HistoryChicago Master Singers (CMS), an Illinois not-for-profit organization, was established in 1979 as The New Oratorio Singers. Under the guidance of founding Music Director Thomas Wikman, the ensemble's goal was to perform choral/orchestral masterworks for audiences in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.
Over the years, CMS has refined and expanded its artistic mission to include the presentation of great choral repertoire at the highest artistic level for the cultural enrichment of its members and the communities it serves. From 1989 to 2020, the chorus was under the artistic direction of Alan Heatherington. During this time, CMS expanded its annual performances from three to six, grew to a membership of 140 singers, and diversified its venues to include performance sites throughout metropolitan Chicago. Divine Word Chapel at Techny Towers in Northbrook was a regular performance location. CMS has also collaborated with professional orchestras in performing major works. In April 2004, CMS celebrated its 25th anniversary season with a performance of the magnificent Verdi Requiem in Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center in Chicago. Spring 2008 found Chicago Master Singers performing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony on the Lake Forest Symphony’s 50th anniversary concert program. CMS joined the Lake Forest Symphony again in spring 2011 on their program of Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2 (Lobgesang). Later in 2011, the combined choruses of CMS and Kol Zimrah performed with the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra in Stanley Black's Music of a People. In 2013, CMS partnered with the Lake Forest Symphony in performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection). John C. Hughes became the ensemble's third Music Director in July 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2020-21 season, the choir gathered virtually on Monday evenings for CMS University, a series of livestreamed seminars on a wide variety of musical topics. CMS singers also created three virtual choir recordings over the course of the season. The ensemble returned to its regular schedule of rehearsals and performances with the 2021-22 season, performing at Glenview Community Church. |
Selected Repertoire
Bach: Cantatas, St Matthew Passion
Barber: Agnus Dei Beethoven: Mass in C, Opferlied Bizet: Te Deum Bloch: Sacred Service Brahms: Requiem, Nänie, Schicksalslied Bruckner: Masses, Te Deum Duruflé: Requiem, Ubi Caritas Dvořák: Mass, Te Deum, Stabat Mater Elgar: Light of Life Fauré: Cantique de Jean Racine, Requiem Finzi: Magnificat Gjeilo: Ubi Caritas, Unicornis Captivatur Hagenberg: O Love Handel: Coronation Anthems, Messiah Haydn: Masses, Te Deum Holst: Psalms 86 and 148 Howells: Requiem, Magnificat Lauridsen: Lux Aeterna, O Magnum Mysterium Liszt: Missa Choralis, Pater Noster Mendelssohn: Psalms, Elijah, St. Paul Mozart: Requiem, Coronation Mass, Vespers Muhly: Set Me as a Seal Pärt: Morning Star, The Deer's Cry Paulus: Alleluia, The Road Home, Jesu Carols Pinkham: Christmas Cantata Rachmaninov: Vespers, Tebe poyem Rheinberger: Abendlied, Cantus Missae Rutter: Cantate Domino, Gloria, Requiem Schubert: Masses, Magnificat Schumann: Requiem Shaw/Bennett: Many Moods of Christmas Stanford: Stabat Mater Stopford: Truro Canticles Tavener: Song for Athene Vaughan Williams: Five Mystical Songs Verdi: Requiem Vivaldi: Gloria, Magnificat Whitacre: Lux Aurumque Widor: Mass |
Alan Heatherington, Music Director Emeritus
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Alan Heatherington built his career in the Chicago area as a choral and orchestral conductor, a violinist and concertmaster, and an educator. He was Music Director of Chicago Master Singers from 1989 to 2020, leading the organization for 31 years. |
