The Newark Boys Chorus is a boys' choir based in Newark, New Jersey. The choir was founded as the New Jersey Symphony Boys Choir in 1966. In 1969, the choir led to the establishment of the Newark Boys Chorus School. The group tours regularly in the United States and abroad.
The chorus was formed with the New Jersey Symphony who needed “angels’ voices” for the “Dance of the Snowflakes” in their production of Tchaikowsky’s “The Nutcracker”. It was James R. McCarthy who undertook the task and found 66 “angels” for use in the production. On December 26, 1966, the chorus finally joined the New Jersey Symphony and the Garden State Ballet in a complete production of the Nutcracker. [1]
The chorus’s debut performance at Newark Symphony Hall was so successful and received such critical acclaim, that additional performances were demanded, which ultimately led to the opening of the Newark Boys Choir School on September 15, 1969. In September 1972, the school adopted the name Newark Boys Choir, which later became the Newark Boys Chorus School. [1]
The group's music includes traditional classical music, spirituals, folk music, and jazz. [2] Since its founding the boys choir has toured nationally and internationally including to such countries as Japan, [3] Latvia, Finland, [2] France, Switzerland, the Caribbean, Russia, Australia, [4] Spain and Portugal. [5] The Newark Boys Chorus has performed in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, [6] Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, [2] Lincoln Center, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The chorus is also involved in many boychoir festivals across the east coast including The Georgia Boy Choir Festival, the Maryland State Boychoir Festival, and Keystone State Boy choir's B1K (Boy choir of One-thousand), a boychoir festival which consist of one thousand male singers, most of whom are a part of boy choirs throughout the United States.
In the 1970s the group commissioned works by Gian Carlo Menotti and Peter Mennin which premiered at Alice Tully Hall. [7] and recorded the Blue Öyster Cult song, "The Golden Age of Leather", on their album Spectres . In October 2007, the Chorus sang in the first public performance at the new Prudential Center. The chorus accompanied the musician Sting in singing a lullaby in his 2009 appearance at Cathedral of St. John the Divine. [8] In December 2011, the group appeared on Fox News with its repertoire of holiday classics. [9]
The Newark Boys Chorus School, founded in 1969, is a private school fully accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools providing academic and musical education for young urban men from the greater Newark area." [2] The school's accreditation status was extended for ten years in Fall 2018. [10]
The War Requiem, Op. 66, is a British choral and orchestral composition by Benjamin Britten, composed mostly in 1961 and completed in January 1962. The War Requiem was performed for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which was built after the original fourteenth-century structure was destroyed in a World War II bombing raid. The traditional Latin texts are interspersed, in telling juxtaposition, with extra-liturgical poems by Wilfred Owen, written during World War I.
Mass is a musical theatre work composed by Leonard Bernstein with text by Bernstein and additional text and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy, it premiered on September 8, 1971, conducted by Maurice Peress and choreographed by Alvin Ailey. The production used costume designs by Frank Thompson. The performance was part of the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Mass premiered in Europe in 1973, with John Mauceri conducting the Yale Symphony Orchestra in Vienna.
Westminster Choir College (WCC) is a historic conservatory of music currently operating on the campus of Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Rider's College of Arts and Sciences, the college under which the historic institution has been reorganized, consists of Westminster Choir College as well as three additional schools.
The American Boychoir School was a boarding/day middle school located in Princeton, New Jersey, and the home of the American Boychoir. The school originated as the Columbus Boychoir in Columbus, Ohio. In 1950, the school relocated after receiving property in Princeton, New Jersey from the Lambert estate. The relocated school was renamed the American Boychoir School. It remained in this location until the sale of Albemarle in 2012. The school served boys in grades 4–8, many of whom came from across the United States and from many countries. It was one of only two boychoir boarding schools in the United States, the other being Saint Thomas Choir School in New York City. The school provided opportunity to boys from across the world to experience the rich world of music. The Boychoir toured across the contiguous United States, through Canada, as well as internationally, allowing students to gain diverse cultural perspective while performing at the professional level. The American Boychoir performed with numerous orchestras, frequently including the New York Philharmonic as well as the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra.
James Litton was an American musician, who directed the American Boychoir from 1985 to 2001, and is widely recognized as one of the leading choral conductors of the day.
Symphony No. 3 "Kaddish" is a programmatic choral symphony by Leonard Bernstein, published in 1963. It is a dramatic work written for a large orchestra, a full choir, a boys' choir, a soprano soloist and a narrator. "Kaddish" refers to the Jewish prayer that is chanted at every synagogue service for the dead but never mentions "death."
The Pacific Boychoir was formed in 1998 with 6 boys, and it now includes more than 175 singers from ages 4 to 18. The New York Times said the PBA goes “beyond the reach of most youth choirs” and the Los Angeles Times described the PBA quality of sound and musicianship as “astonishing.”
The Raleigh Boychoir is a 70-member choral group based in Raleigh, North Carolina, that trains elementary and high school-aged boys in singing and performing choral music in the tradition of "boychoir".
Robert Chilcott is a British choral composer, conductor, and singer, based in Oxfordshire, England. He was a member of the King's Singers from 1985 to 1997, singing tenor. He has been a composer since 1997.
St. Paul's Choir School is a Catholic choir school located at St. Paul’s Church, Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1963, by Theodore Marier, the middle school for boys in third through eighth grades is the only boys' choir school in the United States of America affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, and one of the few church-affiliated choir schools in the United States. The Choir School educates and trains the choirboys who sing soprano in the choir of St. Paul's, a choir of boys and men. The choir sings for liturgical services at St. Paul's Church and performs primarily in and around the Boston area. It is located within the Archdiocese of Boston.
The Maryland State Boychoir is an internationally touring American boys' choir based in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1987 by Frank Cimino, and was designated by Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer as "Maryland's Official Goodwill Ambassadors". The choir is a donor-supported 501(c)3 organization that provides talented boys an opportunity to sing at a professional level while developing their self-esteem, self-discipline, and character.
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.
The Ragazzi Boys Chorus is a boy's and young men's chorus in the San Francisco Bay Area. The chorus was formed in 1987 with six boys, and it now includes more than 250 singers from 100 schools, including the counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz. The chorus participated in the San Francisco Symphony's recording of Perséphone, which was included in the Symphony's album that won a Grammy Award for Best Classical Album in 2000.[1]
Newark Symphony Hall is a performing arts center located at 1020 Broad Street in Newark, New Jersey. Built in 1925, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It was known for many years as The Mosque Theater, and is the former home of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey State Opera and the New Jersey Ballet Company.
The Houston Boychoir (HBC) is a non-profit, independent vocal training, and music education organization in Greater Houston, Texas, US.
Monmouth Civic Chorus is a community chorus in Monmouth County, New Jersey, USA. Monmouth Civic Chorus was established in 1949 and draws its members primarily from the Monmouth County community. Its performances encompass choral classics, premieres, rare and contemporary music, musical theater, opera, and operetta. Monmouth Civic Chorus has performed on tour in Europe and the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
Fernando Malvar-Ruiz is a musician.
The McDonald's Gospelfest is an annual gospel music festival, talent competition, and fundraiser in Newark, New Jersey.
Herbert Brown Huffman (1905–1968) was a prominent American choral director during the mid 20th century who founded the Columbus Boychoir School, now the American Boychoir School. For over 75 years, this internationally acclaimed choral group has performed in venues across the United States and in overseas locations.
Washington, D.C., and its environs are home to an unusually large and vibrant choral music scene, including choirs and choruses of many sizes and types.