Westminster Choir College
Encyclopedia
Westminster Choir College is a residential college of music, part of Rider University
, located in Princeton, New Jersey
, United States.
Westminster Choir College educates men and women at the undergraduate and graduate
levels for musical careers in music education, voice performance, piano performance, organ performance, pedagogy, music theory and composition, conducting, sacred music and arts management; professional training in musical skills with an emphasis on performance is complemented by studies in the liberal arts
. Westminster's proximity to New York City and Philadelphia provides students with easy access to the musical resources of both cities.
founded the Westminster Choir in 1920 at the Westminster Presbyterian Church
of Dayton, Ohio. Convinced that professionally trained musicians could best serve the church, he established the Westminster Choir School in September 1926 with sixty students and a faculty of ten. As the Choir School and its choir's reputation grew, the demand for the School's graduates increased. The graduates came to be known as Ministers of Music, a term coined by Dr. Williamson and still being used today by many church music programs.
As early as 1922, the Choir, then known as the Dayton Westminster Choir, began touring the United States annually and sang in such prominent places as Carnegie Hall
(New York City), Symphony Hall
(Boston
), the Academy of Music
(Philadelphia), Orchestra Hall
(Chicago) and the White House
for President Calvin Coolidge
. Years later the Choir also sang for Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt
and Dwight D. Eisenhower
. The Westminster Choir made its first commercial recording with RCA Victor in 1926. Subsequently the Choir recorded with major conductors and orchestras.
In 1928, the Westminster Choir and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Leopold Stokowski
made the nation's first coast-to-coast radio broadcast on Cincinnati station WLW. A few years later because of the Choir's growing reputation it made a total of 60 half-hour broadcasts from NBC
's New York facilities.
The first European tour took place in 1929 and was sponsored by Dayton, Ohio
philanthropist Katharine Houk Talbott and endorsed by Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York Symphony Orchestra
. The tour included 26 concerts in major cities of Europe.
Originally a three year program, the Choir School moved to Ithaca College
in New York State in 1929 and enlarged its curriculum to a four year program culminating in a Bachelor of Music
degree. A major reason for the move involved the need to be able to reach the major cities of Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York by rail. All three were cities that sought the choirs under Williamson. This move ultimately proved unsatisfactory.
which became its permanent home. Classes were held in the First Presbyterian Church and the Princeton Seminary until 1934 when the Choir School moved to its present campus. This was made possible by a large gift from the philanthropist Sophia Strong Taylor. The dedication of the new campus was marked by a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach
's Mass in B minor at the Princeton University
Chapel with the Westminster Choir, soloists, and the Philadelphia Orchestra
conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Because of his high regard for the Choir, the services of the soloists, orchestra, and conductor were a gift from Stokowski.
There was a second European Choir tour in 1934 lasting nine weeks and highlighted by a live radio broadcast from Russia to the United States. In the fourteen short years since its founding in 1920, the Choir already had two European tours which earned it international acclaim and a campus of its own. The State of New Jersey
in 1939 granted the Choir School accreditation and the name Westminster Choir College was adopted.
In years to come, under Williamson's leadership, the Choir would begin having regular concerts with the New York Philharmonic
and the Philadelphia Orchestra
. The Westminster Choir sang with the New York Philharmonic for the first time in 1939 conducted by Sir John Barbirolli. Since that time the Choir has sung over three hundred performances with the Philharmonic, a record number for a single choir to perform with an orchestra. Later that year the Choir sang with the NBC Symphony Orchestra
, conducted by Arturo Toscanini
. That same year the Choir, directed by Williamson, sang at the dedication of the New York World's Fair
which was broadcast to fifty-three countries.
In 1957, under the auspices of the U.S. State Department Cultural Exchange Program, the Choir undertook a five month world tour, concertizing in twenty-two countries, covering 40000 miles (64,373.6 km) and appearing before approximately a quarter of a million people.
Williamson retired as President of Westminster Choir College in 1958. Dr. Williamson's "retirement" consisted of conducting choral clinics and vocal festivals throughout the United States, Japan, Korea
and the Philippines
. A South American choir tour was being planned by the State Department but was cancelled because of Williamson's untimely death in 1964. In accordance with his request Dr. Williamson's ashes were scattered on the Quadrangle
of his beloved campus on July 3, 1964. This turned out to be a myth perpetuated by many a faculty member. (Dr. Williamson's daughter corrected this notion by explaining that his ashes were scattered on the eastern side of the campus near the evergreen trees.) Dramatically the story went, this was said to have taken place during the performance of the Verdi Requiem with the Westminster Festival Choir, soloists, and the Festival Orchestra conducted by Maestro
Eugene Ormandy
. This performance on the Westminster campus was part of the Tercentennial Celebration of the State of New Jersey. The following day a memorial service for Dr. Williamson was held in the College Chapel.
In 1976, the Choir College celebrated its fiftieth anniversary highlighted by a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven
's Ninth Symphony
with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Robert Shaw
, alumni soloists, and the Westminster Alumni Choir on the Princeton University campus. Despite a promising future at the fiftieth anniversary, Westminster soon began to see its future and prospects for continued existence threatened. Facilities on the campus were placed into disrepair, and Erdman Hall was ultimately condemned and unfit for use. Recognizing that the College could not continue in this path, Westminster was forced with two options, either finding a larger university to merge with or closure.
. Despite promises that Rider would maintain the Westminster Choir College campus in Princeton a mere two years later, Rider University President J. Barton Luedeke began exploring a move which would relocate the Choir College campus to Lawrenceville, New Jersey to be with the rest of Rider University. By 1996, the Choir College appeared to have a vibrant fiscal future in Princeton, operating in the black, thanks to increased enrollment and donations. Thanks to this optimistic era, one year later Erdman Hall was renovated, restored, and reopened as "The Presser Music Center at Erdman Hall" featuring teaching studios, a keyboard laboratory, Voice Library & Resource Center, and new classroom space.
Despite the optimistic future in the 90s, by the early 2000s Rider University determined Westminster Choir College either must create an even stronger fiscal future or face closure. Looking for a way to control costs and more effectively create synergies between the two campuses of Rider University (Westminster's and the main campus), in November 2007, Rider University President Rozanski announced the creation of the Westminster College of the Arts. Westminster College of the Arts was envisioned to more successfully integrate Rider & Westminster, and create a new culture and environment of artistic excellence on both campuses. Westminster Choir College continues to educate Westminster College of the Arts students in the fields of Piano, Composition, Voice, Organ, Choral Conducting, Sacred Music, and Music Education. The newly formed School of Fine & Performing Arts serves as the gateway to receiving a degree in Musical Theatre, Arts Administration, and Music, as well as a non-professional degree (B.A. in Fine Arts) in music, dance, and theater. The creation of Westminster College of the Arts sparked heated debate between administrators and students, alumni and faculty that highlighted the divide between Rider's Princeton and Lawrenceville campuses. Rider University continues to strive for unity between the two campuses while preserving the integrity and unique history of Westminster Choir College.
As Westminster Choir College enters the twenty-first century the college is looking towards the future more than ever before. In the early-mid 2000s the school unveiled an ambitious master-plan calling for a new building and other upgrades, the first to be created on the campus since the College was placed under Rider University's stewardship. The Choir College also entered a cooperative agreement with the Princeton Regional Schools which allows for up to 40 Westminster performances a year to occur in their newly created Regional Performing Arts Center, heavily alleviating the struggle the Princeton Campus had by having no dedicated performance space on the campus. Enrollment in the college is becoming increasingly selective, with approximately one in three of the auditioning students matriculating into the campus each fall.
, Philadelphia Orchestra
, National Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
, Boston Symphony Orchestra
, Cleveland Orchestra
, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic
. The Symphonic Choir, under the direction of Westminster's Director of Choral Activities, has sung at individual performances of large orchestral/choral works with professional orchestras conducted by Claudio Abbado
, Daniel Barenboim
, Leonard Bernstein
, Herbert von Karajan
, Eugene Ormandy
, William Steinberg
, Leopold Stokowski
, Arturo Toscanini
, and Bruno Walter
, and such contemporary figures as Pierre Boulez
, Mariss Jansons
, Erich Leinsdorf
, James Levine
, Zdeněk Mácal
, Kurt Masur
, Lorin Maazel
, Michael Tilson Thomas
, Riccardo Muti
, Claudio Abbado
, Seiji Ozawa
, Wolfgang Sawallisch
, Robert Shaw
, Zubin Mehta
, Albert Wolff, and Rafael Frübeck de Burgos. The choir has also received numerous invitations over the years to sing with such touring orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berlin State Opera Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra
, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
, the Royal Concertgebouw, and the Vienna Philharmonic when these orchestras have come to perform in New York
and Philadelphia.
In the Fall of 2010, Westminster Symphonic Choir will perform with Jacques Lacombe and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in a series of concerts of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The Symphonic Choir will also appear with the Dresden Staatskapelle in performances of Brahms'
Ein deutsches Requiem
in Philadelphia's Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
and New York City's Avery Fisher Hall
.
Rider University
Rider University is a private, coeducational and nonsectarian university located chiefly in Lawrenceville, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States...
, located in Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, United States.
Westminster Choir College educates men and women at the undergraduate and graduate
Postgraduate education
Postgraduate education involves learning and studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree generally is required, and is normally considered to be part of higher education...
levels for musical careers in music education, voice performance, piano performance, organ performance, pedagogy, music theory and composition, conducting, sacred music and arts management; professional training in musical skills with an emphasis on performance is complemented by studies in the liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
. Westminster's proximity to New York City and Philadelphia provides students with easy access to the musical resources of both cities.
1920-1932: Presbyterian beginnings to the creation of a college
John Finley WilliamsonJohn Finley Williamson
John Finley Williamson was the founder of Westminster Choir and co-founder of Westminster Choir College. He is considered to be one of the most influential choral conductors of the twentieth century...
founded the Westminster Choir in 1920 at the Westminster Presbyterian Church
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Westminster Presbyterian Church may refer to:*Westminster Presbyterian Church of Australia*Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States*Westminster Presbyterian Church *Westminster Presbyterian Church...
of Dayton, Ohio. Convinced that professionally trained musicians could best serve the church, he established the Westminster Choir School in September 1926 with sixty students and a faculty of ten. As the Choir School and its choir's reputation grew, the demand for the School's graduates increased. The graduates came to be known as Ministers of Music, a term coined by Dr. Williamson and still being used today by many church music programs.
As early as 1922, the Choir, then known as the Dayton Westminster Choir, began touring the United States annually and sang in such prominent places as Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
(New York City), Symphony Hall
Symphony Hall, Boston
Symphony Hall is a concert hall located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by McKim, Mead and White, it was built in 1900 for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which continues to make the hall its home. The hall was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1999...
(Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
), the Academy of Music
Academy of Music (Philadelphia)
The Academy of Music, also known as American Academy of Music, is a concert hall and opera house located at Broad and Locust Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1857 and is the oldest opera house in the United States that is still used for its original purpose...
(Philadelphia), Orchestra Hall
Symphony Center
Symphony Center is a music complex located at 220 South Michigan Avenue in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Sinfonietta, Symphony Center includes the 2,522-seat Orchestra Hall, which dates from 1904; Buntrock Hall, a rehearsal and...
(Chicago) and the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
for President Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
. Years later the Choir also sang for Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
and Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
. The Westminster Choir made its first commercial recording with RCA Victor in 1926. Subsequently the Choir recorded with major conductors and orchestras.
In 1928, the Westminster Choir and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
As the fifth oldest orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has a legacy of fine music making as reflected in its performances in historic Music Hall, recordings, and international tours...
conducted by Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
made the nation's first coast-to-coast radio broadcast on Cincinnati station WLW. A few years later because of the Choir's growing reputation it made a total of 60 half-hour broadcasts from NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's New York facilities.
The first European tour took place in 1929 and was sponsored by Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
philanthropist Katharine Houk Talbott and endorsed by Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York Symphony Orchestra
New York Symphony Orchestra
The New York Symphony Orchestra was founded as the New York Symphony Society in New York City by Leopold Damrosch in 1878. For many years it was a fierce rival to the older Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. It was supported by Andrew Carnegie who built Carnegie Hall expressly for the...
. The tour included 26 concerts in major cities of Europe.
Originally a three year program, the Choir School moved to Ithaca College
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs. The college is...
in New York State in 1929 and enlarged its curriculum to a four year program culminating in a Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree; the majority of work consists of prescribed music courses and study in applied music, usually requiring a...
degree. A major reason for the move involved the need to be able to reach the major cities of Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York by rail. All three were cities that sought the choirs under Williamson. This move ultimately proved unsatisfactory.
1932-1991: Independent music school in Princeton
In 1932, the Choir School relocated to Princeton, New JerseyPrinceton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
which became its permanent home. Classes were held in the First Presbyterian Church and the Princeton Seminary until 1934 when the Choir School moved to its present campus. This was made possible by a large gift from the philanthropist Sophia Strong Taylor. The dedication of the new campus was marked by a performance of Johann Sebastian 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 Mass in B minor at the Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
Chapel with the Westminster Choir, soloists, and the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Because of his high regard for the Choir, the services of the soloists, orchestra, and conductor were a gift from Stokowski.
There was a second European Choir tour in 1934 lasting nine weeks and highlighted by a live radio broadcast from Russia to the United States. In the fourteen short years since its founding in 1920, the Choir already had two European tours which earned it international acclaim and a campus of its own. The State of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in 1939 granted the Choir School accreditation and the name Westminster Choir College was adopted.
In years to come, under Williamson's leadership, the Choir would begin having regular concerts with the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
and the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
. The Westminster Choir sang with the New York Philharmonic for the first time in 1939 conducted by Sir John Barbirolli. Since that time the Choir has sung over three hundred performances with the Philharmonic, a record number for a single choir to perform with an orchestra. Later that year the Choir sang with the NBC Symphony Orchestra
NBC Symphony Orchestra
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra established by David Sarnoff of the National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor Arturo Toscanini...
, conducted by Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
. That same year the Choir, directed by Williamson, sang at the dedication of the New York World's Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
which was broadcast to fifty-three countries.
In 1957, under the auspices of the U.S. State Department Cultural Exchange Program, the Choir undertook a five month world tour, concertizing in twenty-two countries, covering 40000 miles (64,373.6 km) and appearing before approximately a quarter of a million people.
Williamson retired as President of Westminster Choir College in 1958. Dr. Williamson's "retirement" consisted of conducting choral clinics and vocal festivals throughout the United States, Japan, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. A South American choir tour was being planned by the State Department but was cancelled because of Williamson's untimely death in 1964. In accordance with his request Dr. Williamson's ashes were scattered on the Quadrangle
Quadrangle (architecture)
In architecture, a quadrangle is a space or courtyard, usually rectangular in plan, the sides of which are entirely or mainly occupied by parts of a large building. The word is probably most closely associated with college or university campus architecture, but quadrangles may be found in other...
of his beloved campus on July 3, 1964. This turned out to be a myth perpetuated by many a faculty member. (Dr. Williamson's daughter corrected this notion by explaining that his ashes were scattered on the eastern side of the campus near the evergreen trees.) Dramatically the story went, this was said to have taken place during the performance of the Verdi Requiem with the Westminster Festival Choir, soloists, and the Festival Orchestra conducted by Maestro
Maestro
Maestro is a title of extreme respect given to a master musician. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and opera. This is associated with the ubiquitous use of Italian vocabulary for classical music terms...
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
. This performance on the Westminster campus was part of the Tercentennial Celebration of the State of New Jersey. The following day a memorial service for Dr. Williamson was held in the College Chapel.
In 1976, the Choir College celebrated its fiftieth anniversary highlighted by a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's Ninth Symphony
Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...
with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Robert Spano has been its music director since 2001...
conducted by Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw (conductor)
Robert Shaw was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Shaw received 14 Grammy awards, four ASCAP awards for service to contemporary music, the first Guggenheim Fellowship...
, alumni soloists, and the Westminster Alumni Choir on the Princeton University campus. Despite a promising future at the fiftieth anniversary, Westminster soon began to see its future and prospects for continued existence threatened. Facilities on the campus were placed into disrepair, and Erdman Hall was ultimately condemned and unfit for use. Recognizing that the College could not continue in this path, Westminster was forced with two options, either finding a larger university to merge with or closure.
1991-Present: Merger with Rider University
Despite the financial troubles several schools such as Drew University, Yale University, and The Juilliard School all had an interest in purchasing Westminster Choir College. However, the desire of Westminster to remain in its historic albeit dilapidated campus resulted in the College pursuing an arrangement with then-Rider College. In 1992, following a year of affiliation, then-Rider College merged with Westminster Choir College and the music school became a part of the newly created Rider UniversityRider University
Rider University is a private, coeducational and nonsectarian university located chiefly in Lawrenceville, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States...
. Despite promises that Rider would maintain the Westminster Choir College campus in Princeton a mere two years later, Rider University President J. Barton Luedeke began exploring a move which would relocate the Choir College campus to Lawrenceville, New Jersey to be with the rest of Rider University. By 1996, the Choir College appeared to have a vibrant fiscal future in Princeton, operating in the black, thanks to increased enrollment and donations. Thanks to this optimistic era, one year later Erdman Hall was renovated, restored, and reopened as "The Presser Music Center at Erdman Hall" featuring teaching studios, a keyboard laboratory, Voice Library & Resource Center, and new classroom space.
Despite the optimistic future in the 90s, by the early 2000s Rider University determined Westminster Choir College either must create an even stronger fiscal future or face closure. Looking for a way to control costs and more effectively create synergies between the two campuses of Rider University (Westminster's and the main campus), in November 2007, Rider University President Rozanski announced the creation of the Westminster College of the Arts. Westminster College of the Arts was envisioned to more successfully integrate Rider & Westminster, and create a new culture and environment of artistic excellence on both campuses. Westminster Choir College continues to educate Westminster College of the Arts students in the fields of Piano, Composition, Voice, Organ, Choral Conducting, Sacred Music, and Music Education. The newly formed School of Fine & Performing Arts serves as the gateway to receiving a degree in Musical Theatre, Arts Administration, and Music, as well as a non-professional degree (B.A. in Fine Arts) in music, dance, and theater. The creation of Westminster College of the Arts sparked heated debate between administrators and students, alumni and faculty that highlighted the divide between Rider's Princeton and Lawrenceville campuses. Rider University continues to strive for unity between the two campuses while preserving the integrity and unique history of Westminster Choir College.
As Westminster Choir College enters the twenty-first century the college is looking towards the future more than ever before. In the early-mid 2000s the school unveiled an ambitious master-plan calling for a new building and other upgrades, the first to be created on the campus since the College was placed under Rider University's stewardship. The Choir College also entered a cooperative agreement with the Princeton Regional Schools which allows for up to 40 Westminster performances a year to occur in their newly created Regional Performing Arts Center, heavily alleviating the struggle the Princeton Campus had by having no dedicated performance space on the campus. Enrollment in the college is becoming increasingly selective, with approximately one in three of the auditioning students matriculating into the campus each fall.
Grammy Awards
- DvorákDvorák- Dvořák or Dvorak :* Ann Dvorak , American film actress* Antonín Dvořák , Czech composer of Romantic music* August Dvorak , American psychologist, co-creator of the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard...
: Requiem; Symphony No.9 "From the New World", 2000
- The Westminster Symphonic Choir
- Zdeněk MácalZdenek MácalZdeněk Mácal is a Czech conductor.Mácal began violin lessons with his father at age four. He later attended the Brno Conservatory and the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, where he graduated in 1960 with top honors. He became principal conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and...
and the New Jersey Symphony OrchestraNew Jersey Symphony OrchestraThe New Jersey Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra located in the state of New Jersey, United States. Philip James founded the orchestra in 1922. The orchestra is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. Neeme Järvi, the NJSO's music director from 2005 to 2009, is currently the orchestra's... - Delos Records
- Berlioz: Romeo & Juliet, 1986
- The Westminster Symphonic Choir
- Riccardo MutiRiccardo MutiRiccardo Muti, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor and music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.-Childhood and education:...
and the Philadelphia OrchestraPhiladelphia OrchestraThe Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900... - Angel/EMIAngel RecordsAngel Records is a record label belonging to EMI. It was formed in 1953 and specialised in classical music, but included an occasional operetta or Broadway score...
*Nominated
- BarberSamuel BarberSamuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
: Anthony & Cleopatra, 1983
- The Westminster Symphonic Choir
- C. Badea and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra
- New World RecordsNew World RecordsNew World Records is a record label based in New York City specialising in American music. The label was established in 1975 through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to produce a 100 disc anthology covering 200 years of American music....
- Haydn: Lord Nelson Mass, 1977
- The Westminster Symphonic Choir
- Leonard BernsteinLeonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
and the New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"... - ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
*Nominated
Symphonic performances
The Westminster Symphonic Choir has performed with many major orchestras and conductors including: New York PhilharmonicNew York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, National Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District.-History:...
, Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
, Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Robert Spano has been its music director since 2001...
, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
. The Symphonic Choir, under the direction of Westminster's Director of Choral Activities, has sung at individual performances of large orchestral/choral works with professional orchestras conducted by Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian conductor. He has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera,...
, Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
, Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
, Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
, William Steinberg
William Steinberg
William Steinberg was a German-American conductor.- Biography :Steinberg was born Hans Wilhelm Steinberg in Cologne, Germany. He displayed early talent as a violinist, pianist, and composer, conducting his own choral/ orchestral composition at age 13...
, Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
, Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
, and Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...
, and such contemporary figures as Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, Mariss Jansons
Mariss Jansons
Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons is a Latvian conductor, the son of conductor Arvīds Jansons. His mother, the singer Iraida Jansons, who was Jewish, gave birth to him in hiding in Riga, Latvia, after her father and brother were killed in the Riga Ghetto...
, Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf was a naturalized American Austrian conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a reputation for exacting standards as well as an acerbic personality...
, James Levine
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has...
, Zdeněk Mácal
Zdenek Mácal
Zdeněk Mácal is a Czech conductor.Mácal began violin lessons with his father at age four. He later attended the Brno Conservatory and the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, where he graduated in 1960 with top honors. He became principal conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and...
, Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur is a German conductor, particularly noted for his interpretation of German Romantic music.- Biography :Masur was born in Brieg, Lower Silesia, Germany and studied piano, composition and conducting in Leipzig, Saxony. Masur has been married three times...
, Lorin Maazel
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
, Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
, Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor and music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.-Childhood and education:...
, Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian conductor. He has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera,...
, Seiji Ozawa
Seiji Ozawa
is a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...
, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch is a retired German conductor and pianist.-Biography:Sawallisch was born in Munich, and studied composition and pianoforte there privately: at the conclusion of the war, in 1946 he continued his studies at the Munich High School for Music and passed his final examination for...
, Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw (conductor)
Robert Shaw was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Shaw received 14 Grammy awards, four ASCAP awards for service to contemporary music, the first Guggenheim Fellowship...
, Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
, Albert Wolff, and Rafael Frübeck de Burgos. The choir has also received numerous invitations over the years to sing with such touring orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berlin State Opera Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra
Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra
The Dresdner Philharmoniker is a symphony orchestra based in Dresden, Germany. The orchestra was founded in 1870 and gave its first concert in the Gewerbehaussaal on 29 November 1870, under the name Gewerbehausorchester. The orchestra acquired its current name in 1915...
, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, in German Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks is the internationally renowned orchestra of the Bayerischer Rundfunk , based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the three principal orchestras in the city of Munich, along with the Munich Philharmonic...
, the Royal Concertgebouw, and the Vienna Philharmonic when these orchestras have come to perform in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Philadelphia.
In the Fall of 2010, Westminster Symphonic Choir will perform with Jacques Lacombe and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in a series of concerts of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The Symphonic Choir will also appear with the Dresden Staatskapelle in performances of Brahms'
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
Ein deutsches Requiem
Ein deutsches Requiem
A German Requiem, To Words of the Holy Scriptures, Op. 45 by Johannes Brahms, is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, and a soprano and a baritone soloist, composed between 1865 and 1868. It comprises seven movements, which together last 65 to 80 minutes, making this work Brahms's longest...
in Philadelphia's Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is a large performing arts venue located on Broad Street, along the stretch known as the "Avenue of the Arts", in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is owned and operated by Kimmel Center, Inc., an organization which also manages the Academy of Music in...
and New York City's Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
.
Notable faculty
- Sharon SweetSharon SweetSharon Sweet is an American dramatic soprano. Sharon Sweet has appeared in leading roles in several major venues in Europe and the United States and has made notable contributions to several recordings, in particular Lohengrin, Der Freischütz, Don Giovanni, and Il Trovatore...
, Professor of Voice since 1999 - Ken CowanKen CowanKen Cowan is a Canadian organist. A native of Thorold, Ontario, he has toured extensively in the United States, Canada, and Europe, and currently serves as Assistant Professor of Organ and Coordinator of Organ and Sacred Music at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. He has made...
, Associate Professor of Organ since 2003 - James JordanJames Jordan (conductor)Dr. James Jordan is a writer, conductor, and professor at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, New Jersey where he is currently the Senior Conductor and directs the select touring ensemble Williamson Voices and the Sophomore choir, Schola Cantorum...
, Associate Professor of Choral Music, since 1990 - Joe MillerJoe MillerJoe Miller was an English actor, who first appeared in the cast of Sir Robert Howard's Committee at Drury Lane in 1709 as Teague....
, Director of Choral Activities, Since 2006 - Dalton BaldwinDalton BaldwinDalton Baldwin is an American collaborative pianist. He has made over 100 recordings and has won numerous prizes working with Elly Ameling and Gérard Souzay.-External links:*...
Adjunct Professor Emerita of Piano and Voice, since 1948 - Ingrid Clarfield Professor of Piano, since 1978
- Robert L. AnnisRobert L. AnnisRobert L. Annis is and American musician and Dean and Director of Westminster College of the Arts of Rider University, which includes the Westminster Choir College. Annis, a Grammy-nominated clarinetist, has performed with various orchestras throughout the country...
, since 1992 Dean of Westminster Choir College of Rider University
Honorary doctorates and fellows
- David RobertsonDavid Robertson (conductor)David Eric Robertson is an American conductor. He is currently the music director of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.-Early life:...
, American conductor - Jennifer LarmoreJennifer LarmoreJennifer Larmore is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer, noted for coloratura and bel canto.- Career :Jennifer Larmore is an American mezzo-soprano, well known for her versatility, natural beauty and stage craft...
, American opera singer - James LittonJames LittonJames Litton directed the American Boychoir from 1985 to 2001 and is widely recognized as one of the leading choral conductors of the day.-Overview:...
American choral conductor, American Boychoir - Fred Rogers American educator, minister, and children's TV host
- Zdeněk MácalZdenek MácalZdeněk Mácal is a Czech conductor.Mácal began violin lessons with his father at age four. He later attended the Brno Conservatory and the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, where he graduated in 1960 with top honors. He became principal conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and...
Czech conductor - Alice ParkerAlice ParkerAlice Parker is an American composer, arranger and conductor. Many of her arrangements were done in cooperation with Robert Shaw....
American composer/choral conductor - Wolfgang SawallischWolfgang SawallischWolfgang Sawallisch is a retired German conductor and pianist.-Biography:Sawallisch was born in Munich, and studied composition and pianoforte there privately: at the conclusion of the war, in 1946 he continued his studies at the Munich High School for Music and passed his final examination for...
German conductor/pianist - Kurt MasurKurt MasurKurt Masur is a German conductor, particularly noted for his interpretation of German Romantic music.- Biography :Masur was born in Brieg, Lower Silesia, Germany and studied piano, composition and conducting in Leipzig, Saxony. Masur has been married three times...
Director of Music Emeritus, New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"... - William MathiasWilliam MathiasWilliam Mathias CBE was a Welsh composer.-Brief biography:Mathias was born in Whitland, Carmarthenshire. A child prodigy, he started playing the piano at the age of three and composing at the age of five. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music under Lennox Berkeley, where he was elected a fellow...
Welsh composer - Robert ShawRobert Shaw (conductor)Robert Shaw was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Shaw received 14 Grammy awards, four ASCAP awards for service to contemporary music, the first Guggenheim Fellowship...
American conductor - Riccardo MutiRiccardo MutiRiccardo Muti, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor and music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.-Childhood and education:...
Italian conductor - Zubin MehtaZubin MehtaZubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
Indian conductor - Sherrill MilnesSherrill MilnesSherrill Milnes is an American operatic baritone most famous for his Verdi roles. From 1965 until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera....
American opera singer - John RutterJohn RutterJohn Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...
English composer and choral conductor - Sir David WillcocksSir David WillcocksSir David Valentine Willcocks CBE MC is a British choral conductor, organist, and composer. His son, Jonathan Willcocks, is also a composer.- Biography :...
English composer, choral conductor and organist - Bob HopeBob HopeBob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
American entertainer - Sir Arthur Bliss British composer
- William SteinbergWilliam SteinbergWilliam Steinberg was a German-American conductor.- Biography :Steinberg was born Hans Wilhelm Steinberg in Cologne, Germany. He displayed early talent as a violinist, pianist, and composer, conducting his own choral/ orchestral composition at age 13...
German conductor - Leonard BernsteinLeonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
American conductor and composer - Leopold StokowskiLeopold StokowskiLeopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
American conductor - Warren MartinWarren MartinWarren Martin was an American composer of classical music. He is best known for his humorous musical comedy The True Story of Cinderella ....
American composer, former Head of Graduate Department of Westminster Choir College, Musical Director, Conductor of the Symphonic and Westminster Choirs, and Head of Theory Department at Westminster Choir College. - The Rev. Dr. Peter J. GomesPeter J. GomesPeter 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, Harvard University - Gerre HancockGerre HancockGerre Edward Hancock is an American organist, improviser, and composer. Hancock is currently Professor of Organ and Sacred Music at the University of Texas, Austin.Dr...
American composer, improviser, organist - Stephen PaulusStephen PaulusStephen Paulus is an American composer, best known for his operas and choral music. His best-known piece is his 1982 opera The Postman Always Rings Twice, one of several operas he has written for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, which prompted The New York Times to call him "a young man on the road...
American composer - Dave BrubeckDave BrubeckDavid Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
American jazz musician (Honorary Fellow, 2011)
Notable alumni
- Jennifer LarmoreJennifer LarmoreJennifer Larmore is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer, noted for coloratura and bel canto.- Career :Jennifer Larmore is an American mezzo-soprano, well known for her versatility, natural beauty and stage craft...
, internationally renowned opera singer - Donald NallyDonald NallyDonald Nally is an American conductor and opera chorus master, specializing in chamber choirs and new music...
, Former Chorus Master, Chicago Lyric Opera - Alfredo SilipigniAlfredo SilipigniAlfredo Silipigni was a conductor and specialist in lesser-known Italian operas who founded the New Jersey State Opera and ran it for four decades.-Early life:...
, opera conductor - Doris Yarick-Cross, Director of Yale Opera Theatre
- Duane Mahy, Professor of Voice at Oberlin College
- Norah Amsellem
- James LittonJames LittonJames Litton directed the American Boychoir from 1985 to 2001 and is widely recognized as one of the leading choral conductors of the day.-Overview:...
, American choral conductor, American Boychoir - Scott DettraWashington National CathedralThe Washington National Cathedral, officially named the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church located in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. Of neogothic design, it is the sixth-largest cathedral in the world, the second-largest in...
Organist, Washington National Cathedral