2015–2016 Rehearsals Have Begun

St. George's Choral Society's first rehearsal of the 2015–2016 season. Photo by Richard Karman.

St. George's Choral Society's first rehearsal of the 2015–2016 season. Photo by Richard Karman.

Although September 9 was a warm, muggy day, the early evening found an enthusiastic group of choristers gathering at St. George’s Chapel for the first rehearsal of the 2015–2016 season.  Memories of chilly rehearsals in the dead of winter gave way to an appreciation of the Chapel’s air conditioning. Those who had not already done so online renewed their memberships and collected the scores for the fall. To help put names and faces together, Vice President Loraine Obler passed out name tags and began work on a member directory.

The rehearsal of Mendelssohn's "Lobgesang" began promptly with Artistic Director Matthew Lewis directing and Jim Bassi accompanying on the piano.

It’s not too late to sing with us! Contact stgeorgeschoralsociety@yahoo.com to schedule an audition on September 16 between 6:00 and 6:50 PM.

The schedule for the upcoming year looks to be challenging and exciting:

Fall Concert with Orchestra

Sunday, November 22, 2015, 3 PM
Church of the Incarnation, 209 Madison Avenue at 35th St

Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Music (Chamber Singers)
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 2, "Lobgesang"

Lincoln Center Performances with the Paul Taylor Dance Company

March 16, 18, 30, and April 2
David H. Koch Theater, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza

Our semi-professional choir, by audition and invitation, appears again this season in performances of Poulenc's Gloria with the Orchestra of St. Luke's at the Koch Theater.

Sacré et Profane - Choral Masterworks from France
Spring Concert with Organ

Sunday, April 17, 2016, 3 PM
Church of the Incarnation, 209 Madison Avenue at 35th St

Fauré: Pavane
Poulenc: Chansons Francaises
Langlais: Messe solennelle
And works by Le Jeune, Janequin, and Saint-Saëns

Summer Choral Festival

Saturday, June 18, 7:00 PM
Church of the Incarnation, 209 Madison Avenue at 35th St

Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem
Featuring Brahms' arrangement of the work for chorus and piano, four hands

Audition and Rehearsal Update

A 2013 Summer Festival rehearsal held at the Church of the Incarnation. Photo credit: Pat Rasile.

A 2013 Summer Festival rehearsal held at the Church of the Incarnation. Photo credit: Pat Rasile.

Looking to sing in a chorus in New York City? Look no further.

We will audition singers on September 9 and 16 from 6:00–6:50 PM. To schedule your low-pressure audition, contact Artistic Director Matthew Lewis, stgeorgeschoralsociety@yahoo.com.

This fall, we will hold rehearsals on Wednesdays from 7:00–9:30 PM at St. George's Chapel, 5 Rutherford Place, one block east of Third Avenue between 16th and 17th Streets.

Rehearsals for the spring concert will be held in a warmer spot. We will meet on Wednesdays from 7:30–9:40 PM at Church of the Incarnation, 209 Madison Ave at 35th Street.

We hope you can join us!

Our 2015–2016 Season

We are thrilled to share our 2015–2016 season with you. Here is how Artistic Director Matthew Lewis describes our fall and spring repertoire:

Fall Concert (with orchestra)

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major, opus 52, "Lobgesang"

Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Music

This "choral" symphony by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy is one of the highlights of the choral repertoire. It was composed in 1840 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the invention of printing. It is a symphony cantata, on sacred texts, for choir and soloists, with full orchestra. The movements are performed consecutively, without pause, to great dramatic impact. This piece will entice the experienced choral singer to participate, as it is a thrill to sing. Our chamber singers will perform Vaughan Williams’ “Serenade to Music.”

Spring Concert (with organ)

Choral Works from Paris - Sacred and Profane

Poulenc: Chansons Francaise

Langlais: Messe solennelle

This unusual program features works of 20th century composers Francis Poulenc and Jean Langlais, who both lived in Paris. Poulenc's pieces are a cappella settings of French folk songs. They are extremely well crafted, difficult to sing, and wonderful to hear. And they are rarely performed. These will be sung by the chamber singers. Langlais was a blind organist composer, who wrote in a more modern vocabulary. His thrilling setting of the Mass is for a big choir, with a virtuoso and very well-written organ part.