Paris Choral Society

Depuis plus d’un quart de siècle, la Paris Choral Society a enchanté un public international par de remarquables interprétations de chefs-d’œuvre du chant choral, applaudies à Paris et au-delà.

For more than a quarter-century, the Paris Choral Society has delighted international audiences with outstanding performances of choral masterworks acclaimed in Paris and beyond.

In April 2022, the Paris Choral Society made a unique recording of Eric Whitacre’s “Sainte-Chapelle” in the famous Parisian chapel itself. You can watch the recording here:

Animée par une centaine de voies accompagnées de solistes et d’orchestres professionnels, la Paris Choral Society propose  des requiem et des messes célèbres, notamment de Mozart, Haendel, Beethoven, Verdi, Haydn, Brahms, Bach, Fauré et Mendelssohn, les meilleures compositions modernes de Carl Orff, Léonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten, Maurice Duruflé, une incursion chez George Gershwin et Irving Berlin, des  hymnes  américains et spirituels, des airs d’opéra connus et récemment des œuvres de femmes, compositrices .

Ce Chœur est unique à Paris par la composition de ses membres, que le New York Times qualifie « d’amateurs certes, mais d’un niveau professionnel ». Ses choristes maîtrisent le français et l’anglais, tous les âges et tous les milieux sont représentés et prendre part à une audition peut être animé. Tous s’engagent à produire une excellente musique.

La Paris Choral Society est dirigée par Zachary Ullery, jeune Maitre de Chapelle à la Cathédrale Américaine de Paris. Cette église néo-gothique de 1886, avenue George V, héberge la PCS depuis sa fondation en 1994 par des bénévoles, d’abord sous la direction et la baguette de l’ancien Maitre de Chapelle Edward Tipton. Les répétitions ont lieu toutes les semaines, à la Cathédrale, tout comme la plupart des concerts, bien que la PCS se soit produite dans d’autres églises, à Saint Germain-des-Prés, à Notre Dame d’Auteuil, à Saint Eustache et à Saint Louis-en-l’Ile.

For more than a quarter-century, the Paris Choral Society has delighted international audiences with outstanding performances of choral masterworks acclaimed in Paris and beyond.

Lifted by one hundred voices accompanied by professional soloists and orchestras, Paris Choral Society programs draw on celebrated requiems and masses by Mozart, Handel, Beethoven, Verdi, Haydn, Brahms, Bach, Faure and Mendelssohn, to name a few, and the finest in modern choral works by Carl Orff, Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten, Maurice Durufle, with occasional forays into George Gershwin and Irving Berlin, American hymns and spirituals, operatic favorites, and the recent works of women composers.

The chorale is unique in Paris, too, for its membership, which the New York Times once described as “unpaid but professional-level.” Its singers are French- and English-speaking, of all ages and backgrounds, and competition at auditions can be lively. All are committed to a spirit of musical excellence.

The Paris Choral Society is led by Zachary Ullery, the distinguished young Canon for Music at the American Cathedral in Paris. The 1886 neo-Gothic church on avenue George V has been home to PCS since its founding, by volunteers, in 1994 under the leadership and baton of the former Canon for Music, Edward Tipton. Rehearsals are held there weekly, as are most of the concerts – although PCS has performed at churches inSaint-Germain-des-Prés, Notre- Dame d’Auteuil, Saint-Eustache, in Les Halles area (St. Eustache) and Ile Saint-Louis-en-l’Ile as well.

In addition to three major programmes every year, PCS is best known in Paris for its Messiah sing-along during Advent. Every Cathedral pew is full as the audience itself performs selections from Handel’s best-known work in alternation with professional soloists. This has been a popular item on the Paris seasonal calendar for more than a generation. To find out more about our forthcoming performances, do check out our concerts page.

In 2019, the PCS performed its first choral premiere, the Stabat Mater, whose American composer, Richard Burchard, worked closely with the chorale, maestro Ullery, and accompanist Andrew Dewar in perfecting the work for its first world performances. You can learn more about the performance in this video.

Since its founding, the Paris Choral Society has been led by volunteers. A working board of directors, in conjunction with the Musical Director, is responsible for the management of PCS, and all members perform a range of duties in preparation for four concerts a year. Paris Choral Society activities are made possible through membership fees and ticket sales, both of them modestly priced, and through generous donations from inside and outside PCS.