Founded in 1807, the Handel Society of Dartmouth College is America’s oldest town-gown choral society. The 105-voice ensemble performs choral and choral-orchestral music from the 16th century to the present, including such works as Bach’s B minor Mass, Verdi’s Requiem, Arvo Pärt’s Te Deum and John Adams’ Harmonium. Concerts feature professional orchestras and vocal soloists.

Our bicentennial was celebrated in 2007 and our celebration featured gala events, an international tour to Austria, Switzerland, and Italy, the world premiere of Andrea Clearfield’s Fire and Ice and, most recently, a residency with Maestro Helmuth Rilling of the Bachakademie Stuttgart.

See also http://www.handelsociety.org/

A work that has been 200 years in the making: The Handel Society of Dartmouth College 1807-2007 by J. Heywood Alexander with David T. Robinson. This book, complete with a CD of historic recordings is available for purchase by clicking here.

Our Artistic Director and Conductor

Robert Duff, our conductor, also directs the Dartmouth Chamber Singers and the Concertato Singers.  Duff also teaches music theory in Dartmouth’s Department of Music.

Prior to his 2004 appointment at Dartmouth, Duff served on the faculties of Pomona College, Claremont Graduate University and Mount St. Mary’s College.  He also held the post of Director of Music for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Earning degrees at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (B.M.), Temple University (M.A.) and the University of Southern California (D.M.A.), Duff studied conducting with Wayne Abercrombie, Alan Harler, Lynn Bielefelt and William Dehning. He has taught all age groups in both public and private schools and serves as adjudicator and clinician for vocal and choral competitions, workshops and festivals.

An active commissioner of new music, Duff has conducted several world premieres of choral and orchestral works. In 2005 he conducted the New Hampshire premiere of Benjamin Britten’s The Company of Heaven. In 2006-07 Duff commissioned and conducted the world premiere, at Dartmouth College in celebration of the Handel Society’s bicentennial, of composer Andrea Clearfield’s Fire and Ice, an oratorio set to the poetry of Robert Frost. Next season, he will lead the Handel Society in the New England premiere of Requiem for the Fallen by Jonathan Leshnoff, a work co-commissioned with the Handel Choir of Baltimore.

Choirs under Duff’s direction have performed throughout the United States and in Europe. He has also prepared choruses for renowned conductors, including, most recently, Helmuth Rilling. Duff serves on the Executive Board of the Eastern Division of the American Choral Directors Association and has been appointed by New Hampshire Governor John Lynch as Councilor to the New Hampshire Council on the Arts. He is a member of the American Musicological Society, Choral Conductors Guild, Chorus America, the College Music Society, Music Educator’s National Conference, Kappa Phi Honor Society and Pi Kappa Lambda Music Society.

Our Accompanist

Evelyn Zuckerman, pianist and harpsichordist, holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Science degrees from the Juilliard School. She began her piano studies at the age of three and by six was performing concerts throughout her native New York City. She has performed at New York’s Town Hall, Carnegie Recital Hall, and at Harvard, MIT and Smith Colleges, to name a few, as well as on radio and TV. She was rehearsal pianist for the Boston Symphony and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and worked with many of the world’s great conductors. As pianist for the contemporary chamber group, the Boston Musica Viva, Evelyn toured Europe, New England, and had a series in Cambridge, MA. Her recordings can be heard on Cri, Delos and Musical Heritage Society labels. Currently, she teaches piano, coaches chamber music and singers, and performs as a member of Camerata New England.

Our Vocal Coach

Erma Mellinger, a Lecturer in Music at Dartmouth College, earned her Bachelor of Music degree with Highest Distinction from Northwestern University and her Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music where she earned both Teaching and Performance Awards. A professional singer, Erma Mellinger has performed leading roles with many of the country’s major opera companies including Cleveland Opera, the Dallas Opera, the Florida Grand Opera, the Fresno International Grand Opera, and the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh.