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| The Choir of Trinity Wall Street | |
|---|---|
| Name | The Choir of Trinity Wall Street |
| Origin | New York City |
| Founded | 18th century |
| Genre | Sacred music, choral music |
| Members | Mixed choir, trebles, adults |
| Chief conductor | Notable directors over time |
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street is a professional liturgical ensemble associated with Trinity Church in Wall Street and the Financial District of New York City. The choir serves regular worship at Trinity Church and performs in concert settings, maintaining a repertoire that ranges from medieval music and Renaissance music to contemporary commissions and sacred music premieres. Its activities connect to wider musical networks including cathedral choirs, conservatories, and international festivals.
The choir traces institutional antecedents to colonial-era worship at Trinity Church and has intersected with figures such as Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, and civic institutions in New York City. During the 19th century the choir engaged with liturgical reform movements and influential musicians tied to Tammany Hall, St. Paul's Chapel, and the expansion of church music practice concurrent with the rise of American cathedral models like St. Thomas Church and Cathedral of St. John the Divine. In the 20th century the choir collaborated with conductors and composers associated with Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, and the New York Philharmonic, adapting to shifts driven by liturgical renewal, the Episcopal Church’s developments, and the modern choral revival linked to institutions like King's College, Cambridge and Westminster Cathedral.
Throughout its history the choir has worked with composers and conductors involved with institutions such as Columbia University, Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University, Royal College of Music, Metropolitan Opera, and ensembles including The Sixteen, The Tallis Scholars, and The Academy of Ancient Music. Historical premieres and commissions placed the choir in conversations with composers affiliated with the MacDowell Colony, Tanglewood, and contemporary music venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.
Repertoire spans plainchant and Gregorian traditions tied to Chartres Cathedral and Siena Cathedral choral practices, polyphony of Josquin des Prez, Palestrina, and William Byrd, Baroque works by Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, and Henry Purcell, Classical and Romantic liturgical repertory exemplified by Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms, and Anton Bruckner, and 20th–21st century sacred compositions by Olivier Messiaen, Paul Hindemith, Arvo Pärt, Richard Rodney Bennett, and John Tavener. The choir commissions contemporary composers connected to institutions including Princeton University's music department, Yale School of Music, and summer programs like Aspen Music Festival and School, often premiering works in venues associated with festivals such as the Aldeburgh Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and the Spoleto Festival USA.
Liturgical seasons—Advent, Christmas, Holy Week, Easter—feature major settings such as Bach Passions associated with Leipzig Gewandhaus traditions, Handel's Messiah linked to London's Foundling Hospital Concerts, and modern carol repertory resonant with British cathedral choirs at Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral.
The choir comprises professional adult singers, a choir of trebles trained in a chorister program, an organist and music director, and administrative staff. Leadership has included directors with ties to Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, New England Conservatory, and conductors who have worked with ensembles like the BBC Singers, Chorus of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and the New York Choral Society. The chorister program recruits children from Manhattan, providing training comparable to programs at King's College, Cambridge, Westminster Cathedral Choir School, and St. Paul's Cathedral Choir School. Accompaniment often involves organists associated with historic instruments by builders such as C. B. Fisk and performances with period-instrument groups inspired by English Baroque Soloists and Freiburger Barockorchester.
The choir's discography includes liturgical recordings and concert albums produced in collaboration with labels and media linked to Deutsche Grammophon, Harmonia Mundi, Nonesuch Records, and independent producers working with broadcasters like WGBH, WNYC, BBC Radio 3, and NPR. Live broadcasts and streamed services have appeared alongside programming connected to Carnegie Hall Live, Lincoln Center at Home, and international festivals. Recordings feature works by composers whose catalogs are represented in archives at Library of Congress, British Library, and university collections at Yale University and Columbia University.
The choir has toured domestically and internationally, appearing in venues such as St. Paul's Cathedral, Notre-Dame de Paris, Westminster Abbey, Sainte-Chapelle, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Mozarteum, and venues associated with festivals like Glyndebourne and Salzburg Festival. Collaborations include joint projects with orchestras and ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, English Concert, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and chamber groups tied to conservatories like Juilliard and Curtis Institute of Music.
Educational initiatives link the chorister program with community partners including Public Schools and city cultural organizations, summer academies allied with Lincoln Center Education, youth programs associated with Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute, and workshops partnering with institutions such as Metropolitan Museum of Art and New-York Historical Society. Outreach includes lecture-demonstrations, partnerships with universities like NYU and Columbia University, and digital education content distributed in collaboration with broadcasters like PBS and NPR Music.
The choir and its recordings have received recognition from organizations such as the Grammy Awards, Gramophone Awards, and critics from The New York Times, The Guardian (London), and The Wall Street Journal. Individual directors and choristers have been honored by institutions like Royal Academy of Music, Knights of St. John, and academic fellowships at Harvard University and Princeton University.
Category:Choirs