(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- The Morris Choral Society (MCS) will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Sunday, December 10, 2023 at 3:00pm with a concert at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (70 Maple Avenue) in Morristown. This season has Michael Shane Wittenburg returning as Music Director and Jennifer Yang continuing as pianist for the Chorus.

The Holiday Concert will recreate the some of the music of their initial performance as a chorus which grew out of fund raising for the United Methodist Church on the Green in Morristown and the celebration in honor of the 25th anniversary of the State of Israel all in 1973. Since its founding 50 years ago, the community-based chorus has performed annually in the area as well as in Europe several times.  

As always, the Morris Choral Society has an open call for new singers to attend the weekly rehearsal which is held Monday evenings in the Frelinghuysen Middle School, 10 Jane Way, in Morris Plains. The rehearsals begin at 7:30pm and dues remain at $150.00 per year. After the rehearsals, newcomers will be asked to stay for a brief tryout. The first rehearsal will be on Monday, September 11.

New this year, the chorus will form a women’s ensemble to serve as a complement to the popular Express Male, a sextet created in 2011 as an independent all-male vocal group. The women’s group has yet to be named, but will be a select, permanent vocal ensemble which will also perform as part of the Chorus.

Michael Wittenburg is the sixth Music Director in the organization’s long history and is an accomplished musician and conductor. Hailed as a “real virtuoso” by the great classical pianist Ruth Loredo, Mr. Wittenburg is active with many organizations. In addition to his leadership for the Morris Choral Society, he has served as music director for the Elite Academy of Strings and with Opera companies in Nashville, Orlando and Sarasota. He is very much in demand as a guest artist which keeps him extremely busy.

A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, Mr. Wittenburg earned degrees from the Eastman School of Music and from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He was awarded the Osher Scholar Prize from the internationally known Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestral Musicians where he studied with Michael Jinbo.

Under the direction of Mr. Wittenburg, The Morris Choral Society is a National Finalist for the American Prize in Community Choral Performance for 2023. The winner should be announced soon.

Pianist Jennifer Yang returns as accompanist for MCS this season. An accomplished pianist and organist, she holds degrees from Yonsei University in South Korea and from the Westminster Choir College in Princeton. She performs solo recitals, chamber concerts, and choir concerts around the world and serves as the organist for the Morristown United Methodist Church on the Green.

Morris Choral Society is funded in part by Morris Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. MCS has a Go Fund Me page to raise money for this season and to honor Wayne Walters for creating the chorus.

The Morris Choral Society (MCS), founded in 1973, is one of Northern New Jersey's oldest and most active and beloved not-for-profit arts organizations dedicated to enhancing community life by performing and presenting the highest quality choral repertoire from the last three centuries.

Since the start, MCS has dedicated itself to the residents of Morris County and has played a significant role in Northern New Jersey's artistic community, nominated by its peers for the 2018 New Jersey People's Choice Award, Choral Group Division.

Traditionally each performance season includes two major concerts as well as several concert appearances at many of Morristown's annual celebrations: Independence Day, the 911 Observance, Holiday Festival on the Green and First Night.