While Glee Club tours had been separate for the men’s and women’s ensembles up till this point, department chair, Lucius Ades planned a combined tour that featured performances of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado. The combined group performed the opera in five towns, carting along bulky lighting equipment, set pieces and costumes, and returned to Wichita for a final home concert. This decision to combine the Men’s and Women’s Glee Clubs became an inciting incident for the development of the Singing Quakers.