Description

Pilgrim Festival Chorus is a premier, welcoming, nonprofit choral ensemble dedicated to presenting diverse choral works that educate, enrich, and engage both its members and its audiences. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, PFC is under the artistic direction of William B. Richter and Elizabeth Chapman Reilly. Members are comprised of approximately 90 singers from over 20 communities throughout the South Shore with levels of musicianship ranging from amateur to professional. A typical season begins with a festive holiday concert in December, usually a program of shorter works appropriate to the season. In mid-December, PFC hosts an annual Messiah Sing where the audience is invited to become the chorus in one of the most famous choral pieces ever written. Soloists for this event are selected from the chorus. The spring concert often features a larger work with orchestra and soloists. In June, Pilgrim Festival Singers, comprising about half the full chorus, performs summer concerts with lighter fare at various venues around the South Shore. Repertoire is drawn from Broadway and American traditions. PFC sings a wide range of classics, including traditional repertoire from some of the world’s greatest composers: Bach, Brahms, Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Mozart. Music by important 20th century composers such as Bernstein, Britten, and Kodály, as well as living composers Corigliano, Forrest, Hagenberg, Jenkins, Rutter, and the late Whitbourn are also performed. Members are accepted at the start of each concert cycle (September; January; May) after attending an open rehearsal and completing a Vocal Placement Session.