The Choral Fellows

The Choral Fellows are a group of sixteen dedicated singers drawn from the Sunday Choir who additionally perform in the daily Morning Prayers services in Appleton Chapel, one of Harvard’s oldest traditions. This ensemble also represents the University Choir on tour and at special events and provides a demanding, yet exciting, musical experience for those involved. These singers are appointed for the full academic year after extensive auditions held the previous Spring and receive free voice lessons as well as a significant stipend.

The Choral Fellows program employs a select group of singers who are dependable and committed members of the University Choir. The Choral Fellows as a group are responsible for between 6 and 8 services a week and their preparation and attendance is considered a given. Their presence helps the choir develop a consistency and polish that comes from singing together so often.

Conceived by Dr. Murray Forbes Somerville (Gund University Organist and Choirmaster, 1990–2003) and instituted in the Fall of 2001, the program is designed to provide a select group of students with a performing opportunity they would not find elsewhere as well as raise the standard of musical performance within the choir.

The Choral Fellows program has been made possible by a major gift to The Memorial Church at Harvard University, with the active support of the Reverend Professon Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in The Memorial Church.

In the Harvard Gazette

The Choral Fellows perform off campus with such renowned groups and musicians as Christopher Hogwood; Andre Parrott; Collegium Regale, the Choral Scholars of King College Cambridge; Walter Turnbull and the Boy’s Choir of Harlem; and Joel Cohen and the Boston Camerata. However, they also find the time to take in a baseball game performing the National Anthem at Fenway Park in the Fall of 2001. Read the article in the Harvard Gazette.