History of the Maryland Choral Society

The Maryland Choral Society (MCS) is a community choral group dedicated to quality performance for music enthusiasts in the Greater Washington area. A mixed chorus of approximately 40 members, MCS is based in Prince George’s County, Maryland, but has members from throughout Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia. Through active recruitment and creative programming, MCS attracts singers and audiences from diverse backgrounds who are drawn to the organization for both its commitment to high musical standards and its welcoming spirit. It performs a wide repertoire of musical styles and periods to attract as broad an audience as possible. It strives to nurture an appreciation for the choral arts among both novices and seasoned listeners.  

The organization was formed in 1971 under the direction of Mr. Paul Bley. Initially, the group called itself the Greater Southeast Community Choral Society. In 1975, Dr. Sandra Willetts became artistic director and the name was changed to the Southern Maryland Choral Society. Under Dr. Willetts' direction (1975 - 1981), the group earned the reputation as one of the more accomplished choral groups in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. For the next three decades, the choral society sang under the direction of a series of outstanding artistic directors: Dr. Craig Jessop (1981 - 1987), Dr. Samuel Gordon (1987 – 1995), Julianne S. Turrentine (1995 - 1997), Ernest Johnson (1997 - 2001), James Holloway (2001 - 2005), Dr. Don Armstrong (2006), Jeanne Kelly (2007-2008), Dr. Richard Giarusso (2009-2014), and Dr. Stephen Caracciolo (2014-2015). In 2015, MCS welcomed Dr. Douglas Buchanan to the role of artistic director.  MCS also gratefully recognizes Serena Moore, who faithfully served as the accompanist from 1977 to 2014.

Since its founding, MCS has performed over 600 works spanning five centuries and six languages. At least one masterwork concert each season features the participation of a full orchestra and has showcased a number of distinguished vocal and instrumental soloists.  MCS is developing a reputation for its varied and eclectic musical fare, encompassing a range of styles from classical, to new age, world, pop, and gospel.

interim artistic director

Benjamin Buchanan  

info@marylandchoralsociety.org

In addition to his work with the Maryland Choral Society, Benjamin Buchanan can be seen performing as a beatboxing toy-instrumentalist and performance artist throughout the Baltimore and Washington D.C. areas, as well as at St. Marks-on-the-Hill Episcopal Church where he serves as Director of Music and Organist. After receiving a Bachelor’s of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Tulsa, he moved to Baltimore to study with the world-renowned composer Michael Hersch at the Peabody Conservatory, where he has received a Masters of Music degrees in both Music Composition and Music Theory Pedagogy.

His compositional work has merited him the praise as being the “most quickly enflaming young composer” by the three-time Nobel Prize nominated poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, as well as being performed in Sweden by the violinist Peter Sheppared Skærved, in Hungary by flutist Gergely Ittzés, in Italy by Ensemble 5.9, and throughout the United States. A collection of his collaborations with the sculptor Sara Dittrich, titled Symphony of Gestures, was recently exhibited at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, Michigan for ArtPrize 7 and earned a Top 5 ranking in the Time-Based Art category through the public vote.

MCS Gratefully Acknowledges:

The Maryland Choral Society is supported in part by grants from the Maryland States Arts Council and Prince George's County, Maryland.