Concord Women's Chorus Performs at Carnegie Hall

Concord Women's Chorus (CWC), fostering the power of women's voices in song, recently participated in a 23-ensemble performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The concert featured CWC's singers in Vivaldi's “Gloria,” led by Guest Conductor Nancy Menk, a work appearing on the chorus's own winter concert program in December. 

The NYC concert also served as the world premiere of Composer Ola Gjeilo's “Twilight Mass.” The two-act performance was presented by Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) as a Premiere Project commission concert.

“We were thrilled to be selected to join with so many other talented women for this extraordinary concert. Vivaldi's ‘Gloria' is one of the most beloved choral works. This may very well have been the premier performance of the work for treble voices in legendary Carnegie Hall,” shares Elizabeth Hoermann, CWC's president.

Concord Women's Chorus's singers took the Perlman Stage in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium on Monday evening, November 13, opening the concert to perform Vivaldi's “Gloria” together with 120 fellow singers from across the globe. The singers offered a rarely performed treble (women's) voices arrangement, accompanied by the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra. Conductor Menk shared, “It is presumed that this work was originally written for a choir of young women's voices, although it is now primarily performed by mixed choirs.” The “Gloria” also featured soloists Diana McVey, soprano and Emily Hughes, mezzo-soprano.

The concert's second act featured Gjeilo's world premiere commission, performed by hundreds of worldwide singers, also with orchestra, and Gjeilo himself on piano, led by DCINY Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Jonathan Griffith, which CWC members enjoyed from the audience.

Concord Women's Chorus offers a local performance of Vivaldi's signature “Gloria” accompanied by strings, organ, oboe, and soloists, in its upcoming concert “A Celebration of Glorias,” on Saturday, December 16, 4 pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 81 Elm Street, Concord, conducted by CWC Artistic Director Jane Ring Frank  The program includes a stunning and rhythmic “Festival Gloria” from composer Craig Courtney, and Gjeilo's collection of luminous works for women's voices, piano, and string quartet.

Tickets to “A Celebration of Glorias” are $30 adults, $25 seniors and students, $10 children ages 12 and under,  available at concordwomenschorus.org and at the door.  Trinity Episcopal Church is fully accessible.  For more information, or to join Concord Women's Chorus, email manager@concordwomenschorus.org, visit concordwomenschorus.org, and follow Concord Women's Chorus on Facebook and Instagram.

Concord Women's Chorus (CWC), based in Concord, Massachusetts, is a 45-singer ensemble fostering the power in women's voices through song. Singers hail from Concord and the greater Boston area. Artistic Director Jane Ring Frank conducts the chorus performing a wide variety of choral music, ranging from early music to contemporary repertoire, with an emphasis on works written for women's voices.

CWC's commitment to the mastery and performance of a dynamic repertoire for women transforms the act of choral singing into an instrument for collaboration, education, and connection. The ensemble features confident singers who care deeply about creating, through women's voices, a source of strength and inspiration for themselves, the audience, and the world around us. 

The chorus began in 1960 as the Concord Madrigals, a small group of women who expressed, through song, the strength of female community. Over the years the group has increased in size and capacity and greatly expanded its repertoire. In 2005, the Concord Madrigals became Concord Women's Chorus, a name that reflects not only the evolution of the chorus but the abiding power of women's voices.

In addition to concerts, CWC often engages in other performances and projects. The ensemble has engaged in several concert tours in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. For more information or to join CWC, email manager@concordwomenschorus.org, visit concordwomenschorus.org, and follow Concord Women's Chorus on Facebook and Instagram.