Organization

Over the course of our 32 year history our mission has been to unite singers who share the joy of learning and performing a challenging traditional and contemporary repertoire, and to support the growth of music in our community. We strive for a quality of performance that challenges the chorus and attracts an appreciative and loyal audience. Metropolitan Chorale of Brookline, formerly known as Brookline Chorus, is a 100-voice auditioned chorus that is gaining a reputation as one of Metro Boston's premier choral ensembles. Our emphasis on culturally significant programming, combined with excellence in performance, yields a unique artistic contribution to the Boston arts community. The chorus is led by Music Director Lisa Graham, four young Artists in Residence and an assistant conductor/accompanist. Brookline Chorus had its first rehearsal with 16 singers in the summer of 1979 and its first full concert in the spring of 1980. It was founded as an initiative of the Brookline Music School, growing to over fifty members in its first year. In 1984, Anne Watson-Born took over the direction of the Chorus and remained for nine years. Watson-Born began a tradition of community involvement, including collaborations with the Brookline Arts Center, the Brookline Library, and the Coolidge Corner Theater. In 1993 William Cutter became Music Director. Cutter initiated many changes in the Chorus, moving it from an un-auditioned community chorus to an auditioned group of 80 voices. Scott Allen Jarrett, who became Music Director in 2000, built on the work of his predecessors to enhance the performance and reputation of the Chorus in Boston’s choral community, and under his tenure the Chorus moved from two concerts a year to three. In 2004, the Chorus recruited Dr. Lisa Graham as its Music Director. Graham’s enthusiasm, energy, and scholarship are leading the Chorus to ever higher levels of excellence in performance. The hiring of well-known soloists and instrumentalists from Boston combined with Graham's brilliant programming have pushed the chorus to the upper tier of musical quality and consistently sold out concerts. Over its history, the Chorus has performed and commissioned new works. One of our most ambitious undertakings was the commissioning of a work entitled Sh'ma by Andy Vores. Performance of the Sh’ma, which memorialized Holocaust victims and survivors, was a profound experience for Chorus members and audience alike. The piece received recognition by The Boston Globe as one of the best new works of 1996. In 2005, the Chorus formally separated from the Brookline Music School to become its own 501c(3) corporation. The Chorus operates under the leadership of its Board of Directors and an Operations committee. Brookline Chorus changed its name to Metropolitan Chorale at the beginning of the 2011-2012 Season.