Westminster Choir College

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Westminster Choir College

Westminster Choir College Coat of Arms
Motto Spectemur agendo
(Let us be judged by our deeds)
Established 1926
Type Private
Endowment US$20,000,000
President President Mordechai Rozanski and Dean and Director Robert Annis
Faculty 75
Undergraduates 440
Postgraduates 91
Location Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Campus Suburban, 23 acres (93,000 m²)
(Princeton Borough and Township)
University Rider University
Mascot Wildcat
Website westminster.rider.edu

Westminster Choir College is a residential college of music located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States.

Westminster has a choral emphasis that educates men and women at the undergraduate and graduate levels for music leadership careers in churches, schools, performance, and management. Professional training in musical skills with an emphasis on performance is complemented by studies in the liberal arts in an atmosphere which encourages individuals in their personal and musical growth and nurtures leadership qualities. The programs of study are career-oriented and designed to prepare students for careers in music leadership in churches, schools, and communities. Students are trained to achieve technical mastery in their art and have unparalleled access to some of the finest musical centers in New York, Philadelphia and around the world.

Contents

[edit] History of the College

John Finley Williamson founded the Westminster Choir in 1920 at the Westminster 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 it's Choir's reputation grew, the demand for the School's graduates increased. The graduates came to be known as "Minsters 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), the Academy of Music (Philadelphia), Orchestra Hall (Chicago) and the White House for President Coolidge. Years later the Choir also sang for Presidents Roosevelt and Eisenhower. The Westminster Choir made its first commercial recording with RCA Victor in 1926. Subsequently the Choir recorded with major conductors and orchestras.

In 1928, the Westminster Choir and Cincinnati Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski made the nation's first coast-to-coast radio broadcast on Cincinnati station WLW. A few years later because of the Choir's growing reputation it made a total of 60 half-hour broadcasts from NBC's New York facilities.

The first European tour took place in 1929 and was sponsored by Dayton philanthropist Katharine Hauk Talbott and endorsed by Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York Symphony. The tour included 26 concerts in major cities of Europe.

Originally a three year program, the Choir School moved to Ithaca College in New York State in 1929 and enlarged its curriculum to a four year program culminating in a Bachelor 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 the Princeton Seminary until 1934 when the Choir School moved into 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 of Bach's Mass in B minor at the Princeton University Chapel with the Westminster Choir, soloists, and the Philadelphia 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 of New Jersey in 1939 granted the Choir School accreditation and the name Westminster Choir College was adopted.

In years to come, under Dr. Williamson's leadership, the Choir would begin having regular concerts with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The Westminster Choir sang with the New York Philharmonic for the first time in 1939 conducted by Sir 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 the NBC Orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini. That same year the Choir, directed by Dr. Williamson, sang at the dedication of the New 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 40,000 miles and appearing before approximately a quarter of a million people.

Dr. 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 tour Africa. This choir was called t he 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 th e 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 the Philippines. A South American choir tour was being planned by the State Department but was canceled because of Dr. Williamson's untimely death in 1964.

In accordance with his request, Dr. Williamson's ashes were scattered on the Quadrangle of his beloved campus on July 3, 1964. Dramatically this took place during the performance of the Verdi Requiem with the Westminster Festival Choir, soloists, and the Festival Orchestra conducted by Maestro Eugene Ormandy. This performance on the Westminster campus was part of the Tercentennial 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 Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Shaw, alumni soloists, and the Westminster Alumni Choir on the Princeton University campus.

In 1996, Westminster merged with Rider University and is now known as Westminster Choir College of Rider University. The Choir College campus still remains in Princeton while the main Rider campus is in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. In 2001, Westminster Choir College celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary.

Currently, the Director of Choral Activities is Dr. 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 Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt for just a year upon Flummerfelt's retirement at the end of the 2004-2005 academic year.

[edit] Grammy Awards

Dvorák: Requiem; Symphony No.9 "From the New World," 2000 The Westminster Symphonic Choir Zdenek Macal and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Delos Records

Berlioz: Romeo & Juliet, 1986 The Westminster Symphonic Choir Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia 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 the New York Philharmonic Columbia *Nominated

[edit] Performance & 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

[edit] Notable Faculty

Voice:

  • Margaret Cusack
  • Thomas Faracco
  • Mark Moliterno
  • Scott McCoy
  • Sharon Sweet

Organ & Sacred Music:

  • Ken Cowan
  • Alan Morrison
  • Matthew Lewis
  • Robin Leaver
  • Donald Dumpson

Conducting:

Piano:

  • Ingrid Clarfield
  • Phyllis Lehrer

Faculty Emeriti:

  • Joseph Flummerfelt
  • Helen Kemp
  • Joan Lippincott

[edit] Honorary Doctorates and Fellows

[edit] Notable Alumni

  • Nancy Maltsby Opera Star - 1986
  • Jennifer Larmore, international opera star.
  • Antioch Chamber Ensemble, many members are alumni

[edit] External links


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