The Pilgrim Festival Chorus is a volunteer, not-for-profit choral group dedicated to the performance of choral music, giving public and private concerts, providing an educational opportunity to its members and the public musically, and encouraging and promoting choral singing and the appreciation of good choral music.
The Pilgrim Festival Chorus has been singing as a group since 1999 under the direction of William Richter and accompanied by Elizabeth Chapman Reilly. The group begins its regular season with a holiday concert that is performed the weekend after Thanksgiving. The spring season will feature a larger work with concerts taking place in early spring. Finally, the chorus performs a lighter concert for the summer.
The Pilgrim Festival Chorus has grown over the years and so has the challenge of the music. Past works include such well-known classics as Brahms' Requiem, Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and Carmina Burana and Handel's The Messiah, as well as lesser-known works such as Kodaly's Missa Brevis, Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and John Rutter's Gloria. The chorus features members from numerous towns on the South Shore. Members vary in age and come from a variety of backgrounds, but all of them have a love and appreciation of choral music. Members are accepted twice per year prior to each concert season (fall and spring) by audition.
