Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale is a boys' choir and mens chorale based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, currently under the direction of Jeffery 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. Their notable concert venues have included Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, the Kimmel Center, and the Academy of Music (Philadelphia).
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Robert G. Hamilton founded what is today the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale in 1968. He remained the artistic director for the choir's next 37 years. 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 treasure" 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. 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. Each year, the Pennsylvania Ballet hosts the Choir as part of their seasonal favorite, The Nutcracker. 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. The choir over the years has become a household name in the Philadelphia area and therefore is very successful at attracting young singers. In 1992 they sang at the Sydney Opera House to a sold out audience. They have also sung at the White House for four presidents. Recently, the choir sang for Barack Obama in Germantown, and Laura Bush at the Cityline Hotel in Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale performs two major annual concerts; the Winter concert, and the Spring concert. The winter concert consists of mostly Christmas music. Both pop songs, and traditional carols are performed. The concert is therefore often performed in theaters, concert halls, and the occasional church. The Winter concert is performed with a full concert orchestra and is a family favorite for the entire Delaware Valley.
The spring concert is often themed, so stage settings, choir fundraisers, and most importantly, the music, follows a central concept. The musical styles have ranged from full classical choral/orchestral works (e.g. Orff's Carmina Burana ), to pop, to modern choral compositions. The spring concert offers the most diversity of repertoire, and is often considered the most musically sophisticated of the two.
Concert venues have included the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Philadelphia's Academy of Music, and numerous venues with community and faith-based organizations in the Philadelphia Metro region. 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
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. The Philadelphia Boys Choir sings in the Pennsylvania Ballet's "The Nutcracker" every winter at the Academy of Music. Starting in 2009, they perform with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops and also Lauren Kennedy at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. They sing in Philadelphia's Macy's during Christmas with the historical light show. The Philadelphia Orchestra often recruits the boys choir for necessary pieces.
The Choir currently offers 6 albums in CD Format. They are: Three Holiday CDs. 1. Celebrate the Sounds of the Season 2. Shimmering, Glimmering 3. Holiday Enchantment
One album of audience favorites 4. By Request
One album of showtunes. 5. One Singular Sensation
One Complete Recording of a commissioned work. 6. Concert Mass
Choir alumni include Teddy Pendergrass, Joe Bonsall (Oak Ridge Boys), Shawn Stockman (Boyz II Men), Stephen Tirpak and Ukee Washington and Justin Hopkins and James A. Pierce, III (The Lion King on Broadway). Boys in the choir have been asked to perform on Broadway on numerous occasions, and several alumni have secured roles.
1968 MEXICAN TOUR Tasco, Mexico City, Guadalupe
1970 EUROPEAN TOUR Poland, USSR, Sweden, Denmark, Finland
1972 SOUTH PACIFIC TOUR Australia, New Zealand, California
1974 AFRICAN TOUR Belgium, Kenya, Mombasa
1975 JAPAN TOUR Osaka, Kyoto, Kibe, Tokyo, Hawaii
1977 WORLD TOUR Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Denmark, England
1978 UNITED STATES TOUR Denver, San Francisco, Las Vegas, St. Louis
1979 SECOND WORLD TOUR People’s Republic of China, Egypt, Pakistan
1980 CANADA TOUR Calgary, Knox, Banff
1981 EAST COAST TOUR Washington DC, Florida
1982 PHILADELPHIA TRICENTENNIAL TOUR Queen Elizabeth 2 (transatlantic), London, Southampton
1983 ENGLAND TOUR Queen Elizabeth 2 (transatlantic), London
1984 SECOND EUROPEAN TOUR France, Italy, Monaco
1985 THIRD EUROPEAN TOUR Yugoslavia, Greece
1987 “LET FREEDOM SING” TOUR 13 Original Colonies
1988 IRELAND TOUR Dublin, Waterford, Wexford. In Celebration of the City of Dublin’s Millennium
1989 GERMANY TOUR Bonn, Hennef, Nurnberg, Hamburg, Cologne, Düsseldorf, East Berlin
1990 MIDDLE EAST TOUR Israel, Jordan
1990 U.S.S.R. TOUR Leningrad, Moscow, Yaroslavl, Rostov
1992 AUSTRALIAN TOUR Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns
1993 25th ANNIVERSARY TOUR England, Scotland, Wales
1994 CENTRAL EUROPEAN TOUR Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Poland
1995 SWITZERLAND TOUR Basel, Winterthur, Andelfingen, Unterageri
1996 AUSTRALIAN TOUR Melbourne, Adelaide, Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Sydney
1997 SOUTH AFRICAN TOUR Cape Town, Johannesburg, Kimberley, Knysna, Pretoria
1998 “OLD SOUTH” TOUR New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Natchez, Vicksburg, St. Francisville
1999 CUBAN TOUR Havana, Pinar del Rio, Mantanzas, Santiago
2000 GERMANY & RUSSIA TOUR Berlin, Hennef, Wuppertal, Hannover, Nizhny Novgorod
2001 CHINA & KOREA TOUR Beijing, Hanchune, Tianjin, Incheon, Seoul
2002 FRANCE & ITALY TOUR Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Florence, Venice
2003 FLORIDA & CUBA TOUR St. Petersburg, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Havana
2004 SCANDINAVIAN TOUR Copenhagen, Lund, Oslo, Bergen, Reykjavik
2005 ALASKA & CANADA Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Prince Rupert, Canada
2006 CENTRAL AMERICA TOUR Florida, Panama, Costa Rica
2007 GREECE & TURKEY TOUR Istanbul, Thessaloniki, Delphi, Athens
2008 SPAIN & GERMANY TOUR Seville, Granada, Toledo, Madrid, Berlin, Mecklenburg
2009 ARGENTINA & URUGUAY TOUR Buenos Aires, Lujan, La Plata, Salto, Colonia, Montevideo
2010 CHINA TOUR Shanghai, Xi'an, Beijing, Tianjin
2011 "Wild West Tour"
The Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale often appears on television; several networks during the holiday season and during the rest of the year - their 2007 Spring Concert was aired on WHYY. Their holiday arrangements have been featured on CBS, FOX29, and most recently "Good Morning America". 6ABC has shown some of their concerts. On December 24, 2009 the choir again performed on "Good Morning America".