About the Choirs
Princeton High School Choir
The Princeton High School Choir has an unusually rich tradition of choral excellence that is unique among American high schools. The choir has performed extensively in North America and Europe, touring as representatives of Princeton, New Jersey, one of America’s most distinguished communities. One of five performing ensembles, the 85 members of the choir are selected after careful audition of nearly 250 voices in the high school’s choral program.
The choir has toured to Ljubljana, Slovenia and Padova, Verona and Venice, Italy (2013), Barcelona and Catalonia (2011), Sweden (2007), Prague and Dresden (2005), Budapest and Vienna (2003), Russia and Germany (2001), performing in St. Petersburg, Novgorod, and Berlin, including a performance of Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion in Berlin’s Schauspielhaus. The choir was also invited to perform for the 850th anniversary of the city of Moscow in 1997, and additional performances on this trip were in St. Petersburg and Yaroslavl.
The Princeton High School Choir has collaborated with many notable composers, conductors and guest clinicians and is featured every December with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, members of the Princeton High School Choir sand choruses from Henry Purcell's King Arthur with the Dryden Ensemble of Princeton. In 1963, Gian Carlo Menotti invited the choir to perform at his Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. Maurice Duruflé conducted the choir in a performance of his Requiem in 1971, and Zoltán Kodály conducted the choir in 1963 for the International Association of Choral Directors in Budapest. Other collaborations have included Vincent Persichetti, singing his Mass for Mixed Voices; Peter Maxwell Davies, premiering his Veni Sancte Spiritus; Roger Sessions, premiering his Mass; and Frank Lewin, premiering and recording his Mass for the Dead in memory of Robert F. Kennedy. Other performances have included ACDA Regional and National Conventions, the White House, and the Washington National Cathedral.
Cantus
Princeton High School's Cantus choir is a non-auditioned choir of 40 treble singers and is comprised of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Performance highlights include Britten’s War Requiem with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Sergei Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky, Benjamin Britten’s St. Nicolas, and J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. They have participated in the American Choral Director’s Association Women’s Choral Festival at Smith College. Cantus tours annually, taking up residency at colleges and universities throughout the Eastern United States. Past residencies include Harvard University, Wellesley College, Brown University, Ithaca College, Boston University, Vassar College, Northwestern University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the University of Delaware. Broadcasts of their annual Winter Concert are regularly featured on WWFM The Classical Network, which broadcasts throughout greater New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Chorale I and Chorale II
Chorale I is open to students singing in the treble range, while Chorale II is open to students singing in the tenor/bass range. The course develops skills in basic music theory, harmony, sight-reading, phonetics, vocal technique and tone production, ear training, and music appreciation. Students perform a wide variety of musical styles and repertoire written for unison and multiple parts, as well as major works for mixed-voice ensembles (SATB). Repertoire varies from year to year. Chorale I and Chorale II do not require an audition.