New chief for NY Philharmonic Chorus
NewsThey have just announced Malcolm J. Merriweather as director of its new chorus.
He’s also Music Director of New York’s Dessoff Choirs, Associate Professor at Brooklyn College and Artistic Director of “Voices of Haiti,” a 60-member children’s choir in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, operated by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation.
He says: ‘ I’m thrilled to announce my new appointment as the Director of the New York Philharmonic’s Chorus! We’ll have premiere performances during the David Geffen Hall Opening Galas on October 26 and 28 — two evenings featuring Beethoven’s Broadway and opera stars, and a world premiere!’
The New York Philharmonic established the New York Philharmonic Chorus to mark the opening of the new David Geffen Hall in 2022–23.
What the! His resume is so thin with actual classical music…
Oh well, the symphonic choral director is just a glorified répétiteur, the conductor comes and does everything anyway
You might change your mind about that if you ever watch a fine symphonic choral director at work during rehearsal, e.g., Robert Shaw.
Robert Shaw, whom I played under, was an assistant to Toscanini and experienced with the entire choral orchestral repertoire by the age of 30.
You obviously didn’t look him up. Foolish.
The choral director is invariably called on at the end of performances of works with choir and orchestra to share the applause with the orchestral conductor. I imagine there is a reason! Perhaps you should also check out Merriweather’s qualifications and experience (that is what Google is for) before making ignorant statements.
Malcolm is eminently qualified to take on this new task, but the bigger question is precisely what the NY Philharmonic’s expectations are in a community filled with talented and robustly enthusiastic choruses. Long ago there was a relationship with Westminster Choir College and there remain any number of volunteer and professional choruses which would be ready to embrace a relationship for a performance weekend at some point during any given season. Maybe there are too many Messiahs at Christmas time for the available pool?We watch with interest.
I am hoping this will be a professional AGMA Chorus
Apparently it is: “A newly-formed ensemble that is also a fully professional AGMA chorus, of which Merriweather will be the first ever director, the New York Philharmonic Chorus has its premiere performances during the David Geffen Hall Opening Galas …” (from the Broadwayworld.com web site).
-two evenings featuring Beethoven’s Broadway and opera stars, and a world premiere!’-
What does it mean “Beethoven’s Broadway”? Am I missing another figment of contemporary Pop culture or is that an unfortunate “lapsus linguae?”
You never saw Beethoven’s long-lost Broadway Show – Fiddley-Oh?
One has to wonder if his primary qualification was the color of his skin.
By that I assume you mean he can’t be accomplished because he’s not white? Well, you certainly showed YOUR color – and it isn’t pretty! De- spic-able!
That is a typical passive-aggressive response to a legitimate question. Or is it not legitimate to question the credentials of any black person? Maybe it’s the lack of positions leading up to this one that would qualify him. No, your response is the despicable one, unless you are commenting on his not being a “spic.”
Nowadays, one has to wonder about that, only because there are so many engagements being made out of all proportion to the population. After Curtis Institute hired Eric Owens to run the Vocal Department, they actually had to promote someone else to do the actual job of directing the Vocal Department. Probably because he is always off performing.