Northwestern University Chorale has had a long line of prestigious conductors, including Margaret Hillis and Robert Harris, whose distinguished thirty-five-year tenure preceded Donald Nally, and current conductor A.J. Keller. University Chorale explores a wide range of music, from Renaissance to contemporary, and is the anchor ensemble for collaborations with the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra with whom they have given the Midwest premiere of David Lang’s the passing measures, George Benjamin’s Sometime Voices, David T. Little’s Am I Born; Thomas Adès’ America: A prophecy, Jennifer Higdon’s Singing Rooms, James MacMillan’s St. John Passion, and numerous works of David Lang. The Chorale has served as the opera chorus for Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking and Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath. This season they will sing the world premiere of Christopher Cerrone’s The Last Message Received with the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. The Chorale often sings for masterclasses of visiting conducting coaches, including Joseph Flummerfelt, Grant Gershon, Craig Hella Johnson, Tim Brown, and Matthew Halls.
Recent Concerts
Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra and Choirs
Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 7:30pm CDT
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
Donald Schleicher and Andrew Megill, conductors; Kylie Buckham and Calista Smith, soprano; Giada Barney, alto; Matthew Sink, tenor; Wesley Diener, baritone; Spencer Greene, bass
The Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra and combined choirs (the Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble, University Chorale, University Singers, and Northwestern Camerata) perform Beethoven’s Mass in C Major—the first work in which the composer set the words of the Mass. Although Beethoven felt his effort was overshadowed by the liturgical work of his mentor Haydn, the work is a masterpiece in its own right, and a deeply personal and dramatic depiction of one moving between doubt and faith. The program also features the Vaughan Williams cantata Dona nobis pacem, an impassioned plea for peace premiered in 1936, amid mounting fears of another global conflict.
Ludwig van Beethoven, Mass in C Major, Op. 86
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Dona nobis pacem
Staggering, Elegant, Beautiful Things
Friday, March 1, 2024 at 7:30pm CST
Galvin Recital Hall
A. J. Keller and Logan Henke, conductors; Charles Foster, piano
A cosmic exploration of the natural world, culminating in The Consolation of Apollo, Kile Smith’s extraordinary musical journey through the philosophical questions that emerged once human beings finally liberated themselves from Earth’s gravitational pull in 1968. The program also features works by Edie Hill, David Shapiro, and Eriks Ešenvalds.
Kerry Andrew, O lux beata Trinitas
Johannes Brahms, Es ist das Heil uns kommen her, Op. 29, No. 1
Edie Hill, We Bloomed in Spring
David Shapiro, “The Adoration—Staggering, Elegant, Beautiful Thing” from Sumptuous Planet (A Secular Mass)
Ēriks Ešenvalds, Stars
Kile Smith, The Consolation of Apollo
Hear Us
Auditions
Placement auditions for all incoming students (both music majors and non-majors) for all Bienen choral ensembles are held in the first week of the fall quarter.
Placement auditions for returning students are held at the end of the spring quarter prior to the coming academic year.
Contact nuchoirs@northwestern.edu to schedule an audition or for more information.