Please Join Us for Our  2008 Annual Holiday Concert

The first performance of our 143rd season will take place on Tuesday evening, December 9. Admission is free. See details below.

The Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York City was founded in 1866. Named for composer Felix Mendelssohn, the Club has offered for the enjoyment of our members and friends at least two concerts in every year of our existence. The nonprofit organization is the oldest men’s chorus in the country and the second oldest independent musical organization (after the New York Philharmonic).

Repertoire
We are always adding to our eclectic library of over 1,600 male choral pieces. Our repertoire includes art songs, ballads, spirituals, hymns, seasonal works, operatic choruses, lieder, barbershop songs, and selections from musical theater. Recent performances.

Historic Highlights
The glee club received accolades from Sir Arthur Sullivan and Arturo Toscanini and sang at the dedication of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1888.  Its conductors have included Joseph Mosenthal, Edward MacDowell, Frank Damrosch, Cesare Sodero, Emerson Buckley, and John Royer Bogue. Guest soloists have included Victor Herbert, Helen Traubel, Aprile Millo, and Emily Pulley.  Detailed history. 

MGC on NPR
Listen to Lars Hoel's feature about MGC on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday (December 23, 2007). Click here.

The Club gives two major performances a year, in the spring and winter. For details about past performances, click here.

Winter 2008 Holiday Concert
(first performance of our 143rd season)

Date: Tuesday, December 9, 8 pm
Location: Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, 263 West 86th St. (between Broadway and West End Avenue)
Tickets: Admission is free, but an invitation  (admitting two) must be presented. For an invitation, contact Marty Edelman at mpe1217@rcn.com.

We sing in white tie and tails, so business attire is expected. 

PROGRAM

The Club will present classical and contemporary seasonal and folk songs from around the world, including "Turkish Drinking Song," by Mendelssohn; "Nessun Dorma," by Puccini; "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams; and "We Need a Little Christmas" (from Mame), by Jerry Herman.

The music for one of the pieces the Club will perform -- "Men of the Maritime" -- was composed by MGC second tenor Jon Pohlman.

Jon has been performing as a musician and singer and composing for 35 years. Another of his compositions, "Salvation Army Band Song," was premiered by the Club in December 2006. A member of Mendelssohn since 1999, Jon also sings with L'ensemble Classique, a six-member male choir.

"Men of the Maritime" is reminiscent of an Irish sea chantey, according to Jon. The lyrics were written by Jon's daughter, Rosina, a student at Oberlin College.

By day, Jon runs Pohlmann Construction in New York City.
 

GUEST ARTIST

New Zealand soprano Marie Te Hapuku has performed internationally since appearing with the NBR New Zealand Opera, Opera Queensland, and Wellington City Opera. In the United States she has sung with the Sarasota Opera, Utah Festival Opera, and Opera Delaware, and she made her European debut with Gran Teatro del Liceu-Barcelona. Among major works in which she has sung principal roles are Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Die Fledermaus, Faust, Turandot, La bohème, and Tosca.  

Ms. Te Hapuku recently added Aïda to her repertoire – her other Verdi roles include Lina (Stiffelio), Leonora (La Forza del destino and Il Trovatore), Elisabetta (Don Carlos), Amelia (Simon Boccanegra), and Abigaille (Nabucco) – and was acclaimed by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune “the perfect Verdi heroine, richly musical and emotionally touching.” 

Her frequent appearances on the concert stage include Verdi’s Requiem (with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony, and American West Symphony) and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra and San Jose Symphony). She has also performed as a soloist with the Westfield Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and Coro Lirico.

She continues to enjoy, in special concerts, sharing her Polynesian cultural background as shown in the music of her Maori heritage. She is a direct descendant of paramount Maori chief Te Hapuku Ngai Te Whatuiapiti.

Among awards she has received are those from the San Franciso Opera Auditions, the Australian Singing Competition, and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Ms. Te Hapuku resides in New York City.

 Past Performances

The Club performed with the Harvard Glee Club Saturday evening, March 29, at St. Bartholomew's Church as part of St. Bart's 2007-08 Great Music Series. Mendelssohn was invited to participate by HGC, which is celebrating its 150th year by presenting concerts throughout the U.S. Each Club offered a varied musical program, from early to modern, classical and popular.

For details about other performances, click here.
 

We hope that our audiences have enjoyed our performances as much as we have enjoyed singing. Please keep in mind that the ability of the Club to continue depends on financial support from friends like you. Donations.

Benefit recitals and special performances

The Club serves the community by performing at local hospitals and senior centers and singing at special events. 

Click here to read about benefit recitals.

We welcome the opportunity to share our joy of singing. If you would be interested in having the Club perform for your organization, please contact us.

To make an appointment for an audition, please contact the conductor at 212-362-8550 or send email to GeneWisoff@aol.com. 

For general questions about the Club or for additional information, please contact the President, John Memmolo: jamskier@aol.com.  

The Mendelssohn Glee Club would like to thank radio station WQXR for its generous support.

top  about the conductor  members  history  past performances  donations  notable links