About the Chorale

The Duke University Chorale, the primary choral group of the Department of Music at Duke, is composed of 55 singers. The Chorale sings sacred and secular music from a variety of eras and traditions in concerts throughout the year, including a Family Weekend Concert, Holiday Concert in Duke Chapel, multiple benefit concerts for a Durham charities, and a Spring Concert with orchestra.  We have fun while making beautiful, informed, and meaningful music. 

The Chorale’s repertoire spans over 500 years of choral music from both Western and non-Western traditions, much of it unaccompanied. In recent years the Chorale has also performed major works with orchestra, including Mozart’s Requiem, Eric Whitacre’s The Sacred Veil, and as well as music by Jenkins, Vaughan Williams, and Bach. This year we’ll be performing works by Beethoven, Bach, Gjeilo, and Thompson with orchestra.

Because of its strong ties to the university and community, the Chorale sings not only on campus, in formal concerts as well as occasional university events and Duke basketball games, but also in less formal settings like the Ronald McDonald House, non-profit organizations, and area nursing homes. Their family-style Christmas program fills Duke Chapel every year with audience members of all ages, who bring large amounts of food for area homeless shelters and books for young readers.

Formed in 1970 when the Men’s and Women’s Glee Clubs were combined into a single choir, the Chorale has a long-standing tradition of touring during Duke’s Spring Break. Past international tours, which occur every four years, have taken the group to China, Central America, and many parts of Europe, while their domestic tours alternate between California, the Northeast, and the Southeast.

The group rehearses on Duke’s East Campus from 4:45-6:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the academic year.

The Chorale is directed by Allan Friedman and accompanied by Mary Hamilton