About NWC
Mission Statement: We serve as the orchestral chorus of choice for metro Boston. Valuing collaboration and community, we provide accomplished vocal musicians and our audiences with a richness of experience and the joy that flows from superlative performance.
New World Chorale at the Hatch Shell on the Charles River Esplanade, Boston, MA
The New World Chorale (NWC) is one of the most in-demand choruses in the greater Boston area. NWC has performed major choral works with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, the Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra, the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lexington Symphony, Symphony Pro Musica, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra (formerly GBYSO). In May 2006, the New World Chorale was featured with the Boston Ballet in its production of Igor Stravinsky’s Les Noces at The Wang Theatre in Boston. In summer 2006, the New World Chorale performed in concerts at the Hatch Shell on the Charles River Esplanade with both the Boston Landmarks Orchestra and the Longwood Symphony Orchestra; NWC again performed with the Boston Landmarks Orchestra at the Hatch Shell in July 2007 and September 2009. Other recent performances with the Longwood Symphony include Janacek’s Glagolitic Mass (December 2007), Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony (December 2008), and Kancheli’s Styx (December 2009). Showcasing its versatility, NWC has performed South Pacific in Concert, The Pirates of Penzance, and, most recently, The Music Man with the Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra, providing the leads and moving choruses from its own membership.
The New World Chorale was founded in 1999 by Holly MacEwen Krafka and John Zielinski with the mission of performing the best American choral music and the goal of performing with many of the finest orchestras in New England. NWC’s membership comprises some of the Boston area’s most experienced choral singers and soloists who have performed both locally and internationally with the world’s major orchestras.
NWC has performed world premieres encompassing a wide range of musical styles. Pieces commissioned and performed include: Opening Day, written for NWC by local composer Tom Hojnacki to texts about baseball by Bill Littlefield, host of the National Public Radio program “Only A Game”; How Sweet the Sound, an arrangement of hymns and spirituals for chorus and organ by John Zielinski; Mass by Gregory Short for chorus, percussion, and audience participation; and Infelix Ego for organ, percussion, brass quartet, and chorus, also by Mr. Zielinski.