Concert Choir History

Celebrating Seventy Years of Musical Excellence

In 1938, Prof. Amos S. Ebersole founded the Heidelberg College Concert Choir as an outgrowth of the existing Men's and Women's Glee Clubs.  For the next eight years, Ebersole led the Concert Choir, establishing it as one of the finest choral ensembles in the Midwest.
 
The standard was refined and the repertoire widened under the direction of Dr. Ferris E. Ohl (Class of '36), who provided thirty-five years of distinguished leadership from 1946 to 1981.  Under Dr. Ohl's baton, the Heidelberg College Concert Choir achieved the distinction of being one of the premier collegiate choral ensembles in the nation.  He led the Choir to critical acclaim on numerous domestic tours, as well as five European tours (1962, 1966, 1970, 1974 and 1978).  "Artistic perfection of choral music stood out prominently in their program," wrote one reviewer in Nuremberg, Germany.  "From a stylistic viewpoint there were no higher standards than were set by the Heidelberg College Concert Choir."  After a 1973 performance in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, the reviewer for the Sheboygan Press wrote: "The singers from Heidelberg had given the audience . . . a choral concert that forced us to scrap all the old standards for technical excellence and emotional appeal and set new ones with Heidelberg right on top."  

Dr. Jay M. Mann, who conducted the ensemble from 1981 to 1997, led the Choir on its first tour of the southwestern United States in 1988, with appearances in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and California.  In 1997, the Choir joined forces with the Toledo Symphony and the Toledo Masterworks Chorale in a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion.  The choirs he directed were noted for nuance of phrase and artistic sense of line.  One reviewer wrote: "This choir collects an abundance of goodwill points everywhere it goes.  After hearing and watching the choir move through a difficult program, . . . [the audience] came away with a favorable impression of the college that produces such a talented ensemble."  

In his eleventh year as conductor, Dr. Grant W. Cook III (Class of '89) has continued to build upon the longstanding tradition of choral excellence at Heidelberg College.  Following a 1999 performance in Buffalo, New York, the late Thomas Swan, then conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, wrote: "I extend my congratulations to the choir for excellent diction, wonderful ensemble and beautifully unified vowels, and most important, enthusiasm for making music."  Composer Walter Watson concluded that the Choir's 2001 recording of his Man Is But A Reed was "wonderful," adding: "I doubt if I will ever have a better performance."  Under Dr. Cook's direction, the Choir has performed at state and regional meetings of the American Choral Directors Association and Music Educators National Conference, premiered works by Daniel E. Gawthrop, John V. Mochnick and Douglas McConnell, and performed in Washington National Cathedral. In May 2008 the Choir will embark on its first European tour in thirty years, with performances in and around Vienna, Salzburg, Munich and Heidelberg.