Description

The Mount Desert Summer Chorale is a remarkable and perhaps unique cultural institution: while most choruses disband for the summer, ours comes to life the last week of June. In seven short weeks, rehearsing once a week, the Chorale develops into a cohesive artistic whole. Chorale members are both year-round and summer residents who sing in other choruses during the winter and bring a wealth of choral experience with them. In a community with a rich musical life, especially in the summer, the Chorale holds a very special place.

The chorale was founded in 1968, when John Harms brought a few professional singers from New York for a weekend to join a group of singers from the Island in a performance of Rossini's Stabat Mater. This idea quickly became a tradition. In 1982, George Emlen became director and added orchestral accompaniment. Upon George Emlen's retirement in 1999, the Chorale incorporated as a not-for-profit organization and appointed David Schildkret as Music Director. Schildkret has continued the tradition of presenting major works and has expanded the usual collaborations with musicians from the Bangor Symphony to other ensembles, including the Eden Children's Chorus, members of the Brass Week faculty, and soloists from the region. Students from Mount Desert Island High School regularly sing with the choir as Al and Eva Meyer Scholars.