Gaudeamus Igitur - Performances

Performances

The song is often performed as the opening piece of concerts by the Yale Glee Club and the University of Illinois Men's Glee Club.

A doo wop version is available by the Escorts, from 1962, perhaps the only doo wop song sung in Latin. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X94I9LQANjY

Two verses of this song are sung by graduands of the University of Glasgow at the beginning of the graduation ceremony - 'Gaudeamus igitur...' and 'Vivat academia...'

A version of this song is sung at the end of the University of Fribourg's Dies academicus ceremonies on the 15th of November (the feast of St. Albert the Great).

This song is sung in addition to the School Song at all assemblies at the prominent Fort Street High School in Sydney, Australia.

In Ghana,the song is regularly used at the graduation ceremony for students of the University of Science and Technology

The song is performed as part of University of Otago's annual student revue, the Capping Show, generally at the end of the show before the cast takes their bows.

A performance of the first, most characteristic strophe was recorded in mid-20th century by the Italian-American tenor Mario Lanza, and is still available under the title "Gaudeamus Igitur". Lanza recorded a version of "The Student Prince" (see above).

An excerpt of the song was performed by cast members of the television series The West Wing during the episode entitled "Debate Camp".

The song is sung in Howard Hawks' Ball of Fire by a number of academics at a party where they are celebrating the upcoming nuptials of a professor played by Gary Cooper.

It was also performed as the musical theme of the classic 1951 Joseph L. Mankiewicz's film People Will Talk, delightfully "conducted" by Cary Grant . This movie is a remake of the German Frauenarzt Dr. Praetorius, in which actor/director Curt Goetz performs that scene with the same music in the movie based on his own play and screenplay.

A fairly modern vocal version is sung during graduation ceremonies in the movie Lord Love a Duck.

The International University Sports Federation (FISU) adopted the song as its anthem to be played during the medal-awards ceremonies and the opening ceremonies of the Universiades.

The Jagiellonian University in Kraków has the song sung as its anthem at official ceremonies, including especially the successive inaugurations of academic years (in 2011 for the 648th time).

This song was referenced in satirist Tom Lehrer's song "Bright College Days" in 1959 in his self-published album More of Tom Lehrer (the successor to Songs by Tom Lehrer)--as well as in the more-recent release, An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer—in the line "Turn on the spigot, pour the beer and swig it, and gaudeamus igit-ur."

In LucasArts' classic point-and-click adventure game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, the large Nazi thug Arnold sings the first line of this song before being killed by a boulder released by Indiana Jones.

The first few bars of the song are used in the PopCap game BookWorm at level up or game over.

The first few bars of the tune is used in the movie People Will Talk.

Peter Alexander sang this song in a medley in the 1963 film Der Musterknabe.

In Belgian fraternities in Ghent (1st, 3rd and 7th stanza) and Leuven (first three stanzas) it is sung when former members of the presidium enter the cantus room. In Brussels however the free thinking students (VUB, ULB, EhB, HEB, etc.) sing it at the beginning of every cantus and so do many fraternities in Leuven. It is most often sung immediately after the 'Io Vivat'.

The song is sung during the procession at the University of Virginia's convocation ceremony at the beginning of each year.

The melody is woven through the soundtrack of Harold Lloyd's silent film "The Freshman" (1925). The melody also served as the music of the fictional school, Greenleaf High anthem, 'Hail To Thee O Greenleaf High' in the 1997 film In and Out.

In Finland the song is traditionally sung by the new graduates during the high school graduation ceremony.

In the middle section of the Alan Sherman song "Dropouts March", An Alma Mater Chorus sings the following humorous line set to that melodic piece: "Ignoramus There you are/ Sitting in your hopped-up car/ And your brains ain't up to par/ And your ears stick out too far". (Source: "Dropouts March" from the Alan Sherman album "Allan in Wonderland" from 1964.)

In 1948, the Victoria Institution adopted the tune to be used in the school song. Lyrics were provided by Mr G. F. Jackson, a former teacher from the VI.

A fortissimo rendition of the song performed by a full symphony orchestra appears in the closing pages of Brahms' Academic Festival Overture

A variation of the song can be heard in various episodes of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, specially when an university or student's facility is being shot.