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TheChicago Symphony Chorus began on September 22, 1957, when theChicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) announced thatMargaret Hillis would organize and train a symphony chorus. The music directorFritz Reiner's original intent was to utilize the chorus for the two weeks of subscription concerts that season, performingGeorge Frideric Handel'sMessiah in December andGiuseppe Verdi'sRequiem in April. WhenBruno Walter informed the orchestra's management that his March 1958 appearances would be his last in Chicago, the board president, Eric Oldberg, insisted that Walter conductWolfgang Amadeus Mozart'sRequiem utilizing the new chorus. During that first season, it was logistically impossible for Hillis to audition and prepare a new Chorus for three major works within less than four months. As an interim fix, theApollo Chorus of Chicago was used for the ChristmasMessiah concerts.
The Chicago Symphony Chorus gave its informal debut at a private concert for donors on November 30, 1957. Reiner conducted the first half of the concert and Hillis took the podium for the second half, becoming the first woman to conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She led the orchestra and chorus in the final section ofHenry Purcell'sOde for Saint Cecilia’s Day,Randall Thompson'sAlleluia andWilliam Billings'sModern Music, and the "Servants' Chorus" fromGaetano Donizetti’sDon Pasquale.
Eighty-one-year-old Bruno Walter led the chorus in its official debut concerts at Orchestra Hall on March 13 and 14, 1958, a performance of Mozart'sRequiem. A few weeks later, on April 3, 4, and 8, 1958, Reiner himself led the chorus for the first time in a performance of Verdi'sRequiem.
The chorus made its first commercial recording forRCA —Sergei Prokofiev’sAlexander Nevsky - on March 7, 1959, with Fritz Reiner conducting the orchestra. The chorus made itsRavinia Festival debut on July 9, 1960, a performance ofGustav Mahler'sSymphony No. 2 (Resurrection) conducted by the CSO's associate conductor and Ravinia Festival artistic directorWalter Hendl. The chorus had its firstCarnegie Hall appearance on November 12, 1967, singingHans Werner Henze'sThe Sicilian Muses andMaurice Ravel'sDaphnis and Chloe withJean Martinon conducting.
The chorus' first tour with the orchestra was to London and Salzburg in August 1989. They performedHector Berlioz'sThe Damnation of Faust withSir Georg Solti conducting. Ten years later, the ensemble won critical acclaim for its performances ofArnold Schoenberg'sMoses und Aron underPierre Boulez, andJohannes Brahms'sA German Requiem underDaniel Barenboim while performing at the Berlin Festtage in April 1999.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra recordings featuring the chorus have won tenGrammy Awards from theNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for best choral performance. These recordings include hallmarks of the choral repertoire, ranging fromLudwig van Beethoven'sMissa solemnis toJohann Sebastian Bach'sMass in B Minor, and two recordings each of Brahms'sA German Requiem and Verdi'sRequiem. Women of the chorus (prepared byDuain Wolfe) appeared on the recording of Mahler'sSymphony No. 3 led by the CSO's principal conductorBernard Haitink. The recording was released in May 2007, as the first recording on the orchestra's own label,CSO Resound.[1]
Margaret Hillis led the chorus as director for 37 years and retired in 1994.Duain Wolfe became the chorus's second director in June 1994. He retired from this position at the end of February 2022.[2] In July 2025,Donald Palumbo became the chorus's third director.[3]
Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance
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