They used to be called glee clubs. Now they are known as, ahem, college a cappella groups.

But that doesn’t mean they have lost the glee.

Across America, the number of college a cappella groups has tripled in the last 10 years—from about 500 in the mid-1990s to around 1,500 now. And in case that factoid is not funny enough, here is an even better one: The hottest trend among these groups is performing songs by singer-songwriter Ben Folds.

Folds was so bowled over by that phenomenon that he produced a CD earlier this year called “Ben Folds University A Cappella.”

Fittingly, four groups are singing in Kleinhans Music Hall’s Mary Seaton Room at 6 p. m. Thursday before Folds performs with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. From Fredonia State College come Some Like It Hot, an all-girl group, and Much More Chill, which is all guys. UB is contributing the Royal Pitches, all girls, and the all-male Buffalo Chips.

The four groups, which perform frequently with each other and embrace a wide variety of current pop music, will be singing one or two Folds tunes each.

That art is not as easy as it looks on paper. One or two singers typically sing solo, following the Folds vocal line, while the rest of the singers warble an intricate accompaniment. A few brave singers tackle the tough job of vocal percussion—that is, they “vocal-percuss.” Groups have to find someone to do the complicated arrangements.

“We practice three days a week for two hours each time,” says Mackenzie Tuchrelo, a math major who sings with the 15- voice Some Like It Hot. “It’s definitely a big commitment.”

But the work is worth it, the singers say.

“It’s the best thing I have ever done,” says Gerret Swearingen, an English major in Much More Chill. “It has defined the way I approach college. It gave me a sense of accomplishment. It gave me a position where I walk around campus and people know I’m in this great group. People come up and say, ‘We had a lot of fun at your show.’ ”

Much More Chill, now in its 10th year, has 13 members, only four of whom are music majors.

“It’s nice to tell guys in college [that] you don’t need to be a music major to perform,” Swearingen says. “We’ve had geneticists, poets, management majors go through this group. We get guys from every single walk of college.”

So popular are these latter-day glee clubs that many would-be singers are turned away.

“The more people who get exposed to it, the more want to do it,” says Tuchrelo. “We had 80 girls try out. We could only pick four. It’s really hard to let people down. We want to have everyone in it, but we can’t.”

Why are Folds songs so popular with choruses?

“It’s probably because of people’s love for music,” says Tuchrelo. “And it’s just such fun to listen to. The performers typically have a lot of energy.”

The singers also love the challenge. “We take pride in the fact that all of our girls can somewhat vocal-percuss. We train our girls to do that,” Tuchrelo says. “Some of them, they progress to where they can percuss to a whole song, which is really awesome.”

The burning question: Will Folds drop by the Mary Seaton Room to hear the groups singing his songs?

Some Like It Hot is dying to see him. “If he knew that, maybe it would give him a little encouragement,” says Tuchrelo. “We’re putting a lot of effort into this.

“We’re not going because it’s at Kleinhans,” she explains. “We’re, like, going for him.”

—Mary Kunz Goldman