Ensembles
The Wellesley College Choir was founded at the start of the 1900-1901 school year by then-President of the College, Caroline Hazard. Under the direction of Music faculty member Hamilton C. MacDougall, the Choir led weekly worship services in Houghton Chapel starting the first weekend of October, 1900. The Choir also sang for other major events that took place on campus, including commemorative services for composer Sir Arthur Sullivan and Queen Elizabeth II. President Hazard maintained her association with the Choir long after her tenure as president came to an end, notably through the contribution of a series of poems commemorating Wellesley (Flower Sunday), national (Thanksgiving), and religious (Christmas) holidays. Professor MacDougall later set her text to music. The set of poems was a staple of the Choir's repertoire for many years. Professor MacDougall would remain with the group for twenty-eight years, becoming much beloved of the young women who sang with him.Upon MacDougall's retirement, renowned composer Randall Thompson assumed direction of the Choir from 1927-29. During this period, the Choir gave its first performance in New York City: a "Christmas Vespers" service in City Hall. Thompson also dedicated his double-choir motet "Pueri Hebraeorum" to the Choir. After Thompson left the choir, Lowell P. Beveridge, then-director of the Wellesley College Chorus (the precursor to the Glee Club), oversaw the two groups in 1929-1930, followed by Maurice C. Kirkpatrick in 1930-1931. Edward Barry Greene, who may have worked with the choir as an assistant to the conductor as early as 1924, then became the director from 1932-1940, followed by Margaret M. Winkler from 1940-1948. From 1949-1953, the director's position was somewhat in flux, filled alternately by Peter Waring, Margaret Winkler, and Charles Reeve Shackford. In 1953, William A. Herrmann, Jr. began a period of service to the Wellesley College Choir that would last for over thirty years. During Herrmann's tenure, endowments to the Choir provided for two annual concerts; the first Betty Edwards Dober '40 Memorial Concert took place in 1964, and the first Marjorie Copland Baum Concert ten years later, in 1974. The choir continued its close relationship with the Harvard Glee Club, although this period also saw the decline of the men's glee club as more and more Ivy League colleges became coeducational. Following William Herrmann's retirement, director Constance DeFotis took the podium to become the second woman to direct the Choir. Under her leadership, the Choir traveled overseas for the first time and performed several major works, including a new piece by composer William DeFotis.
Under the direction of Susan Davenny Wyner from 1994 to 1998, the Choir performed the Brahms Requiem with the Harvard Glee Club, as well as Robert Levin's new edition of the Mozart Requiem with the Virginia Glee Club and members of the Boston Baroque. The Choir traveled twice to Europe, including a tour of Italy in the Spring 1998 during which the Choir performed in St. Peter's and the American Academy of Rome, to universal acclaim. Brian Clarence Hulse took over the position in 1998, and the Choir performed the Pergolesi Stabat Mater and the Weber Mass in G, toured New York City, Washington D.C., and Florida in the Spring of 2000, and commissioned several pieces from Boston composers including Marjorie Merryman and Jonathan Bailey Holland. The Choir also had the opportunity to sing and record East, West of the Sun, a major work for women's voices by Wellesley professor Arlene Zallman. The performance is featured on a CD of Professor Zallman's music. During the tenure of director Vincent Metallo in the Choir's 100th Anniversary Season, 2000-2001, the Choir sang a concert of French spiritual music including the Poulenc Litanies de la Vierge Noire. The Choir also performed Haydn's Creation with the Glee Club of the U.S. Naval Academy. In the Fall of 2001, the Choir welcomed its current conductor, Lisa Graham, to the podium. During her first year with the Choir, she led a performance of English folk music and a tour to Montreal, Quebec. The next year, the music of the Wellesley College Choir was featured in the motion picture Mona Lisa Smile, which was filmed on campus. The Choir has since toured California, the Midwest, England, and Spain.