Mission

The Nashville Symphony Chorus is dedicated to enriching the Greater Nashville community through high-quality performances of works from a vast and ever-growing body of choral literature.

History

The Nashville Symphony Chorus was formed by Nashville Symphony conductor Willis Page in 1963 to sing Handel's Messiah. Prior to this, the Symphony had relied on the Nashville Choral Society, the Peabody College Choir and the Vanderbilt Choir when performing works for orchestra and chorus. By 1965, the 90-member Nashville Symphony Chorus was averaging three performances with the Nashville Symphony each season. For several years, the Nashville Symphony Chorus also participated in an annual holiday celebration, which combined the voices of the Nashville Symphony Chorus, the Vanderbilt Choir and the Fisk Jubilee Singers. These holiday concerts, featuring members of the Nashville Symphony, were held at Benton Chapel at Vanderbilt University and at Fisk University.

In the years since 1965, the Nashville Symphony Chorus has grown from 90 to 150 members and benefited from the combined talents of eight outstanding choral directors:

• Willis Page (1963-1965)
• Charles Nelson (1965-1968)
• Scott Withrow (1968-1982)
• Sandra Willets (1982-1987)
• Raphael Bundage (1987-1991)
• David Cassel (1991-1994)
• Tom Mitchell (1994-1997)
• George Mabry (1997-present)

Each director helped advance the chorus. Here are the highlights:

• Scott Withrow - created the Nashville Symphony Chamber Chorus for performances independent of the Symphony
• Sandra Willets - broadened the repertoire & increased the level of musicianship
• Dr. Raphael Bundage
  • established the Southern Bach Festival & the Middle Tennessee Mozart Festival
  • conducted the Magnificat of Johann Sebastian Bach, Carmina Burana of Carl Orff and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
  • kept the Chorus active throughout the Symphony's bankruptcy struggles in the late 1980s
• Dr. David Cassel
  • increased the core membership to 100 members
  • emphasized the importance of a focused ensemble sound
  • defined "the season" as four or more performances with the Symphony, including Holiday Pops and Fourth of July concerts and an independent concert of shorter choral works
  • conducted Johann Sebastian Bach's Magnificat, Anton Bruckner's Psalm 150, Ernst Bloch's Sacred Service, Sergei Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky and Johannes Brahms' Requiem
• Dr. Tom Mitchell - first European tour to Russia and Germany in the summer of 1997