Master Chorale of Washington
Encyclopedia
The Master Chorale of Washington, formerly the Paul Hill Chorale, was a symphonic choir
based in Washington, D.C.
, composed of approximately 126 auditioned volunteer choristers and twenty-four professional choristers. Its most recent music director was Donald McCullough.
with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO). Over the next 42 years, the chorale rose on the Washington
choral music scene and established itself as a prominent chorus in the nation's capital. Over the years the chorale has appeared in hundreds of concert
s at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, including performing in the center's inaugural concerts in 1971, at Wolftrap's Filene Center, Carnegie Hall
, Notre Dame de Paris
, the Cathedral of Chartres
in Chartres, France, and the Washington National Cathedral
. For nearly three decades, under the leadership of its founder
and music director Paul Hill, the chorale performed a series of concerts at the Kennedy Center as well as appearing as guest chorus for the NSO under the batons of Howard Mitchell
, Antal Dorati
, Dmitri Kabalevsky
, Julius Rudel
, Erich Kunzel
, Neville Marriner
, Mstislav Rostropovich and Leonard Slatkin. In addition, the chorale appeared in performances with luminaries such as Victor Borge
, Julian Lloyd Webber
, Garrison Keillor
, Danny Thomas
, Christopher Plummer
, and Peter Schickele
, and with notable arts organizations including the Philadelphia Orchestra
, Royal Ballet, Washington Opera, Dance Theatre of Harlem
, Joffrey Ballet
, Richmond Symphony, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
and Pacific Northwest Ballet
. For twenty consecutive years, the chorale hosted the Kennedy Center's free annual Messiah
Sing Along
with Maestro
Hill directing orchestra, chorus, and 3,000 guests in the Hallelujah Chorus.
The chorale's continuing success led to the establishment of a core of paid professional singers and the forming of a sister chamber choir
, the Washington Singers. Sondra Goldsmith Proctor and J. Thomas Mitts, respectively, served as rehearsal accompanists and assistant directors in addition to performing on keyboard
with the chorale in numerous concerts.
In the 1990s Maestro Hill was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig
's Disease. In December 1993, he conducted the chorale's final Kennedy Center Messiah Sing Along seated on a stool. President
William Clinton
, First Lady
Hillary Rodham Clinton
, and Chelsea Clinton
attended the event. In 1997, Donald McCullough, founder of the McCullough Chorale and Virginia Symphony Chorus
in Norfolk, Virginia
, became the group's second music director, replacing the ailing Paul Hill, who was awarded the title Conductor Emeritus
. Soon after the name was changed from the Paul Hill Chorale to Master Chorale of Washington.
Under Maestro McCullough, the chorale maintained its reputation for choral excellence, expanding its professional core to twenty-four professional choristers, premiering numerous works by American composers, and producing several CDs.
In March 2009, the Master Chorale's board of directors, citing financial difficulties exacerbated by the global economic crisis, voted to dissolve
the organization at the close of the 2008-2009 season. The chorale's last performances with the National Symphony Orchestra were April 9, 10, and 11, with Kurt Masur
conducting all all-Brahms program, including the choral work A German Requiem by Johannes Brahms
.
On May 17, 2009, the Master Chorale, conducted by Maestro McCullough, performed their final concert to a full house in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. The program opened with a talk by Robert Aubrey Davis. The chorale accompanied by orchestra performed Randall Thompson
's Frostiana
and, joined by soloists and children's chorus, Carl Orff
's Carmina Burana
.
A Paul Hill Chorale Christmas (1995)
Unequaled Praise (1996)
Melodious Accord (2001)
Spectrum Magazine
, "Adventists in the News: Paul Hill"
John F. Kennedy Center, Artistic Constituents
Good Shepherd Online, "Sondra Proctor"
Master Chorale of Washington, History
Donald McCullough website
Washington Post Article, "Master Chorale to Shut Down"
Washington Post Review of 6/17/09 concert, "Master Chorale Exits the Scene On a Graceful -- And Wistful -- Note"
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
based in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, composed of approximately 126 auditioned volunteer choristers and twenty-four professional choristers. Its most recent music director was Donald McCullough.
History
The chorale was founded in 1967 by Paul Hill as an informal group of about 35 singers. In 1969, Hill recruited an additional 44 singers to perform Beethoven's FidelioFidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO). Over the next 42 years, the chorale rose on the Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
choral music scene and established itself as a prominent chorus in the nation's capital. Over the years the chorale has appeared in hundreds of concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, including performing in the center's inaugural concerts in 1971, at Wolftrap's Filene Center, Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris , also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra of...
, the Cathedral of Chartres
Cathedral of Chartres
The French medieval Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres is a Latin Rite Catholic cathedral located in Chartres, about southwest of Paris, is considered one of the finest examples of the French High Gothic style...
in Chartres, France, and the Washington National Cathedral
Washington National Cathedral
The Washington National Cathedral, officially named the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church located in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. Of neogothic design, it is the sixth-largest cathedral in the world, the second-largest in...
. For nearly three decades, under the leadership of its founder
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and music director Paul Hill, the chorale performed a series of concerts at the Kennedy Center as well as appearing as guest chorus for the NSO under the batons of Howard Mitchell
Howard Mitchell
Howard Mitchell was an American cellist and conductor. He conducted the National Symphony Orchestra from 1950 to 1969....
, Antal Dorati
Antal Doráti
Antal Doráti, KBE was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1947.-Biography:...
, Dmitri Kabalevsky
Dmitri Kabalevsky
Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky was a Russian composer.He helped to set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures. He was a prolific composer of piano music and chamber music; many of his piano works have been performed by Vladimir Horowitz. He is probably...
, Julius Rudel
Julius Rudel
Julius Rudel is an American opera and orchestra conductor who emigrated to the United States from Austria at the age of 17 and studied conducting at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. He then forged a 35-year career with the New York City Opera, from 1944 to 1979, and was the Music...
, Erich Kunzel
Erich Kunzel
Erich Kunzel, Jr. was an American orchestra conductor. Called the "Prince of Pops" by the Chicago Tribune, he performed with a number of leading pops and symphony orchestras, especially the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra , which he led for over 44 years.-Early life and career:Kunzel was born to...
, Neville Marriner
Neville Marriner
Sir Neville Marriner is an English conductor and violinist.-Biography:Marriner was born in Lincoln and studied at the Royal College of Music and the Paris Conservatoire. He played the violin in the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Martin String Quartet and London Symphony Orchestra, playing with the...
, Mstislav Rostropovich and Leonard Slatkin. In addition, the chorale appeared in performances with luminaries such as Victor Borge
Victor Borge
Victor Borge ,born Børge Rosenbaum, was a Danish comedian, conductor and pianist, affectionately known as The Clown Prince of Denmark,The Unmelancholy Dane,and The Great Dane.-Early life and career:...
, Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist who has been described as the "doyen of British cellists".-Early life:Julian Lloyd Webber is the second son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and his wife Jean Johnstone . He is the younger brother of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber...
, Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...
, Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy . He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
, Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
, and Peter Schickele
Peter Schickele
Johann Peter Schickele is an American composer, musical educator, and parodist. He is best known for his comedy music albums featuring his music that he presents as music written by the fictional composer P. D. Q...
, and with notable arts organizations including the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, Royal Ballet, Washington Opera, Dance Theatre of Harlem
Dance Theatre of Harlem
Dance Theatre of Harlem is a ballet company and school of the allied arts founded in Harlem, New York City, USA in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook...
, Joffrey Ballet
Joffrey Ballet
The Joffrey Ballet is a dance company in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1956. From 1995 to 2004, the company was known as The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. The company regularly performs classical ballets including Romeo & Juliet and The Nutcracker, while balancing those classics with pioneering modern...
, Richmond Symphony, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra has emerged over the years as one of the finest metropolitan orchestras in the U.S. Hailed as "the pride of Fairfax County," the orchestra has showcased the greatest works in the orchestral repertoire during its annual concert seasons and through many...
and Pacific Northwest Ballet
Pacific Northwest Ballet
Pacific Northwest Ballet is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington in the United States. Founded in 1972 as part of the Seattle Opera and named the Pacific Northwest Dance Association, it broke away from the Opera in 1977 and took its current name in 1978. It is said to have the highest per...
. For twenty consecutive years, the chorale hosted the Kennedy Center's free annual Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
Sing Along
Sing Along
"Sing Along" is a pop song by Swedish singer and composer Per Gessle from his album Party Crasher. It was released as the second single from the album on February 4, 2009, featuring two different sleeves, one red and one green....
with Maestro
Maestro
Maestro is a title of extreme respect given to a master musician. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and opera. This is associated with the ubiquitous use of Italian vocabulary for classical music terms...
Hill directing orchestra, chorus, and 3,000 guests in the Hallelujah Chorus.
The chorale's continuing success led to the establishment of a core of paid professional singers and the forming of a sister chamber choir
Chamber choir
A chamber choir or group of chamber singers is the choral equivalent of a chamber ensemble, using voices instead of instruments. This prestigious choir will usually consist of 20-40 elite and dedicated singers. Several chamber choir formats exist, ranging from barbershop groups to exclusively...
, the Washington Singers. Sondra Goldsmith Proctor and J. Thomas Mitts, respectively, served as rehearsal accompanists and assistant directors in addition to performing on keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
with the chorale in numerous concerts.
In the 1990s Maestro Hill was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
(ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
's Disease. In December 1993, he conducted the chorale's final Kennedy Center Messiah Sing Along seated on a stool. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
William Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
, and Chelsea Clinton
Chelsea Clinton
Chelsea Victoria Clinton is a television journalist, currently serving as Special Correspondent for NBC News, and philanthropist, working through the Clinton Global Initiative. She is the only child of former U.S...
attended the event. In 1997, Donald McCullough, founder of the McCullough Chorale and Virginia Symphony Chorus
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
The Virginia Symphony Orchestra is an American regional orchestra in the Hampton Roads metro area. The orchestra performs at several venues in Virginia, including Chrysler Hall in Norfolk and the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News....
in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, became the group's second music director, replacing the ailing Paul Hill, who was awarded the title Conductor Emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
. Soon after the name was changed from the Paul Hill Chorale to Master Chorale of Washington.
Under Maestro McCullough, the chorale maintained its reputation for choral excellence, expanding its professional core to twenty-four professional choristers, premiering numerous works by American composers, and producing several CDs.
In March 2009, the Master Chorale's board of directors, citing financial difficulties exacerbated by the global economic crisis, voted to dissolve
Dissolution (law)
In law, dissolution has multiple meanings.Dissolution is the last stage of liquidation, the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed....
the organization at the close of the 2008-2009 season. The chorale's last performances with the National Symphony Orchestra were April 9, 10, and 11, with Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur is a German conductor, particularly noted for his interpretation of German Romantic music.- Biography :Masur was born in Brieg, Lower Silesia, Germany and studied piano, composition and conducting in Leipzig, Saxony. Masur has been married three times...
conducting all all-Brahms program, including the choral work A German Requiem by Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
.
On May 17, 2009, the Master Chorale, conducted by Maestro McCullough, performed their final concert to a full house in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. The program opened with a talk by Robert Aubrey Davis. The chorale accompanied by orchestra performed Randall Thompson
Randall Thompson
Randall Thompson was an American composer, particularly noted for his choral works.-Career:He attended Harvard University, became assistant professor of music and choir director at Wellesley College, and received a doctorate in music from the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music...
's Frostiana
Frostiana
Frostiana: Seven Country Songs is a piece for mixed chorus and piano composed in 1959 by Randall Thompson. It premiered on October 18, 1959, in Amherst, Massachusetts...
and, joined by soloists and children's chorus, Carl Orff
Carl Orff
Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...
's Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana (Orff)
Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936. It is based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana...
.
Paul Hill Chorale Recordings and Discography
Russia! (1994)A Paul Hill Chorale Christmas (1995)
Unequaled Praise (1996)
Master Chorale of Washington Discography
Christmas with the Master Chorale of Washington (1999)Melodious Accord (2001)
External links
New York Times, Obituary for Paul Hill, 29 September 1999:Spectrum Magazine
Spectrum (magazine)
Spectrum is the official publication of Adventist Forums, published four times a year. It was established "to encourage Seventh-day Adventist participation in the discussion of contemporary issues from a Christian viewpoint, to look without prejudice at all sides of a subject, to evaluate the...
, "Adventists in the News: Paul Hill"
John F. Kennedy Center, Artistic Constituents
Good Shepherd Online, "Sondra Proctor"
Master Chorale of Washington, History
Donald McCullough website
Washington Post Article, "Master Chorale to Shut Down"
Washington Post Review of 6/17/09 concert, "Master Chorale Exits the Scene On a Graceful -- And Wistful -- Note"