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The Renaissance Chorus
The Renaissance Chorus grew out of the confluence of a group of very
gifted high
school students and their maverick music teacher with the unceremonious
termination of
his job. In 1953, Harold Brown, a teacher at the High School of Music
and Art, recruited a
group of talented students to sing Renaissance music as an
extra-curricular activity. Under
his tutelage, singing Renaissance music and having fun in one another’s
company was
enough to keep these spirited teenagers coming to practice.
When the
group eventually
performed for the public at Carnegie Hall in defiance of an injunction
from the school
Principal, Harold Brown was fired from his position, thus bringing an
abrupt end to the
after school activity.
Undaunted, the students followed their teacher to
other practice
venues and the singing continued. And so began the Renaissance Chorus of
New York.
As the chorus moved out of
the school setting, singers from all walks of
life showed
up at rehearsals, willing to enter the unfamiliar world of Renaissance
music. Saturday
morning rehearsals became a refuge from the vagaries of ordinary
day-to-day living, a
special time drawing us into the otherworldiness of sacred music. We
grew accustomed to
the liturgy of the Latin Mass. Over time, as our love for the music
deepened, we honed our
a cappella choral skills, lost our vibratos, perfected our pitches,
practiced and practiced and
practiced some more. After rehearsals, we carried on singing together in
Washington
Square, and in winter, over hot apple pie at Mother Hubbard’s. As our
skills and
repertoire grew, we began to perform - in churches and concert halls. We
cut records. We
were passionate about sharing our kind of music with any and everybody.
In the late
seventies, with the failing health of Harold Brown, chorus membership
fell off and we each
went our separate ways. If no longer part of our Saturday mornings,
Renaissance music
continues to this day as some part of our individual lives, and many of
us continue to sing
in choral groups.
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Memories
What do you remember about the Renaissance Chorus?
Were you an early member?
Maybe you joined later, when Joel, or Steve, or Jennifer was leading it.
Send us your story! See "Contact Us" on the Home page.
Click on a name:
Raymond H. Rosenstock: "Perhaps writing down some memories I have of Harold Brown will help clarify..."
Carol Ochs: "The first piece I sight sang at Renaissance Chorus was..."
Marc Estrin:
"Here's a picture of me (as an achondroplastic, female dwarf) getting hooked..."
Laurie Sucher: "Here’s my take on it: Harold Brown is..."
Ruth Horowitz: "Harold was my mother’s younger brother..."
Marc Estrin: "Yes, there was Harold. But..."
Sig Rosen: "When auditioning in 1964..."
Ruth Horowitz: "I was auditioned by..."
Philip Corner: "I was a participant in the chorus from its formation..."
Sig Rosen: "My Memories. Since that amazing audition..."
Louis Lantz: "'You’ll like it here. There’s no...'"
Jon Konheim: "I joined the chorus in my freshman year..."
Dorothy Kohn Schwartzberg: "I joined the chorus when I was 14 or 15..."
Ellen Skorneck Isler: "The one memory very clear to me..."
Tsiporah (Judy Murray) Gottlieb: "I was in the Concert that was televised in 1966..."
Eliane Reinhold: "I met Harold when I was 16 ... and helped him found The Renaissance Chorus..."
Paul Erlich: "I knew Harold when I was living in Philadelphia..."
Yasoma Challenor: "The Music and Art High School Senior Orchestra room was a noisy place..."
Karen Christenfeld: "I have very happy memories..."
Jane Cohen: "While at Harvard Summer School in 1961 I met Virginia..."
And Much More! Click on these links:
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