- Westminster Choir College
Infobox University
name = Westminster Choir College
motto =Spectemur agendo
("Let us be judged by our deeds")
established = 1926
type = Private
president = PresidentMordechai Rozanski and Dean and Director Robert Annis
city = Princeton
state =New Jersey
country = USA
undergrad = 440
postgrad = 91
postgrad_label = graduate
faculty = 75
postgrad_label = graduate
endowment = US$20,000,000
campus =Suburban , 23acre s (93,000 m²)
(Princeton Borough and Township)
free_label = University
free =Rider University
mascot =None
website = [http://www.rider.edu/864.htm Westminster Choir College]Westminster Choir College is a residential
college of music located in Princeton,New Jersey ,United States .Westminster Choir College educates men and women at the
undergraduate andgraduate levels for musical careers in music education, voice performance, piano performance, organ performance, pedagogy, music theater performance, music theory and composition, conducting, sacred music and arts management; professional training in musical skills with an emphasis on performance is complemented by studies in theliberal arts . Westminster's proximity to bothNew York City andPhiladelphia provides students with easy access to the musical resources of both cities.History of the college
John Finley Williamson founded the Westminster Choir in 1920 at theWestminster Presbyterian Church of Dayton, Ohio. Convinced that professionally trained musicians could best serve the church, he established the Westminster Choir School in September 1926 with sixty students and a faculty of ten. As the Choir School and its choir's reputation grew, the demand for the School's graduates increased. The graduates came to be known as "Ministers of Music", a term coined by Dr. Williamson and still being used today by many church music programs.As early as 1922, the Choir, then known as the Dayton Westminster Choir, began touring the United States annually and sang in such prominent places as
Carnegie Hall (New York City ), Symphony Hall (Boston ), theAcademy of Music (Philadelphia ),Orchestra Hall (Chicago) and theWhite House for PresidentCalvin Coolidge . Years later the Choir also sang for PresidentsFranklin D. Roosevelt andDwight D. Eisenhower . The Westminster Choir made its first commercial recording withRCA Victor in 1926. Subsequently the Choir recorded with major conductors and orchestras.In 1928, the Westminster Choir and
Cincinnati Orchestra conducted byLeopold Stokowski made the nation's first coast-to-coast radio broadcast onCincinnati station WLW. A few years later because of the Choir's growing reputation it made a total of 60 half-hour broadcasts fromNBC 's New York facilities.The first European tour took place in 1929 and was sponsored by
Dayton, Ohio philanthropist Katharine Houk Talbott and endorsed byWalter Damrosch , conductor of theNew York Symphony . The tour included 26 concerts in major cities ofEurope .Originally a three year program, the Choir School moved to
Ithaca College inNew York State in 1929 and enlarged its curriculum to a four year program culminating in aBachelor of Music degree. This move ultimately proved unsatisfactory.In 1932, the Choir School relocated to
Princeton, New Jersey which became its permanent home. Classes were held in the First Presbyterian Church and thePrinceton Seminary until 1934 when the Choir School moved to its present campus. This was made possible by a large gift from the philanthropist Sophia Strong Taylor. The dedication of the new campus was marked by a performance ofJohann Sebastian Bach 'sMass in B minor at thePrinceton University Chapel with the Westminster Choir, soloists, and thePhiladelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Because of his high regard for the Choir, the services of the soloists, orchestra, and conductor were a gift from Stokowski.There was a second European Choir tour in 1934 lasting nine weeks and highlighted by a live radio broadcast from
Russia to the United States. In the fourteen short years since its founding in 1920, the Choir already had two European tours which earned it international acclaim and a campus of its own. The State ofNew Jersey in 1939 granted the Choir School accreditation and the name Westminster Choir College was adopted.In years to come, under Williamson's leadership, the Choir would begin having regular concerts with the
New York Philharmonic and thePhiladelphia Orchestra . The Westminster Choir sang with the New York Philharmonic for the first time in 1939 conducted bySir John Barbirolli . Since that time the Choir has sung over three hundred performances with the Philharmonic, a record number for a single choir to perform with an orchestra. Later that year the Choir sang with theNBC Orchestra conducted byArturo Toscanini . That same year the Choir, directed by Williamson, sang at the dedication of theNew York World's Fair which was broadcast to fifty-three countries.In 1957, under the auspices of the
U.S. State Department Cultural Exchange Program, the Choir undertook a five month world tour, concertizing in twenty-two countries, covering convert|40000|mi|km and appearing before approximately a quarter of a million people.Williamson retired as President of Westminster Choir College in 1958; however, he continued to give choral clinics and seminars around the world. Most notably in 1959, the
U.S. State Department asked Dr. Williamson to organize a Westminster alumni choir to tourAfrica . This choir was called the Westminster Singers. The African tour consisted of performances in fifty cities in twenty-six countries with audiences totaling more than 250,000. Following this tour, at the invitation of leading vocal teachers and choral conductors, Dr. Williamson's "retirement" consisted of conducting choral clinics and vocal festivals throughout the United States,Japan ,Korea and thePhilippines . ASouth America n choir tour was being planned by the State Department but was cancelled because of Williamson's untimely death in 1964.In accordance with his request Dr. Williamson's ashes were scattered on the
Quadrangle of his beloved campus onJuly 3 , 1964. Dramatically, this was said to have taken place during the performance of theVerdi Requiem with the Westminster Festival Choir, soloists, and the Festival Orchestra conducted byMaestro Eugene Ormandy . This performance on the Westminster campus was part of theTercentennial Celebration of the State of New Jersey. The following day a memorial service for Dr. Williamson was held in the College Chapel.In 1976, the Choir College celebrated its fiftieth anniversary highlighted by a performance of
Ludwig van Beethoven 'sNinth Symphony with theAtlanta Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Shaw, alumni soloists, and the Westminster Alumni Choir on the Princeton University campus. 1989 saw the first performance of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra in its newly discovered version for large orchestra, choir, soloists, narrator and obbligato campanile. This performance by the Symphonic Choir and the Czech Republic State Orchestra, conducted by Sir Trevor Ascot Harrisford III, was nationally televised on PBS and subsequently recorded by Everest. Nominated for a Grammy in 1990, it won for best performance of an undiscovered work.In 1992, following a year of affiliation, Westminster merged with
Rider University (then Rider College) and is now known as Westminster Choir College of Rider University. The Choir College campus still remains in Princeton with Rider's larger campus inLawrenceville, New Jersey . In 2001, Westminster Choir College celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary. The recording master is now lost and thought to be buried on the Princeton quadrangle.Currently, the Director of Choral Activities is Joe Miller, formerly of Western Michigan University. At the beginning of the 2006-2007 academic year, Miller succeeded then-Interim director Timothy Brown, who had replaced Joseph Flummerfelt for just a year upon Flummerfelt's retirement at the end of the 2004-2005 academic year.
Grammy Awards
*
Dvorák : Requiem; Symphony No.9 "From the New World," 2000:The Westminster Symphonic Choir:Zdenek Macal and theNew Jersey Symphony Orchestra :Delos Records*
Berlioz : Romeo & Juliet, 1986:The Westminster Symphonic Choir :Riccardo Muti and thePhiladelphia Orchestra :Angel/EMI *Nominated*Barber: Anthony & Cleopatra, 1983:The Westminster Symphonic Choir:C. Badea and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra:
New World Records *
Haydn :Lord Nelson Mass , 1977:The Westminster Symphonic Choir:Leonard Bernstein and theNew York Philharmonic :Columbia *NominatedPerformance and concert reviews
“Another strength of the performance was the work of the Westminster Symphonic Choir. Showing thorough preparation by its director, Joseph Flummerfelt, the chorus sang superbly, as usual...” "The New York Times"
“…seamless blend and clarity of diction.” "The New York Times"
“But perhaps the most interesting role is for the chorus itself, which in this case was well prepared by Joseph Flummerfelt. One instant the chorus is the crowd calling for the crucifixion, then it becomes a congregation singing the chorale “Who hath so smitten them.” One moment it is caught in narrow viciousness, the next it represents a transcendent perspective. It seems to move between the poles of this work: its anger and its faith, its minute obsession with concrete detail and its grander, humane perspective.”"The New York Times"
“The Westminster Choir contributed spirited and polished singing. The purity of the ‘amen’ of the Pie Jesu was a moment to savor.” "The Philadelphia Inquirer"
“The Westminster Choir … the epitome of choral music.” "Milwaukee Sentinel"
“The Westminster Choir is a highly polished ensemble, one that seems to strive for purity of tone and exceptionally clear enunciation.” "The Houston Post"
“Westminster again proves it has no peer. The choir is adept, practiced and refined to the point of intimidation, and good taste is never an issue. In sum, other choirs are compared to Westminster – not the reverse.” "Newark Star Ledger"
ymphonic performances
The Westminster Symphonic Choir has performed with virtually every major orchestra and conductor of our time including:
New York Philharmonic ,Philadelphia Orchestra ,National Symphony Orchestra ,Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra ,Boston Symphony Orchestra ,Cleveland Orchestra , andAtlanta Symphony Orchestra . The Symphonic Choir, under the direction of Westminster's Director of Choral Activities, has sung at individual performances of large orchestral/choral works with professional orchestras conducted byClaudio Abbado ,Daniel Barenboim ,Leonard Bernstein ,Eugene Ormandy ,William Steinberg ,Leopold Stokowski ,Arturo Toscanini , andBruno Walter , and such contemporary figures asPierre Boulez ,Mariss Jansons ,Erich Leinsdorf ,James Levine ,Zdenek Macal ,Kurt Masur ,Lorin Maazel ,Riccardo Muti ,Seiji Ozawa ,Wolfgang Sawallisch , Robert Shaw,Zubin Mehta ,Albert Wolff , andRafael Frübeck de Burgos . The choir has also received numerous invitations over the years to sing with such touring orchestras as theBerlin Philharmonic , theDresden Philharmonic Orchestra , theLos Angeles Philharmonic , theRoyal Concertgebouw , and theVienna Philharmonic when these orchestras have come to perform inNew York andPhiladelphia .Notable faculty
Conducting
Sun Min LeeJames JordanJoseph MillerAndrew MeGill
Faculty emeriti
*Joseph Flummerfelt
*Helen KempHonorary doctorates and fellows
*Jennifer Larmore, American Opera Singer
*James Litton American Choral Conductor,American Boychoir
*Fred Rogers American Educator, Minister, and Children’s TV Host
*Zdenek Macal Czech Conductor
*Alice Parker American Composer/Choral Conductor
*Wolfgang Sawallisch German Conductor/Pianist
*Kurt Masur Director of Music Emeritus,New York Philharmonic
*William Mathias Welsh Composer
*Robert Shaw American Conductor
*Riccardo Muti Italian Conductor
*Zubin Mehta Indian Conductor
*Sherrill Milnes American Opera Singer
*John Rutter English Composer and Choral Conductor
*Sir David Willcocks English Composer, Choral Conductor, and Organist
*Bob Hope American Entertainer
*Sir Arthur Bliss British Composer
*William Steinberg German Conductor
*Leonard Bernstein American Conductor and Composer
*Leopold Stokowski American Conductor
*Allen Crowell American Conductor, Former Conductor for Westminster Choir and The United States Army Chorus
*Warren Martin American Composer, Former Head of Graduate Department of Westminster Choir College, Musical Director, Conductor of the Symphonic and Westminster Choirs, and Head of Theory Department at Westminster Choir College.Notable alumni
*Nancy Maultsby, opera singer - 1986
*Anwar Robinson ofAmerican Idol , a contestant on the fourth season
*Jennifer Larmore, internationally renowned opera singer.
*Donald Nally , Chorus Master,Chicago Lyric Opera
*Alfredo Silipigni , opera conductor
*Laquita Mitchell, opera singerExternal links
* [http://www.rider.edu/864.htm Westminster Choir College of Rider University]
* [http://www.rider.edu/172_5846.htm Talbott Library]
* [http://www.westminsterjournal.org The Westminster Journal]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.