 |
Mission Statement • History • Discography • Premieres • Board of Directors
© Steve J. Sherman |
The mission of The Collegiate Chorale is to enrich its audiences through innovative programming and exceptional performances of a broad range of vocal music featuring a premier choral ensemble.
Inherent in its mission is The Chorale's belief that choral music is a compelling collaboration that creates a powerful, shared experience unifying listeners and musicians of all backgrounds, beliefs and ages.
History
The Collegiate Chorale has been a prominent force in the cultural life of New York City for more than 60 years. Founded in 1941 by Robert Shaw and taking its name from its first rehearsal space, the Marble Collegiate Church, The Chorale rose to prominence when it performed Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9" under the baton of Arturo Toscanini. Subsequently, This New York City based chorus has performed with such conductors as Beecham, Bernstein, Koussevitzky, Maazel, Mehta, and Mitropoulos. Through the years The Chorale has established an international reputation through its commitment not only to the traditional choral repertoire but to American music, commissioning works from Barber, Bolcom, Britten, Copland, Dvorák, Hindemith, and Sessions. Under the leadership of its Music Director, the late Robert Bass(from 1980-2008), The Chorale expanded its vision to include operatic repertoire, multi-media productions and cross-discipline presentations. The Chorale's newly appointed Maestro, James Bagwell stands ready to champion this vision and carry The Chorale forward into the next great phase of its musical life.
In 1982, The Chorale joined Juilliard's American Opera Center for the New York premiere of Montezuma by Roger Sessions. Other premiere concert performances of operas followed: 1984, the American premiere of Dvorák's Dmitri; 1987, the New York premiere of Respighi's La fiamma; 1989, the New York premiere of Strauss' previously unrecorded one-act opera, Friedenstag. In 1997 The Chorale gave the New York premiere of Schubert's Fierrabras. This marked the beginning of an important artistic partnership with the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall: "Opera-in-Concert." Performances for the series include: 1998, Verdi's Nabucco; 1999, Verdi's Giovanna d'Arco; 2000, Ponchielli's La Gioconda; 2001, Verdi's Macbeth; 2002, Weber's Oberon; 2003, Verdi's La forza del destino; 2004, Verdi's Un ballo in maschera; and 2005, Puccini's Le Villi and Act III of Turandot with the New York premiere of the Luciano Berio ending. For the 2009-2010 Season, The Chorale will present the World Premiere Two Act Concert Version of Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie's opera, The Grapes of Wrath.
The addition of opera to The Chorale's repertoire further expanded The Chorale's mission to present the full spectrum of the vocal arts, through the presentation of an array of musical works, including opera, choral classics, contemporary vocal pieces and multi-media staging. Recently, The Chorale has reinvigorated its dedication to this vision, working with acclaimed actor Roger Rees. As The Chorale's Artistic Associate, Mr. Rees has collaborated with The Chorale on several varied music programs that investigate the relationship between music and text and the vocal language they create. Recent performances have included An Evening of American Operetta, An Evening of Kurt Weill, Shakespeare & Verdi; and Scott Joplin's Treemonisha. Critically acclaimed, this series proves valuable to both The Chorale and the audience by expanding the range of color that the choral sound encompasses.
The continued strength of classical music as an art form depends on retaining and revitalizing existing audiences as well as creating new ones. To that end, The Chorale's education programs bring an understanding and appreciation of the concept of "the full spectrum of vocal arts" to students, audiences and the broader community. One of The Chorale's flagship programs is the Side-by-Side initiative. Launched by The Chorale in 2002, it provides an opportunity for musically advanced high school students to rehearse and perform with the chorus "side-by-side" with the the regular members and professional singers. The program enriches the school's vocal music curriculum with a series of masterclasses and gives students valuable experience performing at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center with professional musicians and world-class soloists.
The effort to diversify the vocal impact on classical music has garnered The Chorale growing accreditation in the artistic community. In 2005, The Chorale and Robert Bass received an invitation from Maestro James Levine to sing under his leadership at The Verbier Festival in Switzerland. The Chorale performed Verdi's Requiem in its festival debut, and returned in August 2006 to perform a broader program: Verdi's Simone Boccanegra and Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9" with Mr. Levine. Mr. Bass made his Festival conducting debut with The Chorale on August 5th, presenting Schubert's Mirjams Siegesgesang. In July 2009, The Chorale returned to Verbier to perform Mozart's Don Giovanni and Faure's Requiem.
The Chorale's presence on the international music scene continues to expand. In July 2008, The Chorale traveled to Israel at the request of Zubin Mehta and Avi Shoshani of the Israel Philharmonic to perform with the orchestra in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem.
The Chorale has performed on radio and television since its inception under Robert Shaw. Its first feature was a 1948 performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra. In recent years it has appeared in various educational programs and concert broadcasts. The Chorale sang in Pavarotti Plus!, of which all six programs were televised nationally on PBS, the latter as part of the Live From Lincoln Center series in 1990. MTV invited The Chorale to perform "O Fortuna," from Orff's Carmina Burana at the nationally broadcast "MTV Video Music Awards" in 1999. WFMT has carried The Chorale's "Opera-in-Concert" series, providing national carriage of acclaimed performances. In October 2006, Robert Bass participated in WNYC's "Beethoven Festival." Speaking on The Spirit is Willing: Beethoven's Vocal Music with George Preston, Maestro Bass discussed the challenges of the composer's few pieces for the voice. The program featured The Chorale's recordings of Beethoven's works, including the 2005 opera-in-concert of Fidelio with Deborah Voigt and the historical recording of Toscanini's "Symphony No. 9". The Chorale's recordings include: Mahler's "Symphony No. 2" (Resurrection) under Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic for Sony; Dvorák's Discoveries from America for Music and Arts; Strauss' Friedenstag for Koch; Beethoven's Der glorreiche Augenblick and Cantata on the Elevation of Leopold II with Deborah Voigt and the Orchestra of Saint Luke's for Koch International.
Highlights of recent seasons include: The New York premiere of Bernstein and Lerner's A White House Cantata, Mendelssohn's Elijah featuring Bryn Terfel; Scott Joplin's Treemonisha; The Chorale's performance of Leonard Bernstein's Mass-- its first New York performance in over 25 years;and the sold out performance of Kurt Weill's Firebrand of Florence featuring Nathan Gunn.
Among the many guest artists with whom The Chorale has performed in recent years include: Thomas Hampson, Bryn Terfel, Nathan Gunn,Victoria Clark,Stephanie Blythe, Kathleen Battle, Lauren Flanigan, Renee Fleming, Hei-Kyung Hong, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Salvatore Licitra, Aprile Millo, Ewa Podles, and Deborah Voigt.
top of page
Discography
Symphony No. 2, Gustav Mahler, New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, conductor (Sony)
St. Matthew Passion, J. S. Bach, New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, conductor (Sony)
Friedenstag, Richard Strauss, live performance at Carnegie Hall, November 1989, Robert Bass, conductor (Koch)
Der glorreiche Augenblick and Auf die Erhebung Leopold des Zwieten zur Kaiserwürde, Ludwig van Beethoven, live performance at Carnegie Hall, March 1994, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Robert Bass, conductor (Koch)
Un Ballo in Maschera, Giuseppe Verdi, Luciano Pavarotti, tenor, Anton Guadagno, conductor (London)
Dvorák Discoveries from America, Antonin Dvorák, Steven Richman, conductor (Music & Arts)
Celluloid Copland, Eos Orchestra, Jonathan Sheffer, conductor (Telarc)
American Composers, live performance at Richard Tucker Gala Concert, Avery Fisher Hall, 1991, Met Opera Orchestra, James Conlon, conductor (BMG)
A Concert of American Music, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Conlon, conductor, Leontyne Price, Renee Flemming (RCA/BMG)
Pavarotti Plus, Live from Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall, 1990, NYC Opera Orchestra, Anton Guadagno, conductor, selections from Tosca and Un ballo in maschera, Luciano Pavarotti, Leona Mitchell, Carol Vaness, Harolyn Blackwell
top of page
Premieres
| Adamo, Mark |
|
Cantate Domino: Etude on Psalm 97 (NY premiere) |
| Avshalamov, Jacob |
|
Tom O'Bedlam* |
| Bacon, Ernst |
|
Five Fables |
| Barber, Samuel |
|
A Stopwatch and an Ordnance Map |
| Barnes, Edward |
|
The Hiding Tree* |
| Bartók, Bela |
|
The Enchanted Deer |
| Blitzstein, Mark |
|
Airborne Symphony |
| Bolcom, William |
|
Dancers* • Simple Stories* |
| Brahms, Johannes |
|
Johannes Messe |
| Brant, Henry |
|
December* • The Children's Hour |
| Britten, Benjamin |
|
A Boy Was Born |
| Calabro, Louis |
|
Metaphors* • Motet in 40 Parts |
| Copland, Aaron |
|
The Lark • In the Beginning |
| Creston, Paul |
|
Three Chorales from Tagore |
| Dello Joio, Norman |
|
Western Star • The Mystic Trumpeter* |
| Delius, Frederick |
|
Requiem |
| Diamond, David |
|
A Secular Cantata* |
| Dvorák, Antonin |
|
Dimitri** |
| Foss, Lukas |
|
The Prairie |
| Getty, Gordon |
|
Annabel Lee |
| Gordon, Ricky Ian |
|
Suite from "Only Heaven"* |
| Hawley, William |
|
Te Deum* |
| Hindemith, Paul |
|
Madrigales • Apparebit repentina dies • Six Chansons When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd* |
| Hovhaness, Alan |
|
Glory to God in the Highest* |
| Ives, Charles |
|
Sixty-Seventh Psalm • Three Harvest Home Chorales |
| Janácek, Leos |
|
Festival Mass |
| Laderman, Ezra |
|
Thrive Upon the Rock* |
| Levy, Martin David |
|
For the Time Being |
| Mason, Deborah |
|
A Strange Courage* |
| McCartney, Paul |
|
Liverpool Oratorio |
| Mennin, Peter |
|
Symphony No. 4 (The Cycle)* |
| Meyerowitz, Jan |
|
Music for Christmas |
| Milhaud, Darius |
|
The Two Cities |
| Moore, Undine Smith |
|
Scenes from the Life of a Martyr (NY premiere) |
| Persichetti, Vincent |
|
Missa* • Stabat Mater* |
| Poulenc, Francis |
|
Four Christmas Motets |
| Respighi, Ottorino |
|
La Fiamma |
| Rochberg, George |
|
Symphony No. 3 |
| Rorem, Ned |
|
Now Voyager |
| Schubert, Franz |
|
Fierrabras** (NY premiere) |
| Schuman, William |
|
Prelude for Voices |
| Schoenberg, Arnold |
|
Friede auf Erden |
| Starer, Robert |
|
On the Nature of Things |
| Strauss, Richard |
|
Friedenstag** (NY premiere) |
| Suits, Paul |
|
A Prodigal Voice* |
| Wertsch, Nancy |
|
'Tis Not Too Late* |
* Commissions ** Operas-in-Concert
top of page
Board of Directors
| |
| Susan L. Baker, Co-Chairman |
|
Since 2000 |
| George J. Grumbach, Jr., Co-Chairman |
|
Since 2003 |
| Anna Murdoch Mann, Vice Chairman |
|
Since 2001 |
| William H. Mann, Vice Chairman |
|
Since 2001 |
| Susan Shine, Vice Chairman |
|
Since 2000 |
| Christie C. Salomon, Secretary |
|
Since 2000 |
| Lois Conway, Treasurer |
|
Since 2000 |
| |
| Martina Arroyo |
|
Since 2000 |
| Page Ashley |
|
Since 2006 |
| Nancy D. Becker |
|
Since 2000 |
| Robert A. Becker |
|
Since 2000 |
| Juliana Chen |
|
Since 2009 |
| Robert W. Gutman |
|
Since 2000 |
| Kenneth H. Hannan, Jr. |
|
Since 2008 |
| Deborah Innes |
|
Since 2005 |
| Sandra S. Joys |
|
Since 2000 |
| Henry L. King |
|
Since 2008 |
| Karen Lerner |
|
Since 2008 |
| James S. Marcus |
|
Since 2000 |
| Ellen Nenner |
|
Since 2005 |
| Elaine Petschek |
|
Since 2002 |
| Deborah Stiles |
|
Since 2007 |
| Elizabeth Tunick |
|
Since 2002 |
top of page
|
|
