The Mendelssohn Club is a music institution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

, founded in 1874 by William Wallace Gilchrist, a major figure in the 19th century music of Philadelphia

Music of Philadelphia

The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is home to a vibrant and well-documented musical heritage, stretching back to colonial times. Innovations in classical music, opera, R&B, jazz and soul have earned the music of Philadelphia national and international renown...

. The chorus is under the direction of Alan Harler, professor of choral conducting at Temple University

Temple University

Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...

. Bruce Carey

Bruce Carey

Bruce Anderson Carey was a Canadian choir conductor, baritone, and music educator. He began his career in Hamilton, Ontario where he notably founded the Bach-Elgar Choir in 1905...

directed the chorus from 1926-1934.

In 1988, Alan Harler was named artistic director of Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, only the twelfth person to hold that position since the chorus’s founding in 1874. Maestro Harler also served as Laura H. Carnell Professor and Chairman of Choral Music at Temple University’s Esther Boyer College of Music.