Trinity Choir

Dating to at least the middle of the 18th century, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street may be the oldest choir in the U.S. The choir fulfills dual functions as a church ensemble and a professional concertizing and recording group. The choir's emphasis on contemporary music is reflected in its recent recording program. In 2025, the group teamed with the Silvana Quartet on the album Mary Kouyoumdjian: Adoration. Trinity Church, at Wall Street and Broadway in Lower Manhattan, across the street from the New York Stock Exchange, was chartered by King William III in 1697. Choral music was certainly present, but an organ was not installed until 1743. Formal music instruction and organized choral singing followed in the early 1750s. The first choral director was William Tuckey, who led the first New York performance of music from Handel's Messiah; an early performance of Messiah was given at the church to benefit widows and children of the clergy. The choir's existence was interrupted as the church's first building burned in the Great Fire of 1776, and the second, among whose congregants was George Washington, was fatally damaged by heavy snowfall in 1839. By the early 20th century, it was well established, with major conductors including Channing Lefebvre (1922-1941), George Mead (1941-1968), Larry King (1968-1989), and J. Owen Burdick (1990-2008). In recent years, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street has had a vigorous recording program. The choir has been nominated for several Grammy Awards, including one for its 2012 recording of Handel's Israel in Egypt, HWV 54. In 2015, the group joined the avant-garde ensemble Bang on a Can All-Stars on the album Julia Wolfe: Anthracite Fields; that work won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, also known as the Trinity Choir, performs for Sunday services at the church and is also central to concert performances there, including the church's annual performance of Handel's Messiah, HWV 56, a "Bach + One" series, and "Compline by Candlelight." It is a small-to-moderate-sized group, with 22 members as of the mid-2020s. The group often collaborates with the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, the Trinity Youth Chorus, and the contemporary music group NOVUS NY in its frequent performances of contemporary music. The choir has also toured the New York area (including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art), the U.S. (including the Berkeley Early Music Festival in California), and the world (including the Barbican in London, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, and the Salle Bourgie in Montreal). The choir's performance collaborators have included the Bang on a Can All-Stars, The Rolling Stones, and the New York Philharmonic. Other recordings include an eight-CD box set of Haydn's masses, released on the Naxos label, and several well-regarded albums of contemporary music, including Ellen Reid's p r i s m (2020) on the Decca Gold label. In 2023, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street was heard on the album Grrr Live! by The Rolling Stones. It returned the following year, joining the Artefact Ensemble on the album Benedict Sheehan: Akathist. In 2025, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street teamed with the Silvana Quartet on the album Mary Kouyoumdjian: Adoration. ~ James Manheim, Rovi