One of this country’s oldest choruses, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia performs choral music to create a shared transcendent experience among its singers and audiences. Through the excellence of its adventurous performances, Mendelssohn Club advances the development of choral music as an art form.
CORE VALUES
Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia believes in:
- Taking artistic risks that stretch and challenge our singers and our audiences.
- Supporting the talent, passion, and dedication of our singers, and the powerful communal experience that comes from shared music making.
- Respecting the commitment and appreciation of our audience members.
- Ensuring Mendelssohn Club’s long-term stability as an important cultural resource in our region and as an influence in the world of choral music.
At one time, even Beethoven was considered to be avant garde. Imagine Salieri’s reaction upon hearing Beethoven’s 7th Symphony after being riveted by Mozart’s prolificity. The importance of new ideas, fresh interpretations of traditional forms, is not only prevalent in music, but in all aspects of life. Whether it’s an original perspective in economic theory or a different way to heal patients, ideas of all sorts push us to consider novel solutions. In looking forward, we invent ways to analyze and to consider the past.
Groundbreaking works combining the new with the old
Under the dynamic leadership of Alan Harler, now in his 24th season as Artistic Director, Mendelssohn Club is known for its professio
nal productions of choral/orchestral programs, as well as performances in guest engagements with prominent area orchestras. Harler’s programs combine new or rarely heard works with more traditional works in order to enhance the presentation of each, and to provide the audience with a familiar context for the new experience. Maestro Harler’s provocative programming vision was recognized in 2009 by Chorus America with the Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art. Harler was also the 2009 honoree of the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia.
Collaborations expand our reach beyond the choral community
Mendelssohn Club also explores interdisciplinary concert presentations, including the Philadelphia premiere of Richard Einhorn’s 1994 cantata, Voices of Light, with the 1928 silent film masterpiece by Carl Dreyer, The Passion of Joan of Arc. A November 2006 co-production of Carmina Burana with the contemporary Leah Stein Dance Company was the first dance collaboration in Mendelssohn Club’s recent history, and was followed by two dance collaborations in our 2008-09 season, first with Urban Echo: Circle Told, as part of the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival, and later with battle hymns, as part of the Hidden City Festival.