Choral music.
It’s the sound of the human spirit.
There’s something remarkable about voices coming together in harmony, performing world-class music by beloved composers. Singers and audiences share a moment of transcendent beauty, power and peace. The world becomes a happier place.
MasterWorks Chorale—one of over a quarter million choirs in the United States—has been bringing the joy of choral music to Central New York singers and audiences for more than a half-century. We present concerts each season in Onondaga and Cayuga Counties, sharing music that is timeless, profound, even playful.
You might hear us perform in a historic church or a local library, a ballroom or an art center. The choir has sung with church, community and school choral groups, with organists, orchestras, string quartets, and brass and woodwind quintets.
Even the audience gets into the act, at our glorious sing-along Messiah concerts. And you can't help tapping your toes and humming along to our program of favorites on the lighter side, at the annual Spring Gala dinner and concert in May.
To help new listeners become choral music fans, we offer free admission through age 18, and share our music library with area school, church and community choirs.
VIDEOS
Our virtual ensemble created four videos during the 2020-21 pandemic hiatus. Enjoy.
Our mission
To perform, promote and preserve choral music through artistic excellence for the mutual enjoyment and enrichment of the community and the members of the Chorale.
We strive to enrich our community through the preservation of outstanding choral music from all traditions; reward our audiences and our membership with choral programs that elevate and entertain; inspire artistic excellence in performance by welcoming challenge, discovery and diversity in musical form; support and promote the performing arts in Central New York.
Fast forward
Originally called the Marcellus Chorale, the choir was founded in that town by 1965 by local church choir director Joseph Centrone, after his counterparts expressed interest in forming a larger community ensemble. In 1996, the name was changed to MasterWorks Chorale, reflecting a growing membership committed to powerful performances of choral masterpieces. From 1977 to 2011, Maureen McCauley led the group. From 2013 to 2023, Kip Coerper, ChM, was our music director, assisted by Micheal “Mickey” Kringer. Upon Kip’s retirement, Mickey succeeded him as music director in fall 2023.
With the onset of the Covid pandemic, we canceled the final concert of our 2019-20 season, with the consolation of having performed the Brahms Requiem, the program’s major piece, a week earlier in a preview concert with organ accompaniment. Our 2020-21 season was entirely online, with Zoom sessions, virtual choir projects, and live-streamed benefit concerts for fall and Valentine’s Day. (Click the buttons below to view our virtual choir performances.) For 2021-22, we returned to in-person rehearsals and concerts for a shortened season that was warmly received by our audiences. Our final concert, in March, was a benefit to fund medical supplies for Ukrainian citizens and refugees; we were gratified by the outpouring of support. The 2022-23 season saw a return to our traditional Spring Gala, wrapping up the season with a festive fundraiser.
The 2023-24 season marks our 58th year sharing joyous harmony with Central New York. As we continue to monitor Covid trends and take appropriate precautions, we look forward to a full season of in-person rehearsals and concerts,