The New York City Master Chorale (NYCMC) is a 60-person non-profit chorus founded in 2005 and directed by Dr. Thea Kano with the mission “to make a significant statement for choral excellence.” Rasaan Bourke is assistant conductor.
The Chorale consists of trained volunteer musicians from the greater New York City area and seeks to broaden public interest in fine choral music by performing a full range of musical styles at the highest quality. Audience members have commended the warmth and body of the chorale’s tone, and a concert review in Soundview News praised its “poignant elegance.”
Since its premiere at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in 2006, the Chorale has expanded its artistic influence, performing two concerts in its most recent season. To date, the New York City Master Chorale has performed at a variety of venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, Riverside Church, Church of St. Paul the Apostle and Symphony Space, and has collaborated with both the Park Avenue Symphony and the Astoria Symphony.
Recent repertoire has included Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the Mozart Requiem, Rachmaninoff’s Vespers, the Fauré Requiem, Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Æterna, along with choral works by American composers including Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber and Randall Thompson, and spirituals by Moses Hogan.
During the 2008–2009 season, the Chorale premiered a new American work for chorus, orchestra and narrator at Lincoln Center. The Journey, composed by Aaron Fruchtman, tells the tale of pioneers moving west on the Oregon Trail. The performance was narrated by Academy Award nominee Bruce Dern. During the 2009 - 2010 season, the Chorale presented the Duruflé Requiem. They also collaborated with the Rock Creek Singers of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington DC to present the Duruflé Messe Cum Jubilo.
The 2010 - 2011 season was the Chorale's Fifth Anniversary season, during which the Chorale had its European debut, performing the European premiere of Paul Leavitt: Requime at Église Saint-Sulpice. The Chorale also performed at St. Patrick's Cathedral in December 2010.
The New York City Master Chorale also has a commitment to providing outreach to New York City’s public schools and community. In addition to engaging community members through its regular concerts, Dr. Kano and the singers visit low-income public schools, exposing more than 400 students per year to choral music. These classroom lessons include conversations with students about the value and role of classical music and providing them with complimentary tickets to the chorale’s concerts. The majority of the students who partake in the program and who attend the concerts have had little to no exposure to classical music.
Additionally, the Chorale performs free concerts at area churches to bring the experience of classical music to local communities. NYCMC is the only New York City area chorus with such outreach programs in its schools and community.
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