The Milwaukee Symphony Chorus is the choral ensemble of the

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The orchestra performs primarily at the Bradley Symphony Center in Allen-Bradley Hall. The orchestra also serves as the orchestra for Florentine ...

. Founded in 1976 by Margaret Hawkins at the request of then-MSO music director

Kenneth Schermerhorn Kenneth Dewitt Schermerhorn ( ; November 20, 1929 – April 18, 2005) was an American composer and orchestra conductor. He was the music director of the Nashville Symphony from 1983 to 2005. Early life Schermerhorn was born on November 20, 19 ...

, it was originally called the Wisconsin Conservatory Symphony Chorus and filled a need for the MSO to have a chorus of consistent quality. It became the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus in 1985, upon coming under the auspices of the MSO. The chorus consists of some 150 auditioned voices from various backgrounds, with certain members making up a specially-auditioned professional core along with a small number of alternate core members. Chorus auditions are held in June and August for the fall semester, and in early January for the spring semester. Following the death of Hawkins in 1993, the chorus director had been her protégé, Lee Erickson, who held the ''Margaret Hawkins Chorus Director Chair'', funded in honor of Hawkins during the Chorus' 30th anniversary year in 2006. Erickson retired from the position following the 2015-2016 season. In May 2017, the Milwaukee Symphony named Dr. Cheryl Frazes Hill, associate conductor of the

Chicago Symphony Chorus The Chicago Symphony Chorus began on September 22, 1957, when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) announced that Margaret Hillis would organize and train a symphony chorus. The music director Fritz Reiner's original intent was to utilize the choru ...

, the new director of the chorus, who began her tenure during the 2017-2018 season.{{Cite news, url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/arts/2017/05/11/cheryl-frazes-hill-named-new-leader-milwaukee-symphony-chorus/316570001/, title=Cheryl Frazes Hill named the new leader of Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, last=Higgins, first=Jim, date=May 11, 2017, work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The assistant director is Timothy J. Benson. The Milwaukee Symphony Chorus has performed with the

Milwaukee Ballet The Milwaukee Ballet is a professional ballet company founded by Roberta Boorse of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is located in Milwaukee, and is currently run by Michael Pink, the artistic director. History The Milwaukee Ballet was fou ...

, th
Milwaukee Children's Choir
the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, and the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

at the

Ravinia Festival Ravinia Festival is an outdoor music venue in Highland Park, Illinois. It hosts a series of outdoor concerts and performances every summer from June to September. The first orchestra to perform at Ravinia Festival was the New York Philharmonic unde ...

. The chorus has worked with world-renowned conductors such as

Helmuth Rilling Helmuth Rilling (born 29 May 1933) is a German choral conductor and an academic teacher. He is the founder of the Gächinger Kantorei (1954), the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart (1965), the Oregon Bach Festival (1970), the Internationale Bachakademie S ...

Nicholas McGegan James Nicholas McGegan OBE (born 14 January 1950 in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England) is a British harpsichordist, flutist, conductor and early music expert. Biography McGegan received his early education at Nottingham High School. He subs ...

Grant Llewellyn Grant Llewellyn (born 29 December 1960) is a Welsh conductor and music director of the North Carolina Symphony and Orchestre National de Bretagne. Biography Llewellyn was born in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. He began developing his conduct ...

James Conlon James Conlon (born March 18, 1950) is an American conductor. He is currently the music director of Los Angeles Opera, principal conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra, and artistic advisor to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Early ...

Christopher Seaman Christopher Seaman (born 7 March 1942, Faversham) is a British conductor. Early life Seaman was born to Albert Edward Seaman and Ethel Margery Seaman. He was educated at Canterbury Cathedral Choir School and The King's School, Canterbury, an ...

Andreas Delfs Andreas Delfs (born 30 August 1959) is a German Conductor (music), conductor. He is the music director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Biography Delfs was born in Flensburg, We ...

, and

Doc Severinsen Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen (born July 7, 1927) is an American retired jazz trumpeter who led the NBC Orchestra on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Early life Severinsen was born in Arlington, Oregon, to Minnie Mae (1897–1998) a ...

, as well as former MSO music director

Edo de Waart Edo de Waart (born 1 June 1941, Amsterdam) is a Dutch conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former chief conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (2011-2016), Artistic Partner with the S ...

and MSO principal Pops conductor

Marvin Hamlisch Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of only seventeen people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. This collection of all four is referred to as an " EGOT ...

Christoph Eschenbach Christoph Eschenbach (; born 20 February 1940) is a German pianist and conductor. Early life Eschenbach was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland). His parents were Margarethe (née Jaross) and Heribert Ringmann. He was orphaned durin ...

, after leading the Chicago Symphony and the MSC in a Ravinia performance in 2002, pronounced the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus "world-class".

Chorus directors

*Margaret Hawkins (1976–1993) *Lee Erickson (1994–2016) *Dr. Cheryl Frazes Hill (2017-)

References

External links

Milwaukee Symphony Chorus' official web page at ''www.mso.org''
Musical groups from Wisconsin Culture of Milwaukee