PRO ARTE CHORALE

50th Anniversary Gala Concert with Orchestra Modern, June 2014 - © Paul Donohoe Photography

The Pro Arte Chorale strives to be one of New Jersey’s foremost volunteer choruses and to be among the top rank of regional choruses in America. The Chorale is committed to enriching the lives of its members, its audience and the broader community by exploring many musical traditions in a variety of venues, presenting performances of the highest artistic quality, and supporting educational endeavors.

Founded in 1964, the Pro Arte Chorale is one of the Northeast’s most prominent choral organizations! The Chorale has appeared in major concert venues across the region including the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the South Orange Performing Arts Center. In addition to its own subscription series, the Chorale has appeared with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, Westfield Symphony Orchestra, and the Mark Morris Dance Company. In May 2008 the Pro Arte Chorale traveled to Liverpool, UK to perform with the Liverpool Welsh Choral at Mossley Hill Church, as part of Liverpool’s celebration as Cultural Capital of Europe. In May 2009 the Liverpool Welsh Choral traveled to the U.S. to join the Pro Arte Chorale and Westfield Symphony Orchestra in performances of Verdi’s Requiem in Ridgewood and Westfield, NJ.

The Chorale has been conducted by William Memmott, John Nelson, Roger Nierenberg, Bart Folse, David Crone, and Joshua Greene. In addition, the Chorale has sung under the batons of Nicholas McGegan, Zubin Mehta, Julius Rudel, Hugh Wolff, Zdenek Macal, Yuri Temirkanov, Leon Botstein, Gerard Schwartz, David Wroe, Steven Fox and is now currently conducted by Bryan Zaros.

Pro Arte Chorale is a proud recipient grants administered by the Bergen County Division of Historic and Cultural Affairs from funds granted by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Pro Arte Chorale is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable organization; in good standing with the state of New Jersey. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

OUR MUSIC DIRECTOR

MAESTRO DR. BRYAN ZAROS

Throughout its 50 year history the Pro Arte Chorale has been most fortunate to be led by rising young conductors, such as John Nelson, Roger Nierenberg and Steven Fox, who have gone on to highly distinguished careers in music. Following this tradition, the Pro Arte Chorale is proud to announce the 2018 appointment of Bryan Zaros as its current Music Director.

Dr. Zaros is a young American conductor recognized for his “strong musical imagination” and “deep sense of musicality and communication.” In addition to his direction of the Pro Arte Chorale, Bryan is the Associate Director of Music and Choirmaster at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine where he leads the Cathedral Choirs, Orchestra and Brass in liturgical as well as concert performances in the grand space of the world’s largest Gothic cathedral. He is also the Music Director of Central City Chorus, one of NYC’s celebrated avocational ensembles and is a frequent guest lecturer at the Manhattan School of Music and at music conferences throughout the USA. Currently he serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Choral Consortium, on the Advisory Board to Music Sacra New York and is a conductor for the American Federation Pueri Cantores.

A native New Yorker, Bryan began his professional musical training as a member of the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus and as a boy chorister at The Church of the Transfiguration, NYC. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Sacred Music from Westminster Choir College, a Master of Music in Conducting from the University of Michigan and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from the Manhattan School of Music.

Recent conducting engagements have included invitations with choirs and orchestras throughout the USA, Europe and South America. Most notably he has conducted ensembles at David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., at American Choral Director’s Association Conferences, on the film set at Warner Bros. Studios and at various cathedrals in England including Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral-London and Canterbury Cathedral. He is a recipient of several conducting awards and fellowships including an American Prize award in Conducting. For more information about Bryan, visit www.bryanzaros.com

“Bryan embodies that rare combination of musicality, excellent people skills and a commitment to doing the hard work it takes to truly be a fine conductor. It gives me great joy to see him take on the music director position with the Pro Arte Chorale, and I look forward to witnessing his work with this cherished and esteemed ensemble!”. -Kent Tritle / Music Director, Oratorio Society of New York; Music Director, Musica Sacra New York; Director of Music, Cathedral of St. John the Divine

ACCOMPANIST

Pianist Hyanghyun Lee has a wide range of experiences including piano solo, art songs, chamber music, opera and musical theater. She has performed across the world, including St. Petersburg in Russia, Seoul in South Korea, and New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C, Cincinnati, and Los Angeles in the United States. Ms. Lee’s accolades include winner of the Estonia Academy of Music and Theatre-Music Competition, winner of the International Joseph Haydn Competition, finalist of the Kankakee Valley Symphony Orchestra Piano Concerto Competition, and art song duo semi-finalist of the International Vocal Competition in the Netherlands. As a collaborative pianist, she also participated in the Songfest Festival in Los Angeles and in the Toronto Summer Music Festival. Ms. Lee earned her Bachelor of Music degree at Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul, South Korea, her Master of Music degree at the University of Cincinnati, and completed her postgraduate collaborative piano fellowship at Bard College, Annandale-On-Hudson, NY. Most recently, she has been employed as an accompanist at the Thurnauer School of Music in Tenafly, NJ and holds an appointment as the pianist at Pro Arte Chorale in Ridgewood, NJ.