About the Chorale
The Connecticut Master Chorale, founded and directed by Tina Johns Heidrich in 1999, is a premier ensemble of 55 professional-caliber vocalists with a precise blend and balance. We will present two performances this coming season. Our Holiday Prelude Concert will be accompanied by the Connecticut Master Chorale Holiday Brass, and our Spring Concert will be accompanied by the Connecticut Master Chorale Orchestra.
Visit the archive to view our previous concert programming, and see the repertoire for a complete listing of pieces we have performed, including music clips.
The Chorale is now in our 23nd season and over the years we have experienced exciting moments and attained many honors. Our recordings are frequently heard on WMNR Fine Arts Radio in Connecticut, and we were recently featured on WJMJ in Hartford.
Our greatest accomplishment to date is having been invited to perform at the White House in December 2002 after the Chorale was selected through a recorded audition. We sang in the Book Signers Room and Grand Foyer for invited guests of the White House, including White House staff and dignitaries, friends and family of President and Mrs. Bush, cabinet members, and international leaders. We are extremely proud to have been granted this distinction!
As we look back at our achievements, we have had many special experiences in addition to our regularly scheduled concerts each year. We sang by invitation in January 2009 in the US premiere of Karl Jenkins' Stabat Mater at Lincoln Center in New York City. Meeting the composer, hearing his comments, and singing the piece in his presence has added insight and inspiration to our performance here in Connecticut.
On Easter Sunday 2002, we performed by invitation at Carnegie Hall under the direction of John Rutter. We were indeed honored and privileged to sing under this internationally known conductor and composer, performing his own magnificent composition Magnificat. We were then invited back to Carnegie Hall for a performance in January, 2003 under the direction of Terre Johnson, Conductor-in-Residence for Mid-America Productions of New York City. Then for Thanksgiving Sunday 2006 we were invited for a third time to Carnegie Hall to sing Mass of the the Children under the great Rutter's baton once again.
In addition to our regular concert seasons, the Chorale has sung as invited guests at West Point Military Academy, with the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, and the Nutmeg Opera Company. We also have accepted several other invitations to perform within the state and we were warmly welcomed in these venues. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to sing in our surrounding Connecticut towns.
The highlight of our 2002-2003 Season was winning first place in the annual McDonald's Gospelfest competition for a third consecutive year. Gospelfest is sponsored and operated by the McDonald’s Corporation and McDonald’s Tri-State Owners’ Association. About 50,000 groups and individuals auditioned in various categories: adult choirs, youth choirs, soloists, praise dancers, and poets. The Master Chorale competed in the Adult Choir category with a rousing spiritual called "Goin’ to Bethlehem" which we performed in our Holiday Prelude Concert in November 2002. (Hear sound clip of our winning entry) Our 2001 Gospelfest performance and interview were televised on ABC7 in July, 2001. We are delighted to have been asked to participate as a Regional Representative in the June 2004 Gospelfest at Madison Square Garden.
We thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you at our concerts!