History

Chicago 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. 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
Bernstein: Chichester Psalms
Bizet: Te Deum 
Bloch: Sacred Service
Brahms: Requiem, Nänie, Schicksalslied
Britten: Jubilate Deo
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, Lo the Full Final Sacrifice
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
McDowall: Christus Natus Est
Mendelssohn: Psalms, Elijah, St. Paul
Mozart: Requiem, Coronation Mass, Vespers
Muhly: Set Me as a Seal
O'Regan: Dorchester Canticles
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


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.