The Mohawk Valley Choral Society

       A not for profit, self-financed singing group, the Mohawk Valley Choral Society was founded in 1982 and has been bringing classical and light classical vocal music to the Central New York area for over twenty-five years. Its goal was and continues to be to provide area professional and amateur singers with an opportunity to perform major choral works with orchestra.  
      Its founding conductor was Conductor/Composer Robert Christensen. Since 1988, Randy Davis has been the primary conductor.  Assistant conductors have been John Krause, Mark Bunce and Michael Roddy.
       A non-profit, non-audition group, the Choral Society is open to anyone with a love of singing and a willingness to be committed to a weekly rehearsal schedule.  The chorus averages 65-members and is composed of both amateur and professional vocalists from several counties throughout the Mohawk Valley.  People come from Otsego, Herkimer, Oneida, Fulton and Montgomery Counties to meet every Monday night at Herkimer County Community College to prepare for the group’s biannual concerts. 
      Singers come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences.  Among them are professional musicians, high school and college students, small business owners, engineers, farmers, secretaries, court stenographers, teachers and retirees.  Frequently, they range in age from 16 to 80.
       Typically the concerts of the Mohawk Valley Choral Society include music by composers such as Haydn, Handel, J.S. Bach, Mozart, and Mendelssohn.  They have also sung pieces by twentieth century composers such as Copland, Rutter, Pinkham and Moses Hogan.
       The Mohawk Valley Choral Society has appeared in cities, towns and villages throughout the Mohawk Valley.  It has performed at Hendricks Chapel on the Syracuse University Campus, at Hamilton College, at the Presidential Inauguration at Herkimer County Community College, at the 2009 Genisis Group’s 9/11 Commerative Program and at the Episcopal Cathedral in Albany.
       In recent years, the Choral Society has worked in conjunction with Herkimer County Community College to enable its students to participate with the Choral Society and earn college credit. Anyone interested in more information about the the Mohawk Valley Choral Society is encouraged to get in touch with the chorus through it’s web site at www.mvchoral.org.