He is a Penn institution keeping the traditional music alive during his tenure." Montgomery's family introduced him to music at an early age. "My earliest recollections are hearing my mother and father singing all the great duets from all the great operas," he said. Montgomery went to Germantown Friends School, where his love of choral music was born. He was later accepted to Yale University, but decided not to attend since the school was overpopulated due to the return of soldiers following the end of World War II. Instead, he attended Bethany College in Kansas, where he intended to stay for two years and then transfer to Yale. But Montgomery "fell in love" with Bethany and studied painting and sculpture with world renown artists. "Yale bit the dust as far as I was concerned," he said. Montgomery began working at Penn in 1950 as the director of the Culture Olympics, a cultural event including dance and drama. As assistant director of public relations, he designed a record cover for the Penn Glee Club one year before he began working for the club. As Penn Singers director, Montgomery opened the group to women and helped in its transition to a light opera company. Montgomery lists the trips to 26 countries on four continents as some of his favorite memories of his time with the Glee Club. He added that his favorite shows include The Magus and Saddle-Up! -- but his all-time favorite was 1990's Bases Loaded. Glee Club members emphasized Montgomery's talent and their appreciation to him for all his work. "Monty has been the driving force behind the Glee Club over the past 40 years," fourth-year Chemistry graduate student Erik Nordgren said. "He's the one who's given the club continuity." And members of both the Glee Club and Penn Singers have conferred legendary status on him. "Very few people are legends in their own time," College freshman Eric Schinfeld said. "Just sitting and talking with Monty, listening to him recount some of his incredible experiences, one gets a sense of his greatness." The tribute to Montgomery will take place in the Zellerbach Theatre. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling the Glee Club office.