Conductor
Paul Nicholson, Director of Music at Saint Clement Church.
Messiah Choir
WGN Radio has described the Saint Clement
Messiah as a "magnificent hidden treasure!" The
Saint Clement Choir has a distinguished history of presenting some of the world's greatest musical works in performances that have been consistently hailed for their precision and vigor as well as their musical maturity.
The choir brings this same level of musicianship to its singing of the great choral treasures of the Church – from Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony through the most contemporary sacred repertoire of the new millennium – which it presents weekly for liturgies at
Saint Clement Church in Chicago.
Composed almost entirely of non-professional singers, the choir has toured internationally on several occasions. In 1994, the choir toured Italy, with performances at
Saint Mark's Basilica in Venice, the
Duomo in Florence, and at
Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome by special invitation of the Vatican. In 1999, the choir toured the great cathedrals and monuments of France, with performances at
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the
Church of St-Sulpice in Paris,
Chartres Cathedral,
Mont-St-Michel Abbey in Normandy, and the
Basilica of St-Sernin in Toulouse for the highly prestigious
Toulouse International Organ Festival. In 2006, the choir performed two enthusiastically received concerts for the
National Convention of the American Guild of Organists, held here in Chicago.
Messiah Orchestra
Comprised of many Chicago’s brightest and best orchestral musicians, the ensemble delights in great attention to the details and possibilities of baroque performance practice. Our concert master is the brilliant baroque violinist and period instrument specialist, Jeri-Lou Zike, and along with her, many of the musicians are members of Baroque Band and the Haymarket Opera Company, two of the most notable early music ensembles in Chicago.
