The McDaniel College Choir has been
in existence, in some form or another, since the college was founded
(as Western Maryland College) shortly after the Civil War.
Originally, it was the choir that sang during the chapel services
when the college was affiliated with the Methodist Church. However,
whether as the official "College Choir" or in the guise of a glee
club, the choir has always performed other music as well, from
popular songs of many eras to opera choruses to music of diverse
world cultures.
Since the 1920's, the choir has had no more than 7 directors. The director with the longest tenure was Alfred DeLong who served from 1936 to 1969. "Prof" DeLong took the College to great heights singing frequently with both the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra on Pops concerts. The women of the choir also performed in Washington D.C.'s Constitution Hall with the National Symphony Orchestra as background for Brahm's "Alto Rhapsody."
The choir has been
directed by Dr. Margaret Boudreaux since 1989. The choir has grown
in size and
has explored a great variety of repertoire. During her first
sabbatical, Dr. Boudreaux had the chance to visit a number of
international choral festivals and has brought back scores from
Argentina, Ireland, Latvia, China, and Uganda, as well as a variety
of other nations, which the choir has performed in the past several
years. They have also distinguished themselves in collaborative
performances, such as Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Columbia
Orchestra and the Masterworks Chorale of Carroll County, the premiere
"Einstein's Dreams (its about time . . .)" with a number of arts
organizations, and collaborative commissions together with
Masterworks Chorale of Carroll County and the Children's Chorus of
Carroll County. In 2005 members of the College Choir performed
together with members of Masterworks Chorale of Carroll County in the
Festival 500 International Choral Invitational in St. John's
Newfoundland. Closer to home College Choir has recently performed for
the Mormon Temple Visitor's Center Festival of Lights, and twice at
the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
The Madrigal Singers, a
small group selected from the College Choir, was formed when Dr.
Boudreaux came
to the
college. They sing exclusively a-cappella music, mostly from the
Renaissance but also including a variety of styles from vocal jazz to
world music (recently from Mongolia and Cuba) and songs of the vocal
group Sweet Honey in the Rock. They have been selected for the
Kennedy Center Millenium Stage series and have sung for the Discovery
Channel at the MCI center in Washington D.C. as well as for a variety
of conferences throughout the east.