Brookline Chorus ~ Celebrating 30 Years of Song

Thank you for your interest in the Brookline Chorus’ 30th Anniversary Gala  held March 27, 2010.   We held this event to celebrate our history and raise needed funds for supporting our goals: providing innovative and inspired musical programming that delights and educates our audience as well as uniting dedicated singers in a joyful, creative atmosphere.  The event included entertainment, a silent as well as a live auction, and a raffle in which prizes included a Cypress 7-speed bicycle, 2 continental airline tickets and a Wii bundle with 4 games.  This website has additional information about our history as well as audition and performance information.

Albert’s Florist
Aquitaine French Bistro
Athans Bakery
Autumn Hills Orchard
Beacon Street Tavern
Lorenzo Benet
Sarah Benet
Bird by Bird, Urban Boutique
Jo Biviano
Blue Bunny Books & Toys
BJ’s Wholesale Club
Boston Ballet
Bravo Restaurant
Ethan Bremner
Rachel Brenman
Mary Brody
Brookline Arts Center
Brookline Booksmith
Brookline Chorus
Brookline Liquor Mart
Ceramics by Cyndi
Clayroom
Coolidge Corner Clubhouse
Senator Cynthia Stone Creem
Richard Dailey, Esq.
Betty Davidson
11:11 Theatre Company
Eureka Puzzles & Games
Fast Frame
Ruth Feldman
David Fingerhut Photography
Fire Opal
The Fireplace
Folklorica
Formaggio’s Kitchen
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Grace Bicycles
Lisa Graham
Green Guild
Tanya Gurian
Dick Hamlen
Heart of the Square

Hotel Viking, Newport, RI
Adam Jaffe
Pam Jorgenson
Olga Kurland
La Morra
Brooke Larimer
Laurie Lasky
Michael Lasky
Lasky Homesmith Services
Alan Lawson
Lochstead Photography
Honor McClellan
Kirke Mechem
Metro PCS
Museum of Fine Arts
MY Oilcloth
New England Aquarium
New Paris Bakery
Uschi Niethammer
O’Learys Pub
Tim Olevsky
Party Favors
Peabody Essex Museum
Pomodoro
Regal Beagle
Sandra Rae Jewelry
Dana Schnitzer
Sleepy’s
Gary Smith
Representative Frank Smizik
Staples
Station 8 Salon
.SQ
Vasso Skin Care
Washington Square Tavern
Bonnie & Bob Wax
Ed Wertheim
Wine Gallery
Wild Goose Chase
World Cultural Tours
Zaftig’s Delicatessen

We are presently a 100-voice chorus with a reputation as one of Metro Boston's premier choral ensembles. Our emphasis on culturally significant programming, combined with excellence in performance, yields a unique artistic contribution to the Boston arts community.  Music Director Lisa Graham leads the chorus, with a professional staff of  four young Artists in Residence and an accompanist.  

In 1993 William Cutter became Music Director. Cutter initiated many changes in the Chorus, moving it from an un-auditioned community chorus to an auditioned group of 80 voices. Scott Allen Jarrett, who became Music Director in 2000, built on the work of his predecessors to enhance the performance and reputation of the Chorus in Boston’s choral community, and under his tenure the Chorus moved from two concerts a year to three.

In 2004, the Chorus recruited Dr. Lisa Graham as its Music Director. Graham’s enthusiasm, energy, and scholarship are leading the Chorus to ever-higher levels of excellence in performance. The hiring of well-known soloists and instrumentalists from Boston combined with Graham's brilliant programming have pushed the Chorus to the upper tier of musical quality and consistently sold out concerts. 

Recent Chorus programs under the baton of Dr. Graham have included the performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Sanders Theatre in May, 2009, and a sold-out performance of Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem in March, 2010.

In 2005, the Chorus formally separated from the Brookline Music School and became an independent, non-profit arts organization. The Chorus operates under the leadership of its Board of Directors and an Operations committee. 

Over its history, the Chorus has performed and commissioned new works. One of our most ambitious undertakings was the commissioning of a work entitled Sh'ma by Andy Vores. Performance of the Sh’ma, which memorialized Holocaust victims and survivors, was a profound experience for Chorus members and audience alike. The piece received recognition by The Boston Globe as one of the best new works of 1996.

Music Director Lisa Graham with Chorus President Susan Martin

In 2008, founding Chorus members Helen and Clare Cotton established a composition fund to continue this tradition of commissioning new choral works.  With their generous donation and additional funds pledged by supporters Arthur and Trudy Golden, the Board has established a multi-year strategy for commissioning new compositions. 

The first Helen and Clare Cotton Composition Fund commission has gone to American composer Kirke Mechem.  In a career spanning more than fifty years, Mr. Mechem has composed over 250 works in almost every form, and is often called the "dean of American choral composers".  In prior seasons, the Chorus has performed Mr. Mechem’s Island in Space and selections from his opera, John Brown.

In his new work for the Chorus, entitled Once to Every Man and Nation (for mixed chorus, baritone and string orchestra), Mr. Mechem has set the text of this famous James Russell Lowell poem to musical variations on an old Welsh melody, Ton-y-Botel.  The work enjoyed its premier performance at the Brookline Chorus concert, “The Heart of New England”, on May 15, 2010.

Gala host Jonathan Crutchley and Chorus member Cecilia Roddy.

Alto Artist in Residence Brooke Larimer

Fierce bidding during the silent auction

Chorus members Laurie Lasky, Betsey Pollock and Linda Baer

Guests mingled with cocktails before the evenings entertainment