Hugo Vera didn’t know what kind of response Kansas University would get five years ago when it revived its Men’s Glee Club.

But there’s something about a group of rowdy guys singing everything from Renaissance music to show tunes that draws singers and audiences.

“I didn’t think it would be of this magnitude,” said Vera, the graduate teaching assistant who directs the choir. “We’ve seen growth each year.”

The Glee Club, now with 48 members, will celebrate the fifth anniversary of its revival with a concert Sunday. The free event, 7:30 p.m. at Swarthout Recital Hall in Murphy Hall, will include a wide variety of music.

The Glee Club was founded in 1899, but membership dwindled during the 1980s and 1990s to the point Simon Carrington stopped the group when he became director of KU choirs in 1995.

There were 12 singers that year. It was revived in 1997 with about 30 members.

Vera said the Glee Club was a good fit for many men. The group meets on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, so it accommodates some men’s schedules better. And he said the atmosphere was more relaxed than other KU choirs, attracting students who aren’t majoring in music.

“We try to keep it light,” he said. “It does have a social aspect, more so than many of the choirs at KU.”

Paul Duston, center, a Kansas University junior from Overland Park, barrels out a low note while rehearsing Duo

But that doesn’t mean Glee Club is all fun and no work, said John Petzet, a Tulsa, Okla., graduate student and the group’s assistant director.

“They’re rowdy, but when they work hard, they can make some good sounds,” Petzet said.

That combination lured Thomas Champion, a Lawrence junior, to first sing in the choir last year. He sang in choirs at Free State High School and wanted to continue his music despite majoring in biology.

He said the tradition of glee clubs made it especially important for KU to revive the choir.

“It’s always good to keep that stuff going,” he said. “We’re going back to our roots.”