About Us…

The Award-Winning Westchester Choral Society was founded by Sarah Stewart Bowne in 1942 to perform Bach’s B minor Mass with 15 singers. Today we are 50 singers performing works from Baroque to contemporary, presenting three concerts per season to audiences in Westchester and nearby communities.

 

Click here for an appreciation of our late music director,
Lyndon Woodside,
Music Director 1967–2005

 

Our repertoire, arranged

by date

by composer

Information for Members

Click here for our member guide.

 

Contact Us

If you wish to be included on our mailing list, please email us, and include your name, address, phone number, and email address along with your comments or questions.

 

We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Westchester Choral Society
216 Central Avenue
White Plains, NY 10606
Phone 914.761.3900
Fax 914.761.4576

 

Click here to send an email to our president.

 

Directions to the Music Conservatory of Westchester

 

The Westchester Choral Society is a proud member of Chorus America, the Vocal Area Network, and the Westchester Arts Council, which honored us in 2000 with its Arts Organization Award.

 

Thank you

for your interest in the Westchester Choral Society.

 

If you are looking for a choral home, please note that we welcome singers in all voice sections, especially tenors and basses (limited openings for sopranos). To schedule a singer-friendly audition, please call WCS President Numa Rousseve at (914) 285–9026 or click here to email to our president.

 

Special offer!

Try us before committing to becoming a member.
Attend a rehearsal without obligation to get to know us better and then we'll arrange an audition.

 

Auditions for Choral Singers

Come sing with us in our concerts this season!

We rehearse on Tuesday evenings 7:00–9:30 at the Music Conservatory of Westchester, 216 Central Ave., White Plains (near the County Center) where we are Chorus in Residence.

 

We welcome singers in all voice sections. To schedule a singer-friendly audition, please call WCS President Numa Rousseve at (914) 285–9026 or click here to email him.

 

What goes on in our “singer-friendly” auditions? In a five- to ten-minute session, you will be asked to perform a short vocal solo of your choice (not part of a choral work or hymn), which need not be memorized (but bring a copy of the music for the accompanist); sight-read a short passage (nothing too difficult); and vocalize to determine your vocal range. Music Director Frank Nemhauser says, “I am looking for quality of voice and the ability to read music/learn music. I would like to stress that the audition procedure will be short, and I am extremely kind during auditions.”

 

 

Sing with us in our concerts this coming season

Auditions for Choral Singers
Special offer!

Attend a rehearsal or two with no obligation. Get to know us a little and then we'll arrange an audition. Rehearsals start Sept. 15, 2009.

We rehearse on Tuesday evenings 7:00–9:30 at the Music Conservatory of Westchester, 216 Central Ave., White Plains (near the County Center), where
we are Chorus in Residence.

We welcome singers in all voice sections, especially tenors and basses. To schedule a singer-friendly audition, please contact WCS President Numa Rousseve at (914) 285–9026 or WCSPresident@gmail.com.
Flyer

Coming Events

 

Summer, 2009

 

Join with the Westchester Choral Society and the Music Conservatory of Westchester in our 32nd Season of Summer Sings, masterworks of the choral repertoire led by outstanding conductors, five Tuesdays at 7:30 pm, starting June 23, in the air-conditioned Music Conservatory of Westchester, 216 Central Ave., White Plains, NY (1 block from County Center). The $10.00 admission (students $8.00) includes refreshments and use of score (or bring your own).
Flyer

June 23 Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem
Conductor: Frank Nemhauser
Westchester Choral Society; Berkshire Choral Festival

June 30 Bach: B minor Mass
Conductor: John King
New Choral Society of Westchester

July 7 Mozart: Requiem
Conductor: Frank Nemhauser
Westchester Choral Society; Berkshire Choral Festival

July 14 Verdi: Requiem
Conductor: Michael Conley
Choral Arts Society; West Village Chorale

July 21 Vivaldi: Gloria; Fauré: Requiem
Conductor: Mark Bailey
Westchester Concert Singers

 

Our 2009–10 Season

 

Our December 6 concert of Festive Holiday Music will center around Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on Christmas Carols and Bach's Cantata 61, " Nun Komm, der Heiden Heiland," and our May 2 performance will be a program of French works featuring the exquisite Fauré Requiem and his Cantique de Jean Racine.

We will offer our popular Messiah Sing again on December 13 (refreshments provided). No previous singing experience is needed; just come and enjoy singing Handel’s masterpiece together.

 

We’re Available

 

The WCS is available to provide an ensemble for you or for your organization. Please contact Numa Rousseve at (914) 285–9026 or WCSPresident@gmail.com to discuss how we can provide a festive note to your event.