The Schubert Club of Grand Rapids, a choral group for men, was founded in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1883 by Henry C. Post, a 28 year old piano teacher. The groups first concert was performed in June 1884 at the old Fountain Street Baptist Church. The organization was legally incorporated October 6, 1884, with 16 members.

It was Henry Posts' suggestion that the club be named in honor of composer Franz Schubert. Post is said to have been inspired with the idea for the Club by his recollections of men's choruses from his music studies in Europe. But, he was also motivated by the example of his mother and other women who had just founded the St. Cecilia Music Society in Grand Rapids the same year. The Schubert Chorus has continued to have a strong affiliation with St. Cecilia's over the years. Other Schubert choruses for men exist elsewhere in the United States, and many other mens choral groups have long histories. However, the Schubert Male Chorus of Grand Rapids, Michigan is said to be the oldest independent continually active male chorus in the country.

In 1885, the Club sang at the dedication ceremonies for the monument at Division, Monroe and Fulton in Grand Rapids, commemorating the soldiers of the U.S. Civil War. In 2003, the Chorus again performed at the rededication of this same Civil War monument, after its restoration.

In 1888, the Club performed at the dedication of the then new City Hall Building. 81 years later, the Chorus performed at the dedication of another new City Hall.

The Club brought several nationally prominent musicians to Grand Rapids over the years for its performances, including pianist Ignace Paderewski in 1902 and 1905, opera favorite Rise Stevens, and the McGuire Sisters on April 23, 1955.

By 2000, the Chorus had recorded some 7,000 men as members over the years. But it had its ups and downs in membership over the years, building up its support in 1900 to some 600 associate members (not active performers), who provided financial support and were active participants in the annual “stag” banquets each year. From the position as the most important male social event of the year in the early 1900s, Club membership dwindled in the 1920s and early 1930s, but went through a revival in the later 1930s. It was during this time, in 1938, that the Club founded the Junior Schubert Club for teenage boys, which served as a feeder organization for the adult chorus. In 1941 the Club did a 13 week series of coast-to-coast radio broadcasts for the Mutual Broadcasting Network, which brought it national recognition. A scholarship fund was also founded, counting among the recipients Russell Christopher, a 1948 graduate of Union High School, and a baritone who regularly performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. With the social changes in the country in the 1960s, however, the Club again reached a new membership low, almost dying out in the 1970s. By the early 1980s, the Chorus had sprung back, with 67 active vocalists and 100 sponsors, in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the organization in style.

The Big Sing, the Club's 100th Birthday event, brought a chorus of 1,000 male voices, from many men's choruses which held membership in the American Male Chorus Association. Participants came from across the United States and Canada to converge on the DeVos Hall on April 23, 1983 for the concert. Various proclamations, including one from the Governor, document the International Big Sing Week in Michigan.

Many musicians have led or supported the organization over the years as musical directors, conductors or accompanists. Many of the membership have taken leadership rolls in the management and financial support of the organization over the years, or in documenting the organization's history. The documents in the archives of the organization celebrate their participation.

The November 21, 2005 practice concert honoring the gift of the Club's archives to the City of Grand Rapids as part of the Grand Rapids Public Library Archives, marks a new milestone in the long history of this historical Grand Rapids organization.

This history is derived from historical documents in this collection, and from other sources, including:

"History of the Schubert club of Grand Rapids : 105 Years of Rich Tradition" by James Van Vulpen, was published in the Grand Rapids Press

History of the Club, 1883-1899. [1883-1990 In Schubert Gazette, May 15, 1992.]