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National Children's Chorus at Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles) in 2016

The National Children's Chorus is an American children’s chorus acclaimed for its appearances in concert, opera, film, tv, and radio.

National Children's Chorus (NCC) is a private, non-profit organization, and one of the largest children’s choruses in the world, featuring approximately 700 choristers from all ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds. Its members are between the ages of five and eighteen, and divided into two divisions across three cities - Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Described as “one of the finest children’s choirs in the world today” by conductor Grant Gershon, the chorus is noted for its refined choral sound and unique bicoastal structure, and regularly appears at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Hollywood Bowl..

Origins

20th Century

Formerly the Paulist Choristers, National Children’s Chorus traces its lineage back to the Paulist tradition of the late 19th Century. In 1904, Father William Finn (1881-1961) founded the Paulist Choristers of Chicago, an a capella, treble choir for boys (ages 5-13), which sang at the Vatican for Pope Pius X in 1912,  and toured the United States during World War I to raise money for French refugee relief efforts.

In 1918, Father Finn established the first Catholic Choir School in New York, and founded the Paulist Choristers of New York at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Manhattan.

In 1925, the New York ensemble began to perform on the WLWL radio station, and also on the NBC radio show, "The Catholic Hour." The choir also gave frequent concerts at the Metropolitan Opera House. In addition to performances, each ensemble maintained separate recording projects with Columbia Records and Victor Records.

In 1928, Father Eugene O’Malley, an original Chicago Paulist chorister, succeeded Father Finn as director of the Chicago ensemble. Under his leadership the choir once again traveled across the country, and performed at the White House.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Chicago and New York groups were disbanded during a liturgical shift towards contemporary sacred music throughout the Catholic Church in the United States.

In 1977, despite the reformation in Catholic liturgy, Sister Stella Maria Enright (1933-2017) and Jon Wattenberger (1948-1992), a pupil of Father Finn’s teachings, founded the Paulist Choristers of California at St. Paul the Apostle Church and School in Westwood, Los Angeles. The ensemble quickly gained international fame through recordings and performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and the Joffrey Ballet, in addition to multiple television/movie appearances and international tours to London, Oxford, Venice, Florence, Salzburg, and Paris.

After Wattenberger’s death, the ensemble was led, between 1992 and 2004, by conductors Dana Marsh and Sir Martin Neary, who famously conducted music for the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997.

21st Century

In 2002, the Paulist Choristers were invited to sing music from The Lord of the Rings with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro John Mauceri. For the first time in Paulist history, girls were inducted into the organization, marking the first-ever co-ed appearance for the group.

In 2004, following the exit of Neary from the position, Luke McEndarfer was chosen as the 4th Artistic Director of the Paulist Choristers of California.

In 2009, with the support of Sister Stella, McEndarfer fully secularized the choristers, formally changed the group’s name, and co-founded the National Children’s Chorus with Executive Director Cristina Demiany. This organizational change signified the formal separation of the group from the Catholic Church after more than a century.

NCC broadened its programming to create ensembles for boys and girls of varying ages and vocal facility, including its first-ever SATB ensemble, and expanded to New York (2011) and Washington, D.C. (2014).

External links

• www.nationalchildrenschorus.com