About the Cambridge Community Chorus

The Cambridge Community Chorus is a nonprofit organization that has offered participation in musical performances to all those with a love of music and community since 1990. The Chorus is known for its broad repertoire, including the world and North American premieres of new choral works; for the quality of its performances; and for its diverse and varied membership. We are a welcoming organization; singers of all ages from the Cambridge area and beyond - regardless of their musical training or experience - can join our group without audition.

Under the baton of our new Music Director, Jamie Kirsch, the Chorus will give several concerts during the coming year. In December 2008 we will perform selections from Handel's Messiah and Gwyneth Walker's Rejoice!; our March 2009 concert will feature opera choruses; and our annual spring concert in May will showcase choral works by Brahms and others.

From its formation in 1990 the Chorus was led and inspired by Music Director William E. Thomas, who retired following the spring 2008 concert. Some major works performed by the Chorus in recent years have included a revival of Hiawatha's Wedding Feast by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor; the world premiere of Oscar-wining composer Luis Bacalov's Cantos Para Nuestros Tiempos: The Cambridge Psalms (commissioned by the Chorus) as well as the North American premiere of Bacalov's Misa Tango; Haydn's Harmony Mass; Mendelssohn's Elijah; Beethoven's Lord Nelson Mass; The Exodus Project, an Exodus-themed event including narration, choral works, and dance; a fully staged version of Dido & Aeneas by Henry Purcell; the recent version of Mozart's Requiem completed by Robert Levin; our annual December performance of Handel's classic Messiah; and other mainstays of the choral repertoire.

In addition, the Chorus enriches the musical life of Cambridge throughout the year. It has sponsored a Choral Scholars Program and other collaborations with Cambridge Rindge & Latin School, performs Messiah selections at local nursing facilities during the holiday season, and sings at the annual Holocaust Commemoration along with other city events. In this way, the Chorus contributes to the musical enjoyment of local residents as well as of its members.

The Chorus is supported in part by the Cambridge Arts Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. For more information, please visit www.cambridgechorus.org or call 617-517-3169.

Greater Boston Choral Consortium Member


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