Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia

Celebrating 150 Years of Artistic Excellence and Adventurous New Music.

by Michael Moore

Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia, one of America’s longest-standing musical ensembles, is singing in its 150th season under Music Director Dominick DiOrio. Since its founding in 1874, the chorus has carried on a rich tradition of presenting the great works of the choral canon while also premiering, performing, and commissioning new choral works at the highest artistic level. The chorus has performed under the batons of world famous conductors including Leopold Stokowski, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Eugene Ormandy, Claudio Abbado, Zubin Mehta, Mstislav Rostropovich, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Riccardo Muti and Wolfgang Sawallisch, and has maintained a performing relationship with the Philadelphia Orchestra since the orchestra’s inception.

In its early history, Mendelssohn Chorus gave the Philadelphia premiere of Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, American premieres of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, and the first performance outside of the USSR of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13. These works, which are now considered some of the greatest choral works ever written, were new and sometimes experimental at the time of their premieres. Mendelssohn Club continues this tradition today through commissions from such notable composers as Alberto Ginastera, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Jennifer Higdon and Caroline Shaw.

Mendelssohn Chorus has commissioned and premiered 58 works under Artistic Director Alan Harler and created the Alan Harler New Venture Fund to continue to honor his legacy through commissioning in perpetuity. Mendelssohn Chorus is known throughout the nation as a leader in advancing the field of choral music. Recognition for this dedication, as well as our commitment to artistic excellence, is seen through a Grammy nomination for the 1985 recording of Vincent Persichetti’s Winter Cantata, Mendelssohn Chorus receiving the 1992 and 2013 ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming, and our 2014 commission, Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields, which received the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Music.

In its more recent history, Mendelssohn Chorus has deepened its mission to take artistic risks that challenge both singers and audiences through commissioning new works that include cross-genre performance. Commissions such as David Lang’s battle hymns, Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields, and Byron Au Yong’s TURBINE integrated artistic elements such as dance, ensemble choreography, projections, and even audience movement into our performances to create a fully immersive experience for our audience members.