NEWS

Grammy-nominated work by Kile Smith to be performed at May Concert

Composer Kile Smith to have pre-performance chat about his work on stage with Music Director Steve Spinelli

On Saturday, May 17, 2025, the Back Bay Chorale, under the direction of Stephen Spinelli, performs Smith's The Waking Sun. The music of Kile Smith has received three Grammy nominations and is "hailed nationally and internationally for its strong voice, sheer beauty, and profoundly direct emotional appeal.”
READ MORE >

Congratulations to Stephen Spinelli on his 2025 GRAMMY^® Award

And the 2025 Grammy for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album goes to...

...Back Bay Chorale's Music Director Stephen Spinelli, who co-produced the album Beyond the Years - Unpublished Songs of Florence Price, with soprano Karen Slack, and pianist Michelle Cann. The groundbreaking album features 19 unpublished songs by Florence Price, including 16 world premiere recordings. ONEcomposer, a nonprofit organization that Spinelli founded with professor Tamara Acosta of Ithaca College, funded and executive-produced the project. ONEcomposer celebrates musicians whose legacies have been historically excluded.
READ MORE >

What music critics are saying about Back Bay Chorale:

“...powerfully, courageously, accurately, and conveying deep engagements...”

Read Lee Eiseman's review of Back Bay Chorale's performance of Georg Friedrich Handel's Israel in Egypt in Boston Classical Review:
Back Bay Chorale Strikes Fire with Exodus >

“...an enveloping warmth and splendor...earthshaking power...”

Read Aaron Keebaugh's review of Back Bay Chorale's performance ofJohannes Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem in Boston Classical Review:
Back Bay Chorale closes season with a warm, consolatory Brahms Requiem >

What our Bridges ESOL Chorus participants say about their experience:

“you don’t have to fear making a mistake...”

Listen to WBZ NewsRadio 1030's report about our ESOL Chorus.
Boston Chorus Aims To Help Non-English Speakers Hone The Language >

Your gift keeps us singing.

Thank you to all who continue to support Back Bay Chorale. Your presence at our concerts is vital, and we are thrilled to have sold out our 2024 fall and Christmas performances. Your ongoing donations ensure that we can continue to live into our commitment to musical excellence and community engagement.

MAKE A DONATION

Back Bay Chorale shares the power of voice, advancing the spirit of community.

Founded in 1973, the Back Bay Chorale is a 120-member auditioned chorus. For nearly 50 years, we have drawn talented singers from the greater Boston area to perform a repertoire that ranges from the Renaissance to the contemporary.

In addition to our annual concert series, the Chorale also shares music throughout the Boston community through our Bridges program.

Musician, minister, and social activist Larry Hill founded the Back Bay Chorale at Boston’s Church of the Covenant to create a musical ministry that would bring meaning to both singers and their audience.

In the years since Hill’s death in 1989, the Chorale has continued to grow in stature and is now regarded as one of Boston’s premier nonprofessional choruses.