Biography
The New York Philharmonic Chorus is an ensemble of New York–based, professional vocalists that was established to mark the Orchestra’s return to the transformed David Geffen Hall in the 2022–23 season. The Chorus made its debut in the hall’s two Inaugural Galas, both conducted by Music Director Jaap van Zweden, in which it sang selections by Bernstein and Handel as well as Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and the World Premiere of Angélica Negrón’s You Are the Prelude, which the NY Phil commissioned for the occasion. The Chorus returned later in the season for Adolphus Hailstork’s Done Made My Vow, A Ceremony and the New York Premiere of John Luther Adams’s Become Desert. In the 2023–24 season Malcolm J. Merriweather again directs the New York Philharmonic Chorus, preparing the ensemble for Holst’s The Planets, in November; Émigré — composed by Aaron Zigman and lyrics by Mark Campbell and Brock Walsh — in February–March; and van Zweden’s season-concluding performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection. Grammy-nominated conductor and baritone Malcolm J. Merriweather — who has prepared the New York Philharmonic Chorus for appearances with the Orchestra since the choir was founded — is music director of The Dessoff Choirs. He also serves as an associate professor at Brooklyn College and on the faculty at Manhattan School of Music. He has conducted ensembles in venues that include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Madison Square Garden in New York City, as well as Westminster Abbey and at the Vatican before Pope Francis. His repertoire ranges from J.S. Bach to the world premiere recording of Margaret Bonds’s The Ballad of the Brown King (AVIE Records). As a baritone, Merriweather studied with Rita Shane, has appeared as soloist throughout the United States, and has premiered dozens of contemporary solo works. He was a fellowship recipient at Tanglewood and has earned degrees from Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and Syracuse University.