Corporate body

University of British Columbia. Musical Society

1916-

The UBC Musical Society (MUSSOC) was one of the first Alma Mater Society student clubs formed at UBC in 1916. Its original aim was to allow students to present concerts on campus. On occasion, it also performed off-campus in Vancouver and Victoria. In 1930, the Society expanded its repertoire to include operettas, beginning with Garden of the Shah and later, including Gilbert and Sullivan productions as The Pirates of Penzance, Iolanthe, and HMS Pinafore. In 1950, the Society began presenting twentieth-century operettas such as The Student Prince and Maid of the Mountains. In 1957, with Call Me Madam, the Society embarked upon a series of Broadway musical comedies, including Damn Yankees and Lʹil Abner. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, work by Rodgers and Hammerstein, including Carousel and Oklahoma, were performed. Apart from the 1980‐81 seasons, the Society performed at least one musical per season when there was no production. The Society came to an end in 1989 after its performance of The Best of MUSSOC: A Celebration! however, it was revived in the late 1990s. The musicals are all put on by volunteer student casts and stage crews. The directors and choreographers are the only paid professionals involved.