Westchester Concert Singers is pleased to announce that it has joined with the Choral Arts Society to form a new, expanded chorus with a new name: the Hudson Chorale.  This marks a major step in the evolution of the two oldest choral groups in Westchester County.  Established originally as the Pleasantville Cantata Singers and the Ossining Choral Guild, both groups have evolved over the years into notable music ensembles in the area, tackling major choral works of all periods.  By joining together, we will be better able to undertake an even broader range of works.

Our esteemed Music Director, Mark Bailey, has had his responsibilities expanded in the Music Department at Yale University and with the New Haven Oratorio Choir and Orchestra.   We are privileged to have sung with him and grown under his direction over the last five years, and we wish him every success in his new endeavors.  He will be greatly missed.

We are pleased that Michael Conley, current Music Director of the Choral Arts Society, will continue on as Music Director of the Hudson Chorale.  We sincerely hope that our friends, old and new, will continue to support us and derive pleasure from our music-making.  Bringing great choral music to audiences in Westchester has been the primary focus of both the Westchester Concert Singers and the Choral Arts Society over the years; it will continue to be the foremost goal of the Hudson Chorale!

We are in the process of developing a web site for the newly-formed Hudson Chorale and will provide a link to that web site as soon as it is ready.

Our first Concert!

The first concert of the Hudson Chorale will be Sunday, January 23, 2011, at 4:00 pm at a local venue to be determined.  It will feature the Brahms Requiem for two pianos and other works.

Come Sing with Us!

Hudson Chorale’s 2010-2011 season starts with our first rehearsal on
Monday, September 13, 2010
Rehearsals are held weekly on Monday evenings into May
7:45 P.M. – 10:00 P.M.
Scarborough Presbyterian Church
655 Scarborough Rd. (Route 9 and Scarborough Rd.)
Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510

Auditions for new members will take place just before the first two rehearsals of the season:
Monday, September 13, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

To schedule an audition appointment, contact Jeanne Wygant: jeannewygant@aol.com or (914) 478-0074. 

For other information or questions, call 914-462-3212 or write to info@hudsonchorale.org

Future website of the Hudson Chorale:  www.hudsonchorale.org

MICHAEL CONLEY was named the Music Director for The Choral Arts Society in June 2006. A graduate of the Westminster Choir College and protégé of Joseph Flummerfelt, Mr. Conley has worked with many of the best known choruses as director, conductor, and singer.  Mr. Conley will continue the Choral Arts Society's mission to perform beautiful music you won't hear “everywhere else.”
Mr. Conley has been Music Director of the West Village Chorale, based at St. Luke-in-the-Field in Greenwich Village, since 2000. Concurrently he was Assistant Conductor of the Collegiate Chorale for five seasons, assisting Music Director Robert Bass in the rehearsal and preparation of more than fifteen Carnegie Hall performances. In 2005 he was the Music Director and conductor for the Chorale’s Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute concert. Mr. Conley has also prepared the Chorale for performances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at the Caramoor and the Verbier Festivals. Mr. Conley served as Assistant Director to Kent Tritle at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola. He was Chorus Master for the Connecticut Grand Opera’s 2003-04 season, preparing them for Gounod’s Faust, and Verdi’s Macbeth. Mr. Conley continues as chorus director at the Dalton School, directing European tours and local concerts.
As conductor, Mr. Conley’s experience spans contemporary and classic works for chorus, opera and orchestra. He led a performance of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Copland’s In the Beginning in collaboration with the Omega Dance Company, for a performance at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He conducted the Mozart Requiem at St. Stanislaus Church, and a series of holiday concerts for Sacred Music in a Sacred Space at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola.
Highlights of Mr. Conley’s singing career include a recent performance as baritone soloist with the Gregg Smith Singers in the premiere performance and recording of Princeton composer Dmitri Tymoczko’s The Agony of Modern Music. He was a founding member of the professional 12-voice choir “Manhattan Voices”, which records and performs in many Manhattan venues.
As a student Mr. Conley was awarded the Mueller Prize for outstanding work in the field of choral composition at Westminster Choir College, where he completed his Master’s in Choral Conducting in 1996. As a member of the famed Westminster Choir, he performed and recorded in concerts all over the world, including New York City, Philadelphia, South Korea, Taiwan, and France and at the Spoleto Festival USA. Mr. Conley holds a bachelor’s degree in Composition from James Madison University in Virginia.

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