Elizabeth Cary Agassiz, the first president of Radcliffe College, founded the Radcliffe Choral Society in 1899. By 1904, under the leadership of Dr. Archibald Davidson (“Doc”) RCS became Radcliffe College’s official chorus. Doc conducted both RCS and the Harvard Glee Club, facilitating collaboration between the two groups. In 1917, these collaborative efforts culminated in a performance of Johannes Brahms’ Song of Fate with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, launching a tradition of collaboration that lasted over 50 years.
Wallace G. Woodworth (known as “Woody”), Doc’s successor, served as conductor of the Radcliffe Choral Society and the Harvard Glee Club for 33 years. He is renowned for establishing the tradition of touring for both choirs in 1954. Woody’s vision made possible the groundbreaking tours of RCS’s future. Woody’s successor, Eliot Forbes, broadened the concept of touring, taking RCS and HGC on a 1964 North American Tour and a 1967 Asian Tour. Under his leadership, two choirs gained critical acclaim in 1963 for their Grammy-nominated performance of Mozart’s Requiem with several other Boston choirs at President John F. Kennedy’s funeral.
The 1970s marked a period of transition for the Radcliffe Choral Society as Harvard University became co-educational, with the merging the all-women’s Radcliffe College with the all-male Harvard College. In 1970, F. John Adams became the conductor of the Radcliffe Choral Society and the Harvard Glee Club, eventually merging RCS with members of HGC to form a mixed chorus, the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum. The women in Collegium performed an annual Radcliffe Choral Society concert and held the RCS charter through this period, but women’s-only choral singing experienced a temporary hush during this transition.
In 1974, two singers wrote to female members of Collegium calling to re-establish RCS as an independent chorus in order to provide more opportunities for women singers at Harvard. The Radcliffe Choral Society was re-formed, and Priscilla Chapman assumed the role of conductor in 1974. In 1975, Chapman led RCS in its first concert since re-formation, featuring a variety of works from different eras in RCS history. In 1976, the first year that male and female students both were admitted to Harvard-Radcliffe jointly, the Radcliffe Choral Society regained its charter and sang at Freshman Welcome in Harvard Yard for the first time.
In 1978, Beverly Taylor became conductor of the Radcliffe Choral Society, leading the ensemble on four international tours over the course of her term and receiving international prizes across Europe. During her tenure, the Radcliffe Choral Society also appeared at four conventions of the American Choral Directors’ Association (ACDA), distinguishing RCS from other women’s choirs through newly commissioned works.
In 1995, Jameson Marvin became the conductor of the Radcliffe Choral Society, the Harvard Glee Club and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum. The three choirs became known together as the Holden Choruses. Since 1995, RCS has hosted four Festivals of Women’s Choruses, which celebrate women’s choral music with renowned composers, publishers, conductors, and fellow singers throughout the nation.
In 2010, Andrew Clark was appointed the new Director of Choral Activities at Harvard, assuming the role of conductor of the Radcliffe Choral Society, the Harvard Glee Club, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum. The three choruses continue the long-standing tradition of collaboration, joining together on an annual basis to perform a choral-orchestral masterwork. Recent masterwork performances include Mozart’s Requiem in D, Haydn’s Creation, Verdi’s Requiem, and Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard. During the 2016-2017 season, the three choruses will jointly perform Michael Tippet’s A Child of Our Time.
To this day, the Radcliffe Choral Society’s dynamic tour tradition continues to be upheld. RCS tours together every year: embarking on an international tour every four years and on domestic tours around the United States the remaining three years. In the last two decades RCS has shared its music and spirit with communities around the world: the 1996 Western Europe tour included concerts in France, Monaco, Switzerland and Italy; the year 2000 took RCS to South America; the 2004 tour to South Africa made history at Harvard when RCS became the first choir to travel to Africa; in 2008 RCS travelled to the remarkable cities and rainforests of Costa Rica; in the summer of 2012 RCS traversed Eastern Europe, exploring Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia; and finally, in 2016 RCS ventured farther than ever before to Indonesia, marking the first time any American collegiate choir has toured the country.
Spring 2016 was also an exciting time, as it marked a name change from the Holden Choruses to the Harvard Choruses. After two years of conversations among conductors, managers, and presidents and voting within all three Executive Committees, the name change was set in motion. The Harvard Choruses hope to use this official name change as an opportunity to reevaluate both the ways in which we work together as a choral program and the ways in which we publicize ourselves to the Harvard, Cambridge, Boston, and global communities.
One of only five Harvard organizations continuing to bear the Radcliffe name, the Radcliffe Choral Society is proud to honor its history and legacy by celebrating excellence in women’s choral music and the extraordinary community formed through its music-making. If you have any questions about the Radcliffe Choral Society’s history, or would like to receive e-Newsletters, please e-mail our Manager.
For a closer look at the Radcliffe Choral Society’s rich history, over 150 historical photographs of RCS can be found here. Search for “Radcliffe Choral Society”; and limit your search to “Radcliffe Archives”. Enjoy!
Wallace G. Woodworth (known as “Woody”), Doc’s successor, served as conductor of the Radcliffe Choral Society and the Harvard Glee Club for 33 years. He is renowned for establishing the tradition of touring for both choirs in 1954. Woody’s vision made possible the groundbreaking tours of RCS’s future. Woody’s successor, Eliot Forbes, broadened the concept of touring, taking RCS and HGC on a 1964 North American Tour and a 1967 Asian Tour. Under his leadership, two choirs gained critical acclaim in 1963 for their Grammy-nominated performance of Mozart’s Requiem with several other Boston choirs at President John F. Kennedy’s funeral.
The 1970s marked a period of transition for the Radcliffe Choral Society as Harvard University became co-educational, with the merging the all-women’s Radcliffe College with the all-male Harvard College. In 1970, F. John Adams became the conductor of the Radcliffe Choral Society and the Harvard Glee Club, eventually merging RCS with members of HGC to form a mixed chorus, the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum. The women in Collegium performed an annual Radcliffe Choral Society concert and held the RCS charter through this period, but women’s-only choral singing experienced a temporary hush during this transition.
In 1974, two singers wrote to female members of Collegium calling to re-establish RCS as an independent chorus in order to provide more opportunities for women singers at Harvard. The Radcliffe Choral Society was re-formed, and Priscilla Chapman assumed the role of conductor in 1974. In 1975, Chapman led RCS in its first concert since re-formation, featuring a variety of works from different eras in RCS history. In 1976, the first year that male and female students both were admitted to Harvard-Radcliffe jointly, the Radcliffe Choral Society regained its charter and sang at Freshman Welcome in Harvard Yard for the first time.
In 1978, Beverly Taylor became conductor of the Radcliffe Choral Society, leading the ensemble on four international tours over the course of her term and receiving international prizes across Europe. During her tenure, the Radcliffe Choral Society also appeared at four conventions of the American Choral Directors’ Association (ACDA), distinguishing RCS from other women’s choirs through newly commissioned works.
In 1995, Jameson Marvin became the conductor of the Radcliffe Choral Society, the Harvard Glee Club and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum. The three choirs became known together as the Holden Choruses. Since 1995, RCS has hosted four Festivals of Women’s Choruses, which celebrate women’s choral music with renowned composers, publishers, conductors, and fellow singers throughout the nation.
In 2010, Andrew Clark was appointed the new Director of Choral Activities at Harvard, assuming the role of conductor of the Radcliffe Choral Society, the Harvard Glee Club, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum. The three choruses continue the long-standing tradition of collaboration, joining together on an annual basis to perform a choral-orchestral masterwork. Recent masterwork performances include Mozart’s Requiem in D, Haydn’s Creation, Verdi’s Requiem, and Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard. During the 2016-2017 season, the three choruses will jointly perform Michael Tippet’s A Child of Our Time.
To this day, the Radcliffe Choral Society’s dynamic tour tradition continues to be upheld. RCS tours together every year: embarking on an international tour every four years and on domestic tours around the United States the remaining three years. In the last two decades RCS has shared its music and spirit with communities around the world: the 1996 Western Europe tour included concerts in France, Monaco, Switzerland and Italy; the year 2000 took RCS to South America; the 2004 tour to South Africa made history at Harvard when RCS became the first choir to travel to Africa; in 2008 RCS travelled to the remarkable cities and rainforests of Costa Rica; in the summer of 2012 RCS traversed Eastern Europe, exploring Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia; and finally, in 2016 RCS ventured farther than ever before to Indonesia, marking the first time any American collegiate choir has toured the country.
Spring 2016 was also an exciting time, as it marked a name change from the Holden Choruses to the Harvard Choruses. After two years of conversations among conductors, managers, and presidents and voting within all three Executive Committees, the name change was set in motion. The Harvard Choruses hope to use this official name change as an opportunity to reevaluate both the ways in which we work together as a choral program and the ways in which we publicize ourselves to the Harvard, Cambridge, Boston, and global communities.
One of only five Harvard organizations continuing to bear the Radcliffe name, the Radcliffe Choral Society is proud to honor its history and legacy by celebrating excellence in women’s choral music and the extraordinary community formed through its music-making. If you have any questions about the Radcliffe Choral Society’s history, or would like to receive e-Newsletters, please e-mail our Manager.
For a closer look at the Radcliffe Choral Society’s rich history, over 150 historical photographs of RCS can be found here. Search for “Radcliffe Choral Society”; and limit your search to “Radcliffe Archives”. Enjoy!
