The Cecilia Chorus of New York


The Cecilia Chorus of New York, formerly known as the St. Cecilia Chorus, is an avocational chorus and nonprofit organization based in New York City.
With a membership of approximately 180 singers, the chorus performs twice annually at Carnegie Hall with a professional orchestra and soloists, as well as at other New York–area venues.

History

Early Years

A secular, unaffiliated organization, the Chorus was founded in 1906 as a women's chorus. Its nucleus formed in 1900 when a small group of women began meeting to sing together at each other's Manhattan homes on Tuesday mornings. The principal organizers were Susan Warren and Mrs. Henry Burden; the pianist and leader was Elliot Schenck. Warren, Burden and their colleagues established an all-women's chorus which they named the Tuesday Morning Singing Club. Membership was by invitation only, and rehearsals were held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. In 1906, the Tuesday Morning Singing Club invited Metropolitan Opera coach Victor Harris to be their conductor. Harris accepted on the conditions that rehearsals be held at his studio and that the musical work be in earnest. Thus was the "Saint Cecilia Club" founded in 1906. Under Harris's leadership the Saint Cecilia Club grew rapidly to become a prominent choral organization in New York City.
In 1922, while still a women's group, the Chorus won significant attention when it appeared with The Philharmonic Society of New York under Willem Mengelberg in the first New York performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 3. During this period, the Chorus gave several dozen world and U.S. premieres, by composers including Amy Beach, Deems Taylor, and Virgil Thomson.
Harris continued as the Chorus's Music Director until 1936; he was succeeded by Léon Barzin, Willard Sektberg, Hugh Ross, David Buttolph, David Randolph and Mark Shapiro.

David Randolph

In 1965, when David Buttolph resigned, Chorus members recalled that they had enjoyed working with David Randolph when he substituted at a rehearsal in October 1959. The Chorus tapped Randolph to become their sixth Music Director; he continued in this role until his death in 2010. Under Randolph's direction, the Chorus grew in size and ability, and in 1969 performed its first concert in Carnegie Hall. In addition to its twice-yearly Carnegie Hall concerts, some of which were broadcast live on WNYC Radio, Randolph led the Chorus in other major venues, including Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall.
In April 1981, prompted by the popularity of the Broadway play Amadeus, the Chorus performed a program in Carnegie Hall featuring the U.S. premiere of Antonio Salieri's Mass No. 1 juxtaposed with Mozart's Great Mass in C minor. The program was broadcast on WNYC. Amadeus author Peter Shaffer attended and spoke from the stage.
In December 1986, also in Carnegie Hall, the Chorus gave the North American premiere of Oratorium nach Bildern der Bibel by Fanny Mendelssohn, sister of Felix Mendelssohn.
During his 37 years with The Masterwork Chorus, Randolph specialized in conducting Handel's Messiah. These performances became a seasonal tradition in New York City. In 1995, Randolph directed the St. Cecilia Chorus in its first performances of Messiah. The two performances at Carnegie Hall were notably successful. By popular demand the work was brought back for two performances on December 20, 1997, and for performances led by Randolph in 2005 and 2008, and by his successor Mark Shapiro in 2011, 2013, 2015 and subsequently.
In 1993, members of the Chorus made a recording with Liza Minnelli for the benefit of AIDS research. In 1996, a small group of Chorus members appeared as Christmas carolers in The Preacher's Wife, a major motion picture starring Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington.
During Randoph's tenure, the Chorus also performed under other conductors including Lukas Foss, John Alldis, John Nelson, Romano Gandolfi , Peter Tiboris, and Eve Queler.

Mark Shapiro

In July 2011, after a national search, was appointed the seventh Music Director of the Chorus. In 2012, to more clearly represent its secular, unaffiliated mission, the Chorus changed its name to The Cecilia Chorus of New York.
Under Shapiro, the Chorus, while maintaining its engagement with standard repertoire, embarked on a new path of commissioning and premiering works at Carnegie Hall as well as other venues. Concurrently, the Chorus revitalized its commitment to showcasing neglected masterpieces from the past. Commissioned composers have included The Brothers Balliett, Jonathan Breit, Tom Cipullo, Raphael Fusco and Zaid Jabri. The Chorus's performance of Tom Cipullo's Credo for a Secular City was honored in 2015 with the Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award.
Other notable accomplishments include the long-delayed New York premieres, both in Carnegie Hall, of two major works by Dame Ethel Smyth: the Mass in D, which the Chorus performed in 2013, and The Prison, which the Chorus performed in 2018. In 2012 the Chorus presented a rare revival of The Christmas Story by neglected American composer Peter Mennin, a former president of The Juilliard School, and a Marian Trilogy by early Baroque composer Isabella Leonarda. In 2018, the Chorus gave the North American premiere of the Messe Romane by Thierry Escaich. The Chorus's 2019 performance of a program in tribute to Walt Whitman, including a premiere by Jorge Martín and music by the neglected nineteenth century American composer John Knowles Paine, was broadcast on the public radio series "Pipe Dreams."
In March 2020, on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged New York City as well as many other localities, the Chorus performed The Belshazzar Project, a curated evening in five languages of settings of the Belshazzar story from The Book of Daniel. Composers included Alexandre Guilmant, G. F. Handel, Arseny Koreshchenko, Gioacchino Rossini and Robert Schumann, as well as Johnny Cash, Penny Prince and Harold Rome. The program additionally featured spoken texts by Byron, Dickinson and others, which were read by actor Kathleen Chalfant.

Repertoire

Below is a list of performances since 1966.
Performances from 2011 and later conducted by Mark Shapiro, unless otherwise indicated.
Performances from 1966 through 2010 conducted by David Randolph, unless otherwise indicated.
ComposerWorkPerformance dateVenue
Ames, David"Ode for St. Cecilia's Day" March 4, 2001Church of the Heavenly Rest
Bach, CPEMagnificatDecember 6, 2006Carnegie Hall
Bach, JCFWachet auf, ruft uns die StimmeDecember 10, 2016Carnegie Hall
Bach, JEMeine Seele erhebet den HerrenDecember 10, 2016Carnegie Hall
Bach, JSCantata No. 4, "Christ lag in Todesbanden"April 16, 1977Carnegie Hall
Cantata No. 8, "Liebster Gott"Mar 5, 1995Church of the Heavenly Rest
Cantata No. 21, "Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis"February 25, 2007Church of the Heavenly Rest
Cantata No. 50, "Nun ist das Heil"March 13, 1967The Town Hall
Cantata No. 104, "Du Hirte Israel, höre"February 28, 1966Hunter College
Cantata No. 106, "Gottes Zeit"January 17, 1971Riverside Church
March 27, 1971Carnegie Hall
Cantata No. 140, "Wachet auf"March 18, 1968The Town Hall
Cantata No. 147, "Herz und Mund"April 19, 1975Carnegie Hall
Christmas OratorioDecember 16, 1973Carnegie Hall
December 17, 1977Carnegie Hall
December 20, 1980Carnegie Hall
December 21, 1985Carnegie Hall
December 16, 1988Carnegie Hall
December 22, 1990Carnegie Hall
December 9, 1993Carnegie Hall
December 20, 1996Carnegie Hall
December 23, 2001Carnegie Hall
December 10, 2004Carnegie Hall
December 7, 2007Carnegie Hall
December 23, 2010Carnegie Hall
Patrick Gardner, conductor
December 9, 2017Carnegie Hall
Magnificat, BWV 243March 2, 1970Carnegie Hall
December 17, 1982Carnegie Hall
December 7, 2002Carnegie Hall
December 10, 2016Carnegie Hall
Mass in B minorApril 7, 1979Carnegie Hall
April 6, 1984Carnegie Hall
April 20, 1990Carnegie Hall
May 12, 2000Carnegie Hall
May 8, 2010Carnegie Hall
Patrick Gardner, conductor
Passion According to St. JohnMarch 25, 1972Carnegie Hall
April 10, 1992Carnegie Hall
Passion According to St. MatthewApril 4, 1987Carnegie Hall
May 14, 2004Carnegie Hall
Balliett, & Oedipus the King March 12, 2017Church of the Holy Trinity
Beach, AmyThe Chambered NautilusJanuary 21, 1908The Waldorf Astoria
Victor Harris, conductor
1931
BeethovenChoral FantasyApril 25, 1976Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center
May 2, 2015Carnegie Hall
Elegischer GesangApril 8, 1978Carnegie Hall
Fidelio May 2, 2015Carnegie Hall
Mass in C MajorMarch 2, 1970Carnegie Hall
December 16, 1983Carnegie Hall
March 5, 2000Church of the Heavenly Rest
February 22, 2009Church of the Heavenly Rest
Patrick Gardner, conductor
May 2, 2015Carnegie Hall
Missa solemnisMay 7, 1988Carnegie Hall
May 22, 1988Carnegie Hall
Lukas Foss, conductor
April 25, 1998Carnegie Hall
May 6, 2016Carnegie Hall
OpferliedApril 8, 1978Carnegie Hall
Symphony No. 9 March 12, 1989Carnegie Hall
Lukas Foss, conductor
May 12, 2001Carnegie Hall
April 28, 2006Carnegie Hall
BerliozMesse SolennelleMarch 2, 2003Church of the Heavenly Rest
RequiemMay 10, 1991Carnegie Hall
April 20, 1996Carnegie Hall
Te DeumMarch 2, 1986St. George's Church
March 30, 1986Carnegie Hall
John Nelson, conductor
BernsteinChichester PsalmsJanuary 17, 1971Riverside Church
February 10, 1989Stephen Wise Synagogue
February 26, 1989St. Bartholomew's Church
March 12, 1989Carnegie Hall
Lukas Foss, conductor
February 24, 2008Church of the Heavenly Rest
BillingsDavid's LamentationMarch 18, 1968The Town Hall
BrahmsGesang der ParzenMay 7, 2005Carnegie Hall
NänieJanuary 16, 1972Riverside Church
April 30, 1999Carnegie Hall
May 7, 2005Carnegie Hall
April 25, 2014Carnegie Hall
RequiemApril 25, 1976Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center
May 2, 1976St. George's Church
April 29, 1989Carnegie Hall
April 30, 1999Carnegie Hall
May 7, 2005Carnegie Hall
May 6, 2017Carnegie Hall
SchicksalsliedApril 11, 1980Carnegie Hall
April 30, 1999Carnegie Hall
April 18, 2009Carnegie Hall
Der ZippelfagottistDecember 10, 2016Carnegie Hall
BrucknerChristus Factus EstJanuary 17, 1971Riverside Church
Mass in E minorMay 14, 1983Carnegie Hall
Missa solemnisMarch 6, 1994Church of the Heavenly Rest
Te DeumApril 25, 2014Carnegie Hall
Byrd, WilliamSing JoyfullyMarch 1, 2015Church of the Holy Trinity
Cipullo, TomCredo for a Secular CityApril 25, 2014Carnegie Hall
Charpentier"Midnight Mass" for Christmas EveDecember 15, 1979Carnegie Hall
CherubiniRequiem in C minorMarch 3, 1985St. George's Church
February 11, 1996Church of the Heavenly Rest
CoriglianoFern HillMarch 13, 1967The Town Hall
DurufléRequiemMay 17, 1981Church of the Holy Trinity
February 25, 1990St. Bartholomew's Church
February 24, 2008Church of the Heavenly Rest
DvorákRequiemMarch 1, 1987St. George's Church
June 12, 1990Carnegie Hall
Will Kessling, conductor
May 12, 1995Carnegie Hall
Te DeumMarch 7, 1993Church of the Heavenly Rest
ElgarThe Music MakersMay 12, 2001Carnegie Hall
Escaich, ThierryMesse RomaneMarch 3, 2018Church of the Holy Trinity
FauréCantique de Jean RacineMarch 2, 1970Carnegie Hall
April 27, 1974Carnegie Hall
May 20, 1984St. George's Church
March 9, 1997Church of the Heavenly Rest
May 22, 2011Church of the Heavenly Rest
Gerald Greland, conductor
March 3, 2018Church of the Holy Trinity
MadrigalMarch 9, 1997Church of the Heavenly Rest
PavaneMarch 9, 1997Church of the Heavenly Rest
May 22, 2011Church of the Heavenly Rest
Gerald Greland, conductor
RequiemJanuary 28, 1973Riverside Church
May 20, 1984St. George's Church
June 21, 1988Avery Fisher Hall
Peter Tiboris, conductor
March 9, 1997Church of the Heavenly Rest
March 13, 2005Church of the Heavenly Rest
May 22, 2011Church of the Heavenly Rest
Gerald Greland, conductor
Finzi, GeraldFor St. CeciliaDecember 8, 2000Carnegie Hall
In Terra Pax: A Christmas SceneDecember 8, 2000Carnegie Hall
Divis Cetera: an Ode from Mount SoracteDecember 22, 2012Carnegie Hall
GabrieliJubilate DeoDecember 15, 1979Carnegie Hall
Gibbons, OrlandoHosanna to the Son of DavidMarch 1, 2015Church of the Holy Trinity
O Clap Your Hands TogetherMarch 1, 2015Church of the Holy Trinity
GounodMesse SolennelleMay 17, 1992St. Bartholomew's Church
March 7, 1999Church of the Heavenly Rest
February 26, 2006Church of the Heavenly Rest
RequiemMarch 3, 2018Church of the Holy Trinity
HandelAcis and GalateaFebruary 28, 1966Hunter College
Coronation AnthemsDecember 13, 1975Carnegie Hall
Dettingen Te DeumDec 15, 1989Carnegie Hall
Dixit DominusDecember 15, 1979Carnegie Hall
December 20, 1991Carnegie Hall
Israel in EgyptApril 7, 1973Carnegie Hall
April 4, 1982Ft. Hamilton, Brooklyn
April 17, 1982Carnegie Hall
December 7, 1999Carnegie Hall
Judas MaccabaeusDecember 15, 1974Carnegie Hall
December 16, 1984Stephen Wise Synagogue
December 19, 1984Carnegie Hall
MessiahDec 23, 1995, 2:30Carnegie Hall
Dec 23, 1995, 8:00Carnegie Hall
Dec 20, 1997, 2:30Carnegie Hall
Dec 20, 1997, 8:00Carnegie Hall
December 10, 2005Carnegie Hall
December 13, 2008Carnegie Hall
December 9, 2011Carnegie Hall
December 13, 2013Carnegie Hall
December 15, 2013Tilles Center
December 12, 2015Carnegie Hall
December 13, 2015Tilles Center
SolomonDecember 19, 1976Carnegie Hall
Haydn, JosephDie BeredsamkeitSeptember 22, 1994Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall
Mass No. 5 in C, "Cäcilianmesse"April 19, 1975Carnegie Hall
January 22, 1982Carnegie Hall
December 20, 1991Carnegie Hall
Mass No. 9 in B Flat "Paukenmesse"March 31, 1969Carnegie Hall
Mass No. 10 in B Flat "Heiligmesse"April 8, 1978Carnegie Hall
Mass No. 11 in D minor, "Nelsonmesse"February 28, 1966Hunter College
March 6, 1988St. George's Church
Mass No. 12 in B Flat, "Theresienmesse"December 6, 2003Carnegie Hall
Mass No. 13 in B Flat, "Schöpfungsmesse"March 3, 2002Church of the Heavenly Rest
Te DeumDecember 16, 1983Carnegie Hall
March 3, 1985St. George's Church
Haydn, MichaelRequiemMarch 3, 2002Church of the Heavenly Rest
HoneggerKing DavidDecember 11, 1987Carnegie Hall
Martin Bookspan, narrator
January 29, 1988Stephen Wise Synagogue
HummelMass in B flatDecember 10, 2009Carnegie Hall
Isenberg, RexMessiahs False and TrueMarch 6, 2016Church of the Holy Trinity
A Garden Among the Flames May 6, 2017Carnegie Hall
Kay"Allelulia, Give Ear" March 2, 1970Carnegie Hall
KodályMissa BrevisMarch 10, 1991St. Bartholomew's Church
Te DeumJanuary 16, 1972Riverside Church
April 29, 1989Carnegie Hall
LassusEcho SongSep 22,1994Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall
Mon CoeurMarch 18, 1968the Town Hall
Sep 22,1994Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall
Lauridsen, MortenLux AeternaApril 9, 2011Carnegie Hall
Leonarda, IsabellaTwo MotetsDecember 22, 2012Carnegie Hall
Mendelssohn, FannyOratorium Nach Bildern der BibelDecember 20, 1986Carnegie Hall
Mendelssohn, FelixDie erste WalpurgisnachtApril 11, 1980Carnegie Hall
April 29, 1994Carnegie Hall
May 4, 2007Carnegie Hall
ElijahMarch 23, 1986Stephen Wise Synagogue
April 5, 1986Carnegie Hall
December 19, 1992Carnegie Hall
January 22, 1993Stephen Wise Synagogue
KyrieNovember 4, 1978Carnegie Hall
January 21, 1979St. George's Church
Lauda SionMarch 5, 2000Church of the Heavenly Rest
Symphony No. 2, "Lobgesang"December 17, 1982Carnegie Hall
December 8, 2000Carnegie Hall
Mennin, PeterThe Christmas StoryDecember 22, 2012Carnegie Hall
MonteverdiLasciatemi morireMarch 18, 1968The Town Hall
MozartAve Verum CorpusDecember 13, 1975Carnegie Hall
"Coronation" Mass, K. 317December 13, 1975Carnegie Hall
December 16, 1983Carnegie Hall
February 22, 2009Church of the Heavenly Rest
Patrick Gardner, conductor
"Great" Mass in C minor, K. 427March 27, 1971Carnegie Hall
April 10, 1981Carnegie Hall
December 15, 1989Carnegie Hall
December 11, 1998Carnegie Hall
December 6, 2003Carnegie Hall
December 10, 2009Carnegie Hall
Misericordias Domini, K. 222April 8, 1978Carnegie Hall
Regina CoeliApril 10, 1981Carnegie Hall
RequiemMarch 13, 1967The Town Hall
May 14, 1983Carnegie Hall
December 11, 1998Carnegie Hall
December 7, 2002Carnegie Hall
December 6, 2006Carnegie Hall
April 9, 2011Carnegie Hall
May 11, 2018Carnegie Hall
Te DeumJanuary 28, 1973Riverside Church
Vesperae solemnes de confessore, K. 339March 31, 1969Carnegie Hall
April 8, 1978Carnegie Hall
March 6, 1994Church of the Heavenly Rest
February 26, 2006Church of the Heavenly Rest
February 26, 2012Church of the Heavenly Rest
OrffCarmina BuranaApril 29, 1994Carnegie Hall
April 27, 2002Carnegie Hall
May 4, 2007Carnegie Hall
PergolesiMagnificatApril 16, 1977Carnegie Hall
Pinkham, DanielChristmas CantataDecember 15, 1979Carnegie Hall
PoulencGloriaDecember 15, 1994Carnegie Hall
March 13, 2005Church of the Heavenly Rest
December 13, 2014Carnegie Hall
PucciniEdgarOctober 8, 1977Brooklyn College
Eve Queler, conductor
Messa di GloriaMarch 22, 1980Bridgeport, CT
Harrison Valente, conductor
April 11, 1980Carnegie Hall
May 17, 1992St. Bartholomew's Church
February 29, 2004Church of the Heavenly Rest
PurcellPraise the Lord, O JerusalemMarch 31, 1969Carnegie Hall
RachmaninoffThe BellsApril 27, 2002Carnegie Hall
Randolph, DavidAndante for StringsDecember 8, 2000Carnegie Hall
April 9, 2011Carnegie Hall
RutterGloriaMay 2, 1997Carnegie Hall
Saint-SaënsRequiemMarch 7, 1999Church of the Heavenly Rest
SalieriGrand Mass No. 1 in DApril 10, 1981Carnegie Hall
May 17, 1981Church of the Holy Trinity
SchubertMass No. 5 in A flatDecember 20, 1986Carnegie Hall
March 4, 2001Church of the Heavenly Rest
Mass No. 6 in E flatMarch 18, 1968The Town Hall
April 16, 1977Carnegie Hall
March 8, 1998Church of the Heavenly Rest
February 21, 2010Church of the Heavenly Rest
Stabat MaterMarch 5, 1995Church of the Heavenly Rest
February 25, 2007Church of the Heavenly Rest
February 26, 2012Church of the Heavenly Rest
Smyth, Dame EthelMass in D April 14, 2013Carnegie Hall
The PrisonMay 11, 2018Carnegie Hall
TallisSpem in AliumNovember 4, 1978Carnegie Hall
John Alldis, conductor
Taylor,DeemsHighwayman1931
Tchaikovskyscenes from The Maid of OrleansApril 14, 2013Carnegie Hall
Tomkins, ThomasWhen David HeardMarch 1, 2015Church of the Holy Trinity
TelemannWie ist dein Name so grossMarch 27, 1971Carnegie Hall
Tye, ChristopherGive Almes of Thy GoodsMarch 1, 2015Church of the Holy Trinity
Vaughan WilliamsDona Nobis PacemFebruary 26, 1989St. Bartholomew's Church
April 28, 2006Carnegie Hall
HodieDecember 15, 1994Carnegie Hall
December 13, 2014Carnegie Hall
Hodie March 1, 2015Church of the Holy Trinity
Mass in G minorApril 27, 1974Carnegie Hall
March 10, 1991St. Bartholomew's Church
Serenade to MusicNovember 4, 1978Carnegie Hall
John Alldis, conductor
January 21, 1979St. George's Church
Symphony No. 1, A Sea SymphonyMay 16, 1985Carnegie Hall
May 2, 1997Carnegie Hall
April 18, 2009Carnegie Hall
Toward the Unknown RegionApril 25, 2014Carnegie Hall
VerdiRequiemMarch 20, 1983Park Ave. Christian Church
April 9, 1983Bridgeport, CT
Romano Gandolfi, conductor
April 17, 1993Carnegie Hall
May 2, 2003Carnegie Hall
May 2, 2008Carnegie Hall
April 21, 2012Carnegie Hall
Stabat MaterMay 16, 1985Carnegie Hall
Te DeumMay 16, 1985Carnegie Hall
VivaldiDixit DominusJanuary 22, 1982Carnegie Hall
February 25, 1990St. Bartholomew's Church
GloriaApril 27, 1974Carnegie Hall
February 29, 2004Church of the Heavenly Rest
December 22, 2012Carnegie Hall
MagnificatDecember 13, 1975Carnegie Hall
March 6, 1988St. George's Church
WaltonCoronation Te DeumNovember 4, 1978Carnegie Hall
Weelkes, ThomasGloria in Excelsis DeoMarch 1, 2015Church of the Holy Trinity
ZelenkaMissa Dei PatrisMarch 7, 1993Church of the Heavenly Rest
Zimmermann, H. W.PsalmkonzertMarch 31, 1969Carnegie Hall
April 27, 1974Carnegie Hall