Harvard University Choir
Encyclopedia
The Harvard University Choir, more commonly referred to as the University Choir or simply UChoir, is Harvard University
's oldest choir. It has provided choral music for the Harvard Memorial Church and its predecessor church for over 170 years, and is currently Harvard's only professional choir. Each year, a select group of choristers also make up the Harvard Choral Fellows, who sing at the church's daily Morning Prayers service in Appleton Chapel.
The University Choir is the only professional choir on campus. Singers are paid a significant stipend each year. The Choir is currently directed by Edward Elwyn Jones
, the Gund University Organist and Choirmaster at Memorial Church. In fall 2009, UChoir will be performing in the 100th Carols Services, the oldest carols service in the country, and in the spring, UChoir will be performing J.S. Bach
's St. John's Passion
.
The Choir sat in the Gallery and were left alone until it was time to sing; often they would sleep or read, paying little attention to the service. After the appointment of John Knowles Paine
as the first University Organist and Choirmaster in 1862, the Choir attained the status of a professional performance choir.
The annual Christmas Carol services, the longest continually running services of their kind in the country, were founded in 1910 by Archibald T. Davison, who soon invited the women of Radcliffe College to participate, a tradition maintained by Davison's successor, Professor G. Wallace Woodworth.
John R. Ferris, who served as Choirmaster from 1958 to 1990, won high praise for performances of a wide variety of sacred choral literature by incorporating women into the previously all-male University Choir.
Under the directorship of Dr. Murray Forbes Somerville between 1990 and 2003, the choir began touring and recording CD
s on the Koch International, Northeastern, Naxos, Centaur, Gothic, and ASV labels and, with the Boston Camerata under Joel Cohen, for Erato Records of France.
After his leadership during the 2003–2004 academic year, during which he served as Acting University Organist and Choirmaster, Edward Elwyn Jones
was appointed the seventh Gund University Organist and Choirmaster. The first year of his appointment saw one of the most imaginative Christmas Carol Services in recent memory, including such varied works as music from Palestrina and a newly commissioned work by Harvard Professor Elliot Gyger, and a spectacular Spring concert entitled "Choral Evolution" which featured Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Roxanna Panufnik’s Westminster Mass, and Libby Larsen’s Missa Gaia. The tradition of new commissions for the choir has continued under Jones; with the choir has featured a new commission each year at the Carol Services and most recently premiered three new works by Carson P. Cooman, Emma Lou Diemer
, and Tarik O'Regan
, written to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Memorial Church. Jones has also led the Choral Fellows on two successful spring tours to Montreal, Quebec and San Francisco, California, and took the Sunday Choir to Mexico City, Querétaro, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico in the spring of 2007.
The weekly schedule of the Sunday Choir involves rehearsals from 5 to 6:30 PM on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons in addition to a rehearsal and service on Sunday mornings. Weekday rehearsals are preceded by an hour-long tea.
In addition, the Sunday Choir goes on retreat to the St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire on Columbus Day weekend each year where, among other things, they celebrate "Carols in October" and begin to learn the repertoire for the Christmas Carol services in December. The choir also presents a spring concert each year and often performs at the Harvard ARTS FIRST festival in early May.
Sixteen selected singers from this ensemble form the Choral Fellows.
The Choral Fellows program employs a select group of singers who are dependable and committed members of the University Choir. The Choral Fellows as a group are responsible for between 6 and 8 services a week and their preparation and attendance are considered a given. Their presence is intended to help the choir develop the consistency and polish that comes from singing together often.
Conceived by Dr. Murray Forbes Somerville (Gund University Organist and Choirmaster, 1990–2003) the program is designed to provide a select group of students with a performing opportunity they would not find elsewhere as well as raise the standard of musical performance within the choir.
The Choral Fellows program was made possible by a gift to the Memorial Church at Harvard University, with the active support of the Reverend Professor Peter J. Gomes
, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in The Memorial Church.
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...
's oldest choir. It has provided choral music for the Harvard Memorial Church and its predecessor church for over 170 years, and is currently Harvard's only professional choir. Each year, a select group of choristers also make up the Harvard Choral Fellows, who sing at the church's daily Morning Prayers service in Appleton Chapel.
The University Choir is the only professional choir on campus. Singers are paid a significant stipend each year. The Choir is currently directed by Edward Elwyn Jones
Edward Elwyn Jones
Edward Elwyn Jones is a Welsh conductor and organist.-Life and work:Jones studied music at Cambridge University, where he was Organ Scholar of Emmanuel College. He was also the conductor of three university orchestras...
, the Gund University Organist and Choirmaster at Memorial Church. In fall 2009, UChoir will be performing in the 100th Carols Services, the oldest carols service in the country, and in the spring, UChoir will be performing J.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's St. John's Passion
Johannes Passion
The St John Passion , BWV 245, is a sacred oratorio of Johann Sebastian Bach from the Passions. The original Latin title Passio secundum Johannem translates to "The Suffering According to John" and is rendered in English also as St. John Passion and in German as Johannespassion...
.
History of the University Choir
While the first mention of choral performance at Harvard comes from the eighteenth century, a formal constitution of the University Choir was not seen until 1834; the constitution makes it clear, however, that the choir had existed prior to this date. One of the attractions of joining the choir at the time was the lack of supervision during compulsory Morning Prayers services.The Choir sat in the Gallery and were left alone until it was time to sing; often they would sleep or read, paying little attention to the service. After the appointment of John Knowles Paine
John Knowles Paine
John Knowles Paine , was the first American-born composer to achieve fame for large-scale orchestral music.-Life:He studied organ, orchestration, and composition in Germany and toured in Europe for three years...
as the first University Organist and Choirmaster in 1862, the Choir attained the status of a professional performance choir.
The annual Christmas Carol services, the longest continually running services of their kind in the country, were founded in 1910 by Archibald T. Davison, who soon invited the women of Radcliffe College to participate, a tradition maintained by Davison's successor, Professor G. Wallace Woodworth.
John R. Ferris, who served as Choirmaster from 1958 to 1990, won high praise for performances of a wide variety of sacred choral literature by incorporating women into the previously all-male University Choir.
Under the directorship of Dr. Murray Forbes Somerville between 1990 and 2003, the choir began touring and recording CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
s on the Koch International, Northeastern, Naxos, Centaur, Gothic, and ASV labels and, with the Boston Camerata under Joel Cohen, for Erato Records of France.
After his leadership during the 2003–2004 academic year, during which he served as Acting University Organist and Choirmaster, Edward Elwyn Jones
Edward Elwyn Jones
Edward Elwyn Jones is a Welsh conductor and organist.-Life and work:Jones studied music at Cambridge University, where he was Organ Scholar of Emmanuel College. He was also the conductor of three university orchestras...
was appointed the seventh Gund University Organist and Choirmaster. The first year of his appointment saw one of the most imaginative Christmas Carol Services in recent memory, including such varied works as music from Palestrina and a newly commissioned work by Harvard Professor Elliot Gyger, and a spectacular Spring concert entitled "Choral Evolution" which featured Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Roxanna Panufnik’s Westminster Mass, and Libby Larsen’s Missa Gaia. The tradition of new commissions for the choir has continued under Jones; with the choir has featured a new commission each year at the Carol Services and most recently premiered three new works by Carson P. Cooman, Emma Lou Diemer
Emma Lou Diemer
Emma Lou Diemer is an American composer. Diemer has written many works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, keyboard, voice, chorus , and electronic media...
, and Tarik O'Regan
Tarik O'Regan
Tarik O'Regan , full name Tarik Hamilton O'Regan , is a British composer, partly of Algerian extraction. His compositions number over 90 and are partially represented on 22 recordings which have been recognised with two GRAMMY nominations. He is also the recipient of two British Composer Awards...
, written to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Memorial Church. Jones has also led the Choral Fellows on two successful spring tours to Montreal, Quebec and San Francisco, California, and took the Sunday Choir to Mexico City, Querétaro, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico in the spring of 2007.
About the Choir
Approximately 50 singers form the Sunday Choir, a group that performs a wide range of choral literature for the Sunday services of Memorial Church in Harvard Yard. In recognition of their commitment, all members of this group are paid. Auditions for positions in the Sunday Choir are held early in the Fall Term. The choir attracts singers who like a challenge, singing a wide variety of music at a professional standard with a weekly performance deadline. This group performs in the annual Christmas Carol services and spring concert, and collaborates with other musical groups, both on and off campus. The Sunday Choir also undertakes both international and domestic tours.The weekly schedule of the Sunday Choir involves rehearsals from 5 to 6:30 PM on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons in addition to a rehearsal and service on Sunday mornings. Weekday rehearsals are preceded by an hour-long tea.
In addition, the Sunday Choir goes on retreat to the St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire on Columbus Day weekend each year where, among other things, they celebrate "Carols in October" and begin to learn the repertoire for the Christmas Carol services in December. The choir also presents a spring concert each year and often performs at the Harvard ARTS FIRST festival in early May.
Sixteen selected singers from this ensemble form the Choral Fellows.
The Choral Fellows
The Choral Fellows are a group of sixteen dedicated singers drawn from the Sunday Choir who additionally perform in the daily Morning Prayers services in Appleton Chapel; this is one of Harvard’s oldest traditions. This ensemble also represents the University Choir on tour and at special events. These singers are appointed for the full academic year after extensive auditions held the previous spring and receive free voice lessons as well as a significant stipend.The Choral Fellows program employs a select group of singers who are dependable and committed members of the University Choir. The Choral Fellows as a group are responsible for between 6 and 8 services a week and their preparation and attendance are considered a given. Their presence is intended to help the choir develop the consistency and polish that comes from singing together often.
Conceived by Dr. Murray Forbes Somerville (Gund University Organist and Choirmaster, 1990–2003) the program is designed to provide a select group of students with a performing opportunity they would not find elsewhere as well as raise the standard of musical performance within the choir.
The Choral Fellows program was made possible by a gift to the Memorial Church at Harvard University, with the active support of the Reverend Professor Peter J. Gomes
Peter J. Gomes
Peter John Gomes was an American preacher and theologian,the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard Divinity School and Pusey Minister at Harvard's Memorial Church—in the words of Harvard's president "one of the great preachers of our generation, and a living symbol of courage and...
, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in The Memorial Church.