The Queens College Choral Society is preparing for their 83rd Annual Spring Concert, which is set to take place on Saturday, May 18th, 2024 in LeFrak Concert Hall.
The performance, which is being conducted in coordination with QC Orchestra, QC Treble Choir, and QC Vocal Ensemble will feature works from Mozart’s “Requiem,” Schubert’s “Mass in G,” and Lili Boulanger’s “Psalm 24.”
Since its inception in 1941, the QC Choral Society has been an institution that has been working towards bringing people together around the shared beauty of choral music. The QC Choral Society performs major choral works with a large choir of approximately 120–200 members and a full orchestra. The organization’s membership features current QC students, faculty, alums, and high school students; a diverse age range that spans from 16 to 80+ years old.
There is a huge amount of preparation that goes into putting on the Annual Spring Concert. Individual members must practice and attend weekly rehearsals, which are all coordinated in conjunction with the large number of performers; all of this leads up to an end-of-the-semester performance with a full orchestra.
“Choral music is unique because it brings people together in an act of creation,” said Emily John, an adjunct professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music and a harpist for the QC Coral Society. “It’s a beautiful thing to see folks come together to create something.”
The QC Choral Society provides current students (at the Aaron Copland School of Music) with the benefit of meeting and working with alumni and community members who share their passion for music. The QC Choral Society also gives students real world experience to perform some of the most influential musical masterpieces.
According to Professor John, “Orchestra students get to accompany masterworks – playing Mozart’s ‘Requiem’ this spring will be a cornerstone for the QC Orchestra, often performed and a chance to play it during their degree will help them in their future careers. Soloists are often current voice majors. We also make a point to bring back alums as featured soloists, instrumentalists, and additional singers in the ensemble.”
Throughout its history, the QC Choral Society has exposed students, alumni, and members of the wider Queens community to a broad range of music. The QC Choral Society was founded in 1941, only four years after the college itself, as a way of involving people in the activities of the college.
“Organized by John Castellini of the Music Department, the Choral Society held its first performance, Handel’s ‘Messiah,’ in the Jamaica High School auditorium on December 19, 1941. Born in World War II, the Choral Society gave significant support to the community morale, and its concerts were well-attended. The premiere performance, just twelve days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, was to a full house. Since then, the QC Choral Society has become an integrated part of the music curriculum, while still maintaining a larger role in the Queens Arts Community,” Professor John states.
The QC Choral Society has won the hearts of many for over eight decades, and will continue to do so this May with its 83rd Annual Spring Concert.
If students are interested in attending, the QC Choral Society offers $5 tickets for every concert to students with a valid QC ID.
For more information on QC Choral Society, go to their Facebook page or their website.
