"Wherever people are brought together through this friendly medium (singing), they discover the simplest, the most direct, and the most effective power on earth for the promotion of understanding and goodwill." (Marshall Bartholomew, Director of the Yale Glee Club 1923-1952)
From its inception in 1998, the Yale Alumni Chorus has been serious about its music. In addition to a dual mission of travel and song, we are equally focused on our ability to make positive changes in people’s lives through creative musical engagement programs. From our shared musical exchange with the Normal School in Xi’an China in 1998 to the recent, Celebration Tour to Turkey, Georgia and Armenia and the conducting workshop in a New Haven prison in 2015, we have been able to channel the generosity and enthusiasm of our Members – and of outside organizations as well – to benefit people in the communities we visit, not only by sharing joint performances, but also by providing moral and financial support to their musical endeavors.
In the 18 years of our existence YAC has participated in musical engagement programs on 5 continents. In each location the YAC Foundation designs and produces musical and social exchanges with local orchestras, choruses, educational centers, schools and community organizations in order to "build international understanding through the universal language of music.” We continue to build upon our successes, syndicating initial efforts and acting as a catalyst to attract additional resources in support of what we have started.
On the home front we have collaborated with the Metropolitan Opera Guild’s Urban Voices Program to promote choral singing in the schools of NYC and Boston, and planned and participated in the two Yale International Choral Festivasl held in New Haven in 2012 and 2015. We were also one of several groups presented at Serenade! 2014 in Washington DC under the auspices of Classical Movements.
Most recently YACF has become a supporter of the Jerusalem Youth Chorus (jerusalemyouthchorus.org), the brainchild of Micah Hendler, Yale ’11. Micah‘s vision was inspired by his service in Seeds of Peace. In October of 2012, he enlisted a disparate group of Israeli and Palestinian youths and has molded them into a cohesive chorus which rehearses regularly and performs at local functions. They have received considerable recognition from all corners of Israel and the world of youth choral singing. They have traveled to Japan, England and the United States in recent years where their mission and singing have been well received.