Our History

80 Years of Excellence

1941

1941

Robert Shaw founds The Collegiate Chorale with Gordon Berger at Marble Collegiate Church. Shaw becomes the first Music Director of The Chorale and holds that position from 1941-1953.

1948

1948

The Collegiate Chorale performs the Verdi Requiem under the baton of Arturo Toscanini with the NBC Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

1952

1952

The Collegiate Chorale performs at the opening of the United Nations.

1962

1962

The Collegiate Chorale performs the Bach St. Matthew Passion with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Leonard Bernstein at Carnegie Hall.

1981

1981

Mayor Koch issues an official proclamation declaring January 31, 1981 “Collegiate Chorale Day” in honor of The Chorale’s 40 years of cultural service to New York City.

1998

1998

Robert Bass institutes the “Opera-in-Concert” series as an annual component of each season’s programming, beginning with Verdi’s Nabucco. The series continues to this day and has featured many world-class artists including: Deborah Voigt, Harolyn Blackwell, Salvatore Licitra, Dolora Zajick, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Ewa Podles and Nathan Gunn.

2002

2002

Roger Rees narrates Weber’s Oberon for The Chorale and is named Artistic Associate, working with The Chorale to develop the “American Masters” series exploring works of musical theater and their origins. This popular series continues to the present day and has featured works of Leonard Bernstein, Scott Joplin, Philip Glass, Kurt Weill, Ricky Ian Gordon, and others.

2003

2003

The Collegiate Chorale launches its “Side-by-Side” Education program allowing a select group of high school students the opportunity to rehearse and perform with The Collegiate Chorale in New York and abroad.

2005

2005

The Collegiate Chorale makes its Verbier Festival (Switzerland) debut in the Verdi Requiem under the baton of James Levine.

2010

2010

The Collegiate Chorale presents the New York Premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie’s The Grapes of Wrath at Carnegie Hall with Nathan Gunn, Victoria Clark, Christine Ebersole, Jane Fonda (Narrator), and Ted Sperling (Conductor).

2014

2014

The Collegiate Chorale presents the New York Premiere of David Lang’s battle hymns at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum with the Manhattan Girls Chorus and James Bagwell, conductor.

2015

2015

The Collegiate Chorale announces its new name MasterVoices and a new series at New York City Center.

2017

2017

MasterVoices celebrates its 75th Anniversary and its second mayoral proclamation declaring Monday, May 22, 2017, officially MasterVoices Day!

2021

2021

MasterVoices received our 1st Drama League Nomination for Best Digital Concert Production for MYTHS AND HYMNS.

Collaborators

For 75 years, MasterVoices has collaborated with world-renowned artists, orchestras, conductors, and creative teams.

Artists Orchestras Conductors creatives


Repertoire

MasterVoices performs a broad range of vocal repertoire, including opera-in-concert, operetta, musical theatre, choral classics, commissions and premieres, and more.

Operas-in-Concert  Choral Classics Musical theater Commissions & Premieres Special Events & Collaborations


International Appearances

In 2005, Maestro James Levine invited MasterVoices to perform at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. This initial appearance has led to led to a fruitful and ongoing musical relationship with the Verbier Festival and two international tours with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

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