MasterVoices (formerly the Collegiate Chorale) is a symphonic

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

based in New York City, USA. It was founded in 1941 by Robert Shaw, who was later to found the professional

Robert Shaw Chorale The Robert Shaw Chorale was a renowned professional choir founded in New York City in 1948 by Robert Shaw, a Californian who had been drafted out of college a decade earlier by Fred Waring to conduct his glee club in radio broadcasts. History ...

. MasterVoices continues to give several performances annually in

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street (Manhattan), 55th Street between Sixth Avenue, Six ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

and other venues. The group performed at the opening of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and has sung and recorded with such conductors as

Serge Koussevitzky Serge Koussevitzky (born Sergey Aleksandrovich Kusevitsky;Koussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his sig ...

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...

and

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

. The organization's artistic director is

Ted Sperling Ted Sperling is a musical director, conductor, orchestrator, arranger, stage director and musician, primarily for the stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations and the Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Orchestrations, for his ...

. The group was originally named for its first home,

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Marble Collegiate Church The Marble Collegiate Church, founded in 1628, is one of the oldest continuous Protestant congregations in North America. The congregation, which is part of two denominations in the Reformed tradition—the United Church of Christ and the Refor ...

, and was notable for Robert Shaw's insistence, from its inception, that the group be racially integrated. The choir and the church soon parted ways due to the church's concerns about the choir's ethnic and religious makeup. The chorale was led by Abraham Kaplan in the 1960s, and by conductor Richard Westenburg from 1973 to 1979, and by music director and conductor

Robert Bass Robert Muse Bass (born 19 March 1948) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He was the chairman of Aerion Corporation, an American aerospace firm in Reno, Nevada. In 2018, he had a net worth of $5 billion. Bass has served o ...

from 1979 until his death in 2008.Vivien Schweitzer, ''The New York Times'', August 28, 2008. Among the chorale's achievements during the Bass years were such performances at

as the New York premiere of

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

's ''

Friedenstag ''Friedenstag'' (''Peace Day'') is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss, his Opus 81 and TrV 271, to a German libretto by Joseph Gregor. The opera was premiered at the National Theatre Munich on 24 July 1938 and dedicated to the leading singe ...

'' with the Orchestra of St. Luke's in 1997, the United States premiere of Dvořák's ''

Dimitrij Dimitrij is a masculine given name related to Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinization of names, Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male name, male Greek given names, given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alterna ...

'', the American premiere of

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

's ''

Giove in Argo (''Jupiter in Argos'', HWV A14) is an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel. It is one of Handel's three pasticcio works made up of music and arias from his previous operas. The libretto was written by Antonio Maria Lucchini. The opera was f ...

'',

Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions ra ...

's ''

La fiamma (; "The Flame") is an opera in three acts by Ottorino Respighi to a libretto by Claudio Guastalla based on Hans Wiers-Jenssen's 1908 play ''Anne Pedersdotter, The Witch''. The plot is loosely based on the story of Anne Pedersdotter, a Norwegi ...

'' and Puccini's ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...

'' with the new ending by

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental music, experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia (Berio), Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Seque ...

. Bass and the chorale also recorded and performed two of Beethoven's cantatas, ''

Der Glorreiche Augenblick Der or DER may refer to: Places * Darkənd, Azerbaijan * Dearborn (Amtrak station) (station code), in Michigan, US * Der (Sumer), an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq * d'Entrecasteaux Ridge, an oceanic ridge in the south-west Pacific Ocean ...

'' and '' Auf die Erhebung Leopold des Zwieten zur Kaiserwürde'' with sopranos

Deborah Voigt Deborah Joy Voigt (born August 4, 1960) is an American dramatic soprano who has sung roles in operas by Wagner and Richard Strauss. Biography and career Early life and education Deborah Joy Voigt was born into a religious Southern Baptist f ...

and

Elizabeth Futral Susan Elizabeth Futral (born September 27, 1963 in Johnston County, North Carolina Johnston County, officially the County of Johnston, is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 215,99 ...

. Notable singers who performed with the choir during these years, included

Kathleen Battle Kathleen Deanna Battle (born August 13, 1948) is an American operatic soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone. Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances ...

Stephanie Blythe Stephanie Blythe (born 1970) is an American mezzo-soprano who has had an active international career in operas and concerts since the early 1990s. She is particularly associated with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, with whom she has perfo ...

Vinson Cole Vinson Cole (born November 21, 1950) is an American operatic tenor. Early life A native of Kansas City, the tenor studied at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City; the Philadelphia Musical Academy; and ...

, David Daniels,

Lauren Flanigan Lauren Flanigan (born May 18, 1958) is an American operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the 1980s. She enjoyed a particularly fruitful partnership with the New York City Opera, appearing with the company almost every ye ...

Maria Guleghina Maria Agasovna Guleghina (née Meytardjan (); born 9 August 1959) is a Soviet-born operatic soprano singer, particularly associated with the Italian repertory. Biography Maria Guleghina was born in Odesa, Ukrainian SSR, to an Armenian father and ...

, Hei-Kyung Hong, Salvatore Licitra,

Alessandra Marc Alessandra Marc, born Judith Borden (born July 29, 1957) is an American dramatic soprano who has appeared at many of the world's opera houses and orchestras. Marc is particularly known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Strauss, Richa ...

and

Bryn Terfel Bryn Terfel Jones (; born 9 November 1965), is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially primarily associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', '' Leporello'' and ''Don Giovanni,'' but he has subsequ ...

. Roger Rees was the chorale's artistic associate from 2003 to 2015,Rabinowitz, Chloe
"Christine Ebersole, Santino Fontana, Jason Danieley & More to Star in ''Iolanthe'' Concert at Carnegie Hall", BroadwayWorld.com, March 16, 2023
/ref> and James Bagwell was music director from 2009 to 2015.Cooper, Michael
"Collegiate Chorale, Under a New Name, Is Teaming Up With City Center"
''The New York Times'', August 3, 2015. In July 2007 the choir was invited to perform

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

' ''

Ein Deutsches Requiem ''A German Requiem, to Words of the Holy Scriptures'', Op. 45 () by Johannes Brahms, is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, and soprano and baritone soloists, composed between 1865 and 1868. It comprises seven movements, which together l ...

'' at

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Verbier Festival The Verbier Festival is a two week annual international music festival which is held in late July and early August in the mountain resort of Verbier southeast of Lausanne, Switzerland. Begun by Swedish expatriate in 1994, it has attracted int ...

. The group changed its name to MasterVoices on August 3, 2015, the same year that

became its artistic director. He has directed their staged concerts of musicals and operettas such as ''

Song of Norway ''Song of Norway'' is an operetta written in 1944 by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Edvard Grieg and the book by Milton Lazarus and Homer Curran. A very loose film adaptation with major changes to both the book ...

'', ''

Knickerbocker Holiday ''Knickerbocker Holiday'' is a 1938 musical written by Kurt Weill (music) and Maxwell Anderson (book and lyrics); based loosely on Washington Irving's '' Knickerbocker's History of New York'' about life in 17th-century New Netherland (old New ...

'', ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 3 ...

'', ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

'', ''

Anyone Can Whistle ''Anyone Can Whistle'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Described as "a satire on conformity and the insanity of the so-called sane," the show tells a story of an economically depressed town ...

'', ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'' and ''

Iolanthe ''Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri'' () is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1882. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh of fourteen operatic collaborations by Gilbert ...

'', and operas such as ''

The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize ...

'' and ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

''.Ruel, Chris
"MasterVoices 2022 Review: ''Carmen''"
''OperaWire'', November 2, 2022 In 2021 MasterVoices received nominations for a

Drama League Award The Drama League Awards, created in 1922, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing. Each May, the awards ...

and a New York

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for its digital concert production, ''Myths and Hymns''.

Partial discography

* ''A Salute to American Music'' (Richard Tucker Music Foundation Gala XVI, 1991)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Choirs in New York City Musical groups established in 1941 1941 establishments in New York City