The Mendelssohn Club is a music institution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1874 by William Wallace Gilchrist, a major figure in the 19th century music of Philadelphia. The chorus is under the direction of Alan Harler, professor of choral conducting at Temple University. Bruce Carey directed the chorus from 1926-1934.
In 1988, Alan Harler was named artistic director of the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, only the twelfth person to hold that position since the chorus’s founding in 1874. Maestro Harler also served as Laura H. Carnell Professor and Chairman of Choral Music at Temple University’s Esther Boyer College of Music.