Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus
Encyclopedia
The Harvard Radcliffe Chorus (HRC) is the largest mixed choir at Harvard University
and has a diverse membership consisting of faculty members, staff, community members, and both undergraduate and graduate students. HRC was founded in 1979 and continues to perform twice a year as of 2010. HRC usually performs its master concerts at Sanders Theatre
at Harvard University, one of the many venues in the Boston area with high-quality acoustics
. When a large pipe organ
is required for a masterwork, such as Berlioz's Te Deum, the chorus performs in a large church in Cambridge, Massachusetts
.
, Director of Choral Activities at Harvard University, as a training choir for students who needed more choral experience in order to perform with the other Holden Choirs: the Harvard Glee Club
, the Radcliffe Choral Society
, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum
, and as an organization that reached out to communities in the greater Boston-Cambridge area.
In 1980, the Chorale was renamed the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus. Under the leadership of Beverly Taylor until 1995, HRC membership increased dramatically, and the Chorus continued to prosper under the direction of Jeffrey Bernstein during the 1995–96 season.
From 1996 to 2004, Dr. Constance DeFotis
brought even greater artistic achievement to HRC and made it a choral home to a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, and members of the Greater Boston community. Dr. DeFotis also oversaw the founding of the Executive Committee, the self-governing group of student and community officers that addresses the chorus’s non-artistic concerns and administrative matters. While she was on leave during the 2002–2003 academic year, Simon Carrington, who is well known as a founding member of The King's Singers led the Chorus with inimitable skill and charisma. Dr. DeFotis now serves as the resident Director of Choral Activities at DePaul University
, and Simon Carrington is Professor of Choral Conducting at Yale University
.
The current artistic director, Dr. Kevin Leong, is the Associate Conductor of the Harvard-Radcliffe Choruses. He holds a Ph.D. in biophysics
from Harvard and a doctoral degree in choral conducting
from Boston University.
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and has a diverse membership consisting of faculty members, staff, community members, and both undergraduate and graduate students. HRC was founded in 1979 and continues to perform twice a year as of 2010. HRC usually performs its master concerts at Sanders Theatre
Sanders Theater
Sanders Theatre or Sanders Theater is the premiere lecture and concert hall at Harvard University. It is internationally known for its superior acoustics, which in New England are only surpassed by Jordan Hall, Mechanics Hall, Worcester, and Boston Symphony Hall.-History:Plans for the theater...
at Harvard University, one of the many venues in the Boston area with high-quality acoustics
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
. When a large pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
is required for a masterwork, such as Berlioz's Te Deum, the chorus performs in a large church in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
.
History
The Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus (HRC) was founded in 1979 by Beverly Taylor as the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorale with about forty undergraduates and a few staff members who wanted to sing. It was conceived with Dr. Jameson MarvinJameson Marvin
Jameson Neil Marvin is an American choral conductor, composer, arranger, and editor who from 1978-2010 directed the Harvard Glee Club, the Radcliffe Choral Society, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum and has also taught choral conducting at Harvard University...
, Director of Choral Activities at Harvard University, as a training choir for students who needed more choral experience in order to perform with the other Holden Choirs: the Harvard Glee Club
Harvard Glee Club
The Harvard Glee Club is a 60-voice, all-male choral ensemble at Harvard University. Founded in 1858 in the tradition of English and American glee clubs, it is the oldest collegiate chorus in the US. The Glee Club is part of the Holden Choruses of Harvard University, which also include the...
, the Radcliffe Choral Society
Radcliffe Choral Society
The Radcliffe Choral Society is a 60-voice all-female choral ensemble at Harvard University. Founded in 1899, it is one of the country's oldest women's chorus and one of its most prominent collegiate choirs. With the all-male Harvard Glee Club and the mixed-voice Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium...
, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum
Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum
The Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum is a mixed chorus at Harvard University, composed of roughly 60 voices, drawing from both the undergraduate and graduate student populations...
, and as an organization that reached out to communities in the greater Boston-Cambridge area.
In 1980, the Chorale was renamed the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus. Under the leadership of Beverly Taylor until 1995, HRC membership increased dramatically, and the Chorus continued to prosper under the direction of Jeffrey Bernstein during the 1995–96 season.
From 1996 to 2004, Dr. Constance DeFotis
Constance DeFotis
Dr. Constance DeFotis is a singer, conductor, and musical teacher, currently the resident Director of Choral Activities at the University of Connecticut. She has taught at University of Chicago, Harvard University, The College of William and Mary, the Knabenchor der St...
brought even greater artistic achievement to HRC and made it a choral home to a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, and members of the Greater Boston community. Dr. DeFotis also oversaw the founding of the Executive Committee, the self-governing group of student and community officers that addresses the chorus’s non-artistic concerns and administrative matters. While she was on leave during the 2002–2003 academic year, Simon Carrington, who is well known as a founding member of The King's Singers led the Chorus with inimitable skill and charisma. Dr. DeFotis now serves as the resident Director of Choral Activities at DePaul University
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
, and Simon Carrington is Professor of Choral Conducting at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
The current artistic director, Dr. Kevin Leong, is the Associate Conductor of the Harvard-Radcliffe Choruses. He holds a Ph.D. in biophysics
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
from Harvard and a doctoral degree in choral conducting
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
from Boston University.
Repertoire
The repertoire of the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus encompasses music from the 16th century to the present and is designed to introduce students to all the major style periods during their undergraduate studies at Harvard. The following table lists all of the works performed by HRC since its founding.| CONCERT | PROGRAM |
|---|---|
| December 2005 | “Beethoven IX”
|
| April 2005 | “Echoes of Rouen”
|
| December 2004 | “Mozart in Salzburg”
|
| May 2004 |
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| December 2003 |
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| May 2003 |
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| December 2002 |
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| May 2002 |
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| December 2001 |
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| May 2001 |
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| December 2000 |
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| May 2000 |
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| December 1999 |
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| May 1999 |
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| December 1998 |
Elegischer Gesang Elegischer Gesang , Op. 118, is a work by Ludwig van Beethoven, which is scored for string quartet and four voices. The work furthers Beethoven's late infatuation with the genre of the string quartet. It is one of Beethoven's least known works and is not performed or recorded very often.-External... , Op. 118 |
| May 1998 |
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| December 1997 |
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| April 1997 |
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| December 1996 |
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| April 1996 |
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| December 1995 |
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| April 1995 |
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| December 1994 |
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| April 1994 |
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| December 1993 |
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| April 1993 |
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| December 1992 |
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| April 1992 |
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| December 1991 |
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| April 1991 |
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| December 1990 |
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| April 1990 |
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| December 1989 |
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| April 1989 |
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| December 1988 |
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| April 1988 |
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| December 1987 |
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| April 1987 |
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| December 1986 |
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| April 1986 |
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| December 1985 |
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| April 1985 |
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| December 1984 |
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| April 1984 |
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| December 1983 |
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| April 1983 |
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| December 1982 |
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| April 1982 |
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| December 1981 |
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| April 1981 |
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| December 1980 |
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