Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale

Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale is a boys' choir and men's chorale based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, currently under the direction of Jeffrey R. Smith. They are known as "America's Ambassadors of Song" and are considered to be one of the best boys choirs in the world. They have performed in concert venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, the Kimmel Center, Notre Dame de Paris, King's College Cathedral, and Philadelphia's Academy of Music.[1]

History

After six years at the Frankford High School in North Philadelphia, Robert G. Hamilton took over the All Philadelphia Elementary School Boys Choir (founded in 1961 by Dr. Carlton Jones Lake) in the Fall of 1968. The All Philadelphia Elementary School Boys Choir Ensemble traveled to Montreal, Canada to sing at the 1967 World's Fair (EXPO '67) and traveled to England and Wales as the only integrated choir to sing at the international music festival in Llangollen, Wales in the summer of 1968 (see The Philadelphia Inquirer Today Magazine Section dated June 16, 1968 https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/182095224/). Hamilton took his original High School Choir to the Music Educator's National Convention in Atlantic City in March 1963, and by the summer of 1964 had organized a 30-day tour with 90 singers to Scandinavia as the "Ambassadors of Song." In 1965 the choir sang at the Philadelphia Academy of Music, along with a men's chorus organized by Hamilton. By 1968 he was conducting the All Philadelphia Elementary School Boy's Choir, under the purview of the Board of Education (which consisted of approximately 250 boys from schools all over the city who had been gathering at Benjamin Franklin High School at Broad and Spring Garden Streets since being organized by Dr. Carlton Jones Lake in 1961), but moved to an independent group later that year.

Two years later, he added a Men's Chorale to expand available repertoire. He remained the artistic director for the choir's next 37 years.[2] In 1968 they launched the concert tour to Mexico, the first of many. The Choir has performed premieres of works under the batons of Maestros Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Klaus Tennstedt and Wolfgang Sawallisch in concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Riccardo Muti hailed the boys as a "gem" at the performance of the concert version of Puccini's Tosca with internationally acclaimed soloists Carol Vaness, Giuseppe Giacomini, Giorgio Zancanaro and the Westminster Symphonic Choir. During a visit to the Soviet Embassy during the Cold War, the Soviet Embassy said "their voices are a treasure of art" and viewed them highly in bettering understanding between the Soviet Union and the United States.[3]

Guest conductors Dennis Russell Davies and Charles Dutoit have conducted the Choir for performances of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream and the concert version of Puccini's La Bohème with the Philadelphia Orchestra. During the 1990s, the Choir added Benjamin Britten's War Requiem to its repertoire under the baton of Wolfgang Sawallisch, as well as the concert version of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, conducted by Zdenek Macal in 1996 with the Choral Arts Society. They sang in 1992 at the Sydney Opera House to a sold out audience.

Each year, the Pennsylvania Ballet hosts the Choir as part of their seasonal favorite, The Nutcracker.[4] Internationally, the Choir singers have performed for the Royal Families of Sweden, Denmark, England, Thailand and in over 30 countries around the world.

In 2008, the choir celebrated its anniversary with a concert at the Irvine Auditorium and a tour to Spain, a first for the choir. In 2009, the choir went to South America after a successful performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City.[5] Over the years, the choir has become a household name in the Philadelphia area. They have also sung at the White House for four presidents. More recently, the choir sang for then-candidate Barack Obama in Germantown and Laura Bush at the Cityline Hotel in Philadelphia.[6]

Major annual concerts

Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale performs two major annual concerts: the Winter and Spring concerts. The Winter concert consists of mostly Christmas music, pop songs, and traditional carols. The concert is often performed in churches, theaters, and the occasional concert hall. The concert is performed with a select orchestra and is a family favorite for the entire Delaware Valley.

The spring concert has, for the past few years, been at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, and is often themed, so stage settings, choir fundraisers, and the music selections follow a central motif. The musical styles have ranged from full classical choral or orchestral works (such as Orff's Carmina Burana) to pop and other modern choral compositions. The Spring concert offers the most diversity of repertoire, and is often considered the more musically sophisticated of the two.

Concert venues have included the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Philadelphia's Academy of Music, Irvine Auditorium, and numerous venues with community and faith-based organizations in the Philadelphia Metro region.[5] Over the years, the choir has been increasing its presence in New York with performances on Good Morning America and multiple concerts at Carnegie Hall.[7][8]

Other important performances

The choir annually sings the national anthem at the Philadelphia Phillies Home Opener, and has done the same for the 1980 World Series, 1993 World Series and the 2008 NLCS, the 2009 NLCS, and the 2010 NLCS.[9] The Philadelphia Boys Choir sings in the Pennsylvania Ballet's annual performance of "The Nutcracker" every winter at the Academy of Music. Starting in 2009, they have performed with Peter Nero and Lauren Kennedy with the Philly Pops at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. They also sing during the Philadelphias Macy's historical light show during the Christmas season. The Philadelphia Orchestra also often recruits the choir and boys from it for necessary pieces.[4]

Recordings

The Choir currently offers 1 album in CD Format, Celebrate the Sounds of the Season.

Past albums include:

Two Holiday CDs:

  • Shimmering, Glimmering,
  • and Holiday Enchantment,

along with one album of audience favorites,

  • By Request,

one album of show-tunes.

  • One Singular Sensation,

and one Complete Recording of a commissioned work

  • Concert Mass.

Alumni

Choir alumni include Joe Bonsall (Oak Ridge Boys), Shawn Stockman (Boyz II Men), Stephen Tirpak, Ukee Washington, Lawrence Zazzo, Pat Grossi (Active Child), Justin Hopkins (opera singer), Mena Mark Hanna (musicologist and founding dean of the Barenboim-Said Akademie), James A. Pierce, III (Anastasia on Broadway), Joshua Loper (The Grand and Delaware Military Academy), Leon Bates (concert pianist), and Academy Award Winner Benj Pasek. Boys in the choir have been asked to perform on Broadway on numerous occasions, and several alumni have secured roles.[1]

[10]

Tours[11]
Year Name Locations Visited
1969 Mexican TourTaxco, Mexico City, Guadalupe
1970 Europe TourPoland, USSR, Sweden, Denmark, Finland
1972 South Pacific TourAustralia, New Zealand, California
1974 African TourBelgium, Kenya, Mombasa
1975 Japan TourOsaka, Kyoto, Kibe, Tokyo, Hawaii
1977 World TourJapan, Thailand, Singapore, Denmark, England
1978 United States TourDenver, San Francisco, Las Vegas, St. Louis
1979 Second World TourPeople’s Republic of China, Egypt, Pakistan
1980 Canada TourCalgary, Knox, Banff
1981 East Coast TourWashington DC, Florida
1982 Tricentennial TourQueen Elizabeth 2 (transatlantic), London, Southampton
1983 England TourQueen Elizabeth 2 (transatlantic), London
1984 Second European TourFrance, Italy, Monaco
1985 Third European TourYugoslavia, Greece
1987 "Let Freedom Sing" TourThirteen Colonies
1988 Ireland TourDublin, Waterford, Wexford
1989 Germany TourBonn, Hennef, Nurnberg, Hamburg, Cologne, Düsseldorf, East Berlin
1990 Middle East TourIsrael, Jordan
1990 USSR TourLeningrad, Moscow, Yaroslavl, Rostov
1992 Australian TourMelbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns
1993 25th Anniversary TourEngland, Scotland, Wales
1994 Central European TourCzech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Poland
1995 Switzerland TourBasel, Winterthur, Andelfingen, Unterageri, Tann (France)
1996 Australian TourMelbourne, Adelaide, Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Sydney
1997 South African TourCape Town, Johannesburg, Kimberley, Knysna, Pretoria
1998 'Old South' TourNew Orleans, Baton Rouge, Natchez, Vicksburg, St. Francisville
1999 - May Cuban TourHavana, Pinar del Rio, Mantanzas, Santiago
1999 - December 2nd Cuban TourHavana, Santiago
2000 Germany and Russia TourBerlin, Hennef, Wuppertal, Hannover, Nizhny Novgorod
2001 China and Korea TourBeijing, Hanchune, Tianjin, Incheon, Seoul
2002 France and ItalyParis, Aix-en-Provence, Florence, Venice
2003 Florida and Cuba TourSt. Petersburg, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Havana
2004 Scandinavian TourCopenhagen, Lund, Oslo, Bergen, Reykjavik
2005 Alaska and Canada TourKetchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Prince Rupert, Seattle
2006 Central America TourFlorida, Panama, Costa Rica
2007 Greece and Turkey TourIstanbul, Thessaloniki, Delphi, Athens
2008 Spain and Germany TourMadrid, Seville, Granada, Toledo, Mecklenburg
2009 Argentina and Uruguay TourBuenos Aires, Lujan, La Plata, Salto, Colonia, Montevideo
2010 China TourShanghai, Xi'an, Tianjin, Beijing
2011 'Wild West' TourWyoming, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, California
2012 Baltics TourFinland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia
2013 France TourParis, Loire Valley, Lisieux
2014 England and Wales TourLondon, Cambridge, Leeds, Stratford-upon-Avon, Cardiff, Stonehenge
2015 China TourShanghai, Changzhou, Ningbo, Zhoushan, Lishui, Wenzhou, Changshu, Shenzen, Huizhou, Dongguan, Ji'an, Yichun, Dalian, Wuhan, Handan, Beijing
2017 Cuba TourHavana
2017 Ecuador TourQuito, Banos, Otavalo, Pegueche, the Galapagos Islands, Puyo
2018 Vietnam and Singapore Tour
2019 Southern Italy Tour Naples, Rome, Sicily
2020 South Africa/UAE tour Johannesburg, Pretoria, Soweto, Drakensberg, Cape Town, Dubai

References
  1. "About Us". Philadelphia Boys Choir. Archived from the original on 18 December 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  2. Stoiber, Julie (22 September 2003). "Phila. Boys Choir director will take final bow next year". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  3. "The Philadelphia Boys Choir" (PDF). Susan Vogel Creative. 1981. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  4. "Academy of Music: The Nutcracker". Philadelphia Theater. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  5. Roncace, Kelly (14 December 2010). "NJ.com". Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  6. "Senate Spouses Luncheon Featuring the Philadelphia Boys Choir". The White House. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  7. Mucha, Peter. "Phila. Boys Choir sings on 'Good Morning America'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  8. "Honoring Israel". Carnegie Hall.
  9. Phillies (17 October 2010). "Philadelphia choir sings anthem". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  10. http://www.phillygirlschoir.org/files/simple_itinerary.pdf
  11. "Past Tours | The Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale". Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
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