The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh

The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh’s mission is to advance the choral art, present compelling and skillful performances at the highest artistic level, serve as an inspiring community resources, and foster participation, appreciation, creation, and enjoyment of choral music in present and future generations.

Critically acclaimed as one of the finest choruses in the country, the 112-year-old Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh (MCP) is re-inventing choral music for the 21st century. MCP singers are every-day community members from diverse backgrounds and professions who give generously of their time and talent to create powerful, unexpected, and deeply moving moments of musical discovery.

Under Robert Page Music Director Matthew Mehaffey, the MCP has also been celebrated for its exciting and innovating programming, such as the 2018 world premiere of The Times They Are A-Changin’: The Words and Music of Bob Dylan by composer/conductor Steve Hackman. Other MCP commissions and premieres include works by Ned Rorem, Nancy Galbraith, and Derek Bermel. Audiences and critics have loved every second, saying “EXCEPTIONAL and MEMORABLE event. I’m still talking about it” and “One of the finest music events I have ever attended!”

MCP has been the proud choral partner of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) for more than 90 years bringing the joys of symphonic choral music to tens of thousands of people in the region each year. As the PSO’s “chorus of choice,” the MCP has performed under the baton of a veritable who’s who in classical music. These include Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Michael Tilson Thomas, Claudio Abbado, Mstislav Rostropovich, Leonard Slatkin, Charles Dutoit, André Previn, Sir Neville Marriner, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Helmuth Rilling, Ingo Metzmacher, Richard Hickox, Zdenek Mácal, and Manfred Honeck.

MCP fosters the next generation of choral singing and audience members through its educational program, the Junior Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh (JMCP). Founded in 1988, JMCP is the region’s premier high school choral training and performance program. Annually, the JMCP attracts singers from more than a dozen school districts, providing youth with a challenging musical environment in which to develop their skills and giving them the tools and experiences to be life-long participants in the arts.

MCP’s most recent recording is Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Children’s Festival Chorus of Pittsburgh with Manfred Honeck conducting. MCP performances are heard locally over WQED-FM (89.3) and PSO-MCP performances are distributed nationally by Public Radio International (PRI).

The MCP is a Steinway Artist, the only chorus holding that designation.