Robert De Cormier
Encyclopedia
Robert DeCormier is an American
musical conductor, arranger, and director, and a graduate of the Juilliard School
. He has arranged music for many singers and groups, including Harry Belafonte
and Peter, Paul, and Mary, and has worked with Milt Okun
. DeCormier is perhaps most famous for his spiritual arrangements. He is the director of Counterpoint
, a choral group which consists of eleven members, and conducted music for the opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis
, or The Emperor of Atlantis, and Brundibár
. DeCormier made a recent appearance at a holiday concert for the Vermont Symphony Orchestra
. He conducted the chorus, and made an appearance with long-time friend Paul Stookey
from the group Peter, Paul and Mary. DeCormier has served on the New York State Council on the Arts
, and has been a member of the choral panel for the National Endowment for the Arts
.
Robert DeCormier was Music Diector and Conductor of the New York Choral Society from 1970-1987 and remains its Music Director Emeritus.
He has also recorded several Christmas
albums with his choral group, The Robert De Cormier Singers.
Mr. DeCormier taught a class at St. Michael's College (Colchester, VT) entitled "Songs of Resistance: Music in Struggle" in the spring semester of 2008.
Recently DeCormier conducted at the Vermont International Music Festival in the summer of 2009. In the Winter of 2011, he directed the Chorus at the Vermont High School Honors Music Festival held at Castleton State College.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musical conductor, arranger, and director, and a graduate of the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
. He has arranged music for many singers and groups, including Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
and Peter, Paul, and Mary, and has worked with Milt Okun
Milt Okun
Milton "Milt" Okun is an American arranger and record producer and founder of Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company, Inc. Okun transformed the careers of a dozen or more major U.S. artists who under Okun's tutelage became some of the most successful musical acts of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s...
. DeCormier is perhaps most famous for his spiritual arrangements. He is the director of Counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
, a choral group which consists of eleven members, and conducted music for the opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis
Der Kaiser von Atlantis
Der Kaiser von Atlantis, oder Die Tod-Verweigerung is a one-act opera by Viktor Ullmann with a libretto by Peter Kien. Both Ullmann and Kien were inmates at the Nazi concentration camp of Theresienstadt , where they collaborated on the opera, around 1943...
, or The Emperor of Atlantis, and Brundibár
Brundibár
Brundibár is a children's opera by Jewish Czech composer Hans Krása with a libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister, originally performed by the children of Theresienstadt concentration camp in occupied Czechoslovakia...
. DeCormier made a recent appearance at a holiday concert for the Vermont Symphony Orchestra
Vermont Symphony Orchestra
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in, and supported in part by, the U.S. state of Vermont. It is a 501 corporation. It is one of the few, and the oldest, state-supported symphony orchestras in the United States....
. He conducted the chorus, and made an appearance with long-time friend Paul Stookey
Noel Stookey
Noel Paul Stookey is a singer-songwriter best known as "Paul" in the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. He took the stage name "Paul" as part of the trio Peter, Paul and Mary, but he has been known as Noel otherwise, throughout his life...
from the group Peter, Paul and Mary. DeCormier has served on the New York State Council on the Arts
New York State Council on the Arts
The New York State Council on the Arts is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell , with backing from Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and began its work in 1961...
, and has been a member of the choral panel for the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
.
Robert DeCormier was Music Diector and Conductor of the New York Choral Society from 1970-1987 and remains its Music Director Emeritus.
He has also recorded several Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
albums with his choral group, The Robert De Cormier Singers.
Mr. DeCormier taught a class at St. Michael's College (Colchester, VT) entitled "Songs of Resistance: Music in Struggle" in the spring semester of 2008.
Recently DeCormier conducted at the Vermont International Music Festival in the summer of 2009. In the Winter of 2011, he directed the Chorus at the Vermont High School Honors Music Festival held at Castleton State College.