Pilgrim Festival Chorus is a 100-member premier, welcoming community chorus, comprised of experienced vocalists from 20 local communities, dedicated to presenting diverse choral works that educate, enrich, and engage both its members and its audiences. Performances range from major works of the choral repertoire including Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Israel in Egypt, Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem, and Orff’s Carmina Burana, to compositions by prominent 20th century composers such as Bernstein, Britten, and Kodály, as well as living composers Corigliano, Forrest, Hagenberg, Jenkins, Rutter, and the late Whitbourn.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, PFC is under the artistic direction of William B. Richter and Elizabeth Chapman Reilly. A typical season begins with a festive holiday concert in early December. In mid-December, PFC hosts an annual Messiah Sing where the audience is invited to become the chorus in one of the most famous choral pieces ever written. The spring concert often features a larger work with orchestra and soloists. In June, Pilgrim Festival Singers, a division of PFC, performs concerts with repertoire drawn from Broadway and American traditions. Smaller volunteer groups serve the community by engaging in appearances at local events.
New members are invited to join in September for our winter concert, in January for our spring concert, and in May for our summer concert after attending an open rehearsal and completing a Vocal Placement Session (VPS).
Pilgrim Festival Chorus is a volunteer, nonprofit choral ensemble dedicated to presenting diverse choral works that educate, enrich, and engage both its members and its audiences.
Pilgrim Festival Chorus is widely recognized for sharing the world’s great choral music as a means of bringing people together. We aspire to produce concert experiences that are accessible to all and showcase our commitment to musical excellence.
President – Sara Weiss
Vice President – Kaelin Jenkins-Brown
Secretary – David Tyler
Treasurer – Lynne Hare
Katie Allen
Christine Conrod
Michaela Coombs
Peg Davis
Hilary Goodnow
Moe Rondeau
Susan Wolfthal
Soprano – Susan Wolfthal
Alto – Beth Frasso
Tenor – Jim Doyle
Bass – David Tyler
Archivist – Linda Harding
Grant Writer – Sara Weiss
Music Librarian – Kate Holl, Hannah Woodbury
Program Editors – Elizabeth Chapman Reilly, Sara Weiss, Susan Wolfthal, Hannah Woodbury
Program Notes – Elizabeth Chapman Reilly
Program Printing & Design – Powder Horn Press
Publicity – Michelle McGrath – McGrathPR
Scholarship Committee – Joy Burns, Wendela Yeo Correia, Linda Harding, Jodi Mulcahy, Hannah Woodbury
Stage Manager – Susan Wolfthal
Tickets – Kaelin Jenkins-Brown
Ushers & Box Office – Lori Brandt
Website – Dan Miot – GreenCastle Media
William B. Richter, Artistic Director, is a founding leader of Pilgrim Festival Chorus. He is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music and has completed graduate studies in choral conducting at Boston University and Westminster Choir College. For over 40 years, Bill has been a choral director and administrator in the Scituate Public Schools. He directs five choirs at Scituate High School (SHS) where over twenty percent of the school population is enrolled in the choral program.
As an administrator, Bill served as Music Department Chair and Program Specialist for Music, roles that oversee instruction, budget and programs for grades K-12. He is currently Manager of Scituate Center for the Performing Arts. His SHS choirs have been featured in local performances with recording artists Josh Groban, Michael Crawford, Barenaked Ladies, and Kenny Loggins.
Throughout his career, Bill has been involved in the Massachusetts Music Educators Association in numerous leadership positions such as Southeastern District chairperson, manager of the MMEA Allstate Chorus, the Southeastern District Senior Chorus, and conductor of the Western and Southeastern District Junior Treble Choruses.
Along with his teaching duties, Bill is Music Director of First Trinitarian Congregational Church (UCC) in Scituate. A lifetime South Shore resident, his elder son is a professor of music (UMass Lowell) and his younger son is on the road with The Beach Boys. His greatest joys are his grandkids Benjamin and Hannah.
Email Bill at director@pilgrimfestivalchorus.org
Elizabeth Chapman Reilly, Artistic Director and Accompanist, is a founding leader of Pilgrim Festival Chorus. She is well known in southeastern Massachusetts as an accomplished and versatile accompanist. She studied piano, organ, and voice at Acadia University in Nova Scotia and subsequently earned her Master of Music degree from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
Since completing her formal education, she has worked in many area churches and schools as organist, pianist, and choir director. She currently serves as organist and choir director at First Congregational Church in Middleborough where she plays the 1887 S. S. Hamill pipe organ, a two-manual tracker, built over 137 years ago by S. S. Hamill of East Cambridge. Elizabeth is Director of Traditional Worship at Faith Community Church in Plymouth.
Her lifelong passion for choral music and keen interest in history result in the development of interesting and engaging programs for PFC. Elizabeth and her husband John have been residents of Middleborough since 2015 and are the parents of two children. Jack is an engineer living in San Antonio. Anne holds a PhD in history and has been the executive director of several local historical societies. She and her husband, Karl, frequently sing with PFC and recently welcomed their first child.
Email Elizabeth at director@pilgrimfestivalchorus.org
We are proud to participate in the Card to Culture program, a collaboration between Mass Cultural Council and the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, and the Massachusetts Health Connector, by breaking down financial barriers to cultural programming.
EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare cardholders receive free admission to concerts (up to two adults per card and any accompanying children under 18). See the full list of participating organizations offering EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare discounts.
Website by GreenCastle Media
