Martin Josman rehearsing Haydn's "Lord Nelson" mass, our first major work, in 1960.
History of the GN Choral Society
By the early 1950s, a community chorus for Great Neck was already an old idea, but one that had never jelled. What finally made it happen was a
combination of
two forces: support by the Adult Education program of the Great Neck schools and the vision, enthusiasm, and drive of a young musician named Martin Josman, the
founding director of what became the Great Neck Choral Society.
The group's first public performance was at the Great Neck
railroad station, where a small band of singers serenaded commuters during the
1957 holiday season. The paperwork that would tell exactly what was sung then, or for the next few years, has been lost. However, fragmentary notes
show that on June 12, 1959, the group performed one or more of Handel's Chandos Anthems, Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus, a group of songs by Brahms, and 11
assorted madrigals and other old songs.
The Society was incorporated in 1960, and from that time on, printed programs that have survived list the performances in detail. The
performances, two or three a year, encompass virtually all of the major choral works of the last four centuries. But the Society has performed many less well known works as well--from the
Baroque, Renaissance, and Romantic eras, and from the American folk tradition. Three modern works have been composed specifically for the Society.
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Martin Josman rehearsing Haydn's "Lord Nelson" mass, our first major work, in 1960. |
During its almost-47 years, the Society has had five music directors. Mr. Josman left in 1962 and today he is director of the National Chorale and Orchestra. Replacing
him was George V. Rose, a tenor who taught in the Great Neck schools and had long directed the Kings Point Glee Club. He would direct the Society for 21 years. When
he left, in 1982, he was succeeded by Johannes Somary, a Swiss-born organist who was founder and music director of the Amor Artis chamber chorus and orchestra.
Mr. Somary, who achieved an international reputation, directed the Society for 11 years. In 1993 he was succeeded by Bart Folse, conductor of the New Jersey Pro
Arte Chorale. His sojourn was a relatively brief five years. In 1998, Dr. Virginia Davidson--singer, conductor, teacher, and developer of musical organizations--took the reins and has presided over all subsequent performances.
From the beginning, the Society has always employed professional soloists. Some appeared with the chorus early in their professional careers, but many had established
reputations, both in the U.S. and abroad, as outstanding singers in recitals, oratorios, baroque music, operetta, and opera. Nine had already sung roles with the New
York City Opera, and seven with the Metropolitan Opera.
Instrumental support, also professional, has varied with the type of music, the venue, and sometimes with the budget. In the early years, support usually consisted of organ, one or
two pianos, or a small string, wind, or brass ensemble. In recent years, especially for large works, the Society has more often employed a full chamber orchestra.
The Society has performed in many different
venues, including the Maritime Chapel and Ackerman Auditorium of the U.S. Merchant
Marine Academy, the Great Neck Middle and Senior High
Schools (North and South), the Saddle Rock and Baker Hill Elementary Schools, Junior High School 74
in Bayside, Hofstra University's Adams Playhouse, the Manhasset Congregational
Church, the United Methodist Church of Floral Park, St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University, Fordham
University Church , the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, North Shore
Unitarian Church, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Temples Beth El and Emanuel of Great Neck,
and Colden Auditorium of Queens College.
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Concerts in the park were part of the early history. |
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Women of the chorus sang for shoppers at Lord & Taylor in December 1991. |
At various times, the chorus has joined forces in performance with other groups, including
the Nassau Symphony Orchestra, the Bronx Arts Ensemble Chorus and Orchestra, the Horace Mann Glee Club, the
Great Neck Symphony, the Queens Philharmonic Symphony, the Waldorf
Choral Society, the Fairfield County Chorale, the Davidson Singers, and the Long Island Symphonic Choral Society.
A not-for-profit corporation, the Society depends for financial support on the dues of its members, ticket sales, the sale of program ads, tax-deductible
contributions, and occasional small grants.