Community Chorus

Based in Reading, PA

The Reading Choral Society is one of America's oldest musical ensembles, and from its earliest days has pursued performances characterized by vocal excellence and musical distinction. Under its first music director, German-trained Edward A. Berg, the Society flourished, in part from Berg's personal connections to the musical leaders of the day, particularly his friendship with Theodore Thomas, the most dynamic and foresighted orchestral conductor of the nineteenth century. Berg's enlightened direction and his mission-to perform great choral masterworks, without ignoring contemporary composers-has guided the Society since its founding. Berg and his successors performed the major choral/orchestral repertory (Messiah, The Creation, and Elijah were particularly popular), often accompanied by the New York Philharmonic Club, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and similar groups. The Society, like its many sister choruses across the country in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, brought musical stars and quality repertory to the Reading community, long before orchestras usurped that role in the public's perception. In its first half-century, the Society performed with such vocal stars such as baritone Nelson Eddy, and Metropolitan opera regulars Margaret Harshaw, William Hargrave, Julius Huehn, Wellington Ezekiel, and many others.

Founded - 1875.  

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