The Cecilia Chorus of New York

The Cecilia Chorus of New York, formerly known as the St. Cecilia Chorus, is an avocational chorus and nonprofit organization based in New York City in the United States.

With a membership of approximately 150 singers, the chorus performs twice annually at Carnegie Hall with a professional orchestra and soloists, and they also perform at other New York–area venues.

A secular, unaffiliated organization, the Chorus was formally founded in 1906 as a women's chorus; since then, the Chorus has evolved into one of the finest non-professional performing arts organizations in New York City, and has left its mark on American musical history.

The nucleus of the chorus was formed in 1900 by a small group of women who met at each other’s homes on Tuesday mornings

because they loved to sing together. Of these, Miss Susan Warren and Mrs. Henry Burden were the active heads, and Mr. Elliot Schenck was the pianist and leader. The ladies established an all-women’s chorus and named it the Tuesday Morning Singing Club. Membership was by invitation only, and rehearsals were held at the Waldorf Astoria for many years. In 1906, Metropolitan Opera coach Victor Harris. was invited to be Conductor of the chorus. Mr. Harris accepted on the condition that they designate his studio for rehearsals and that they would really work. From this initial core the "Saint Cecilia Club" was founded in 1906. Under Mr. Harris' leadership the Club grew rapidly and soon became known as one of the outstanding choral organizations in New York City.

In 1922, while still a women's group (it remained so until 1965), the Chorus gained significant recognition when it appeared with The Philharmonic Society of New York under Willem Mengelberg in the first New York performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 3. Since then, the Chorus has given world and U.S. premieres of more than sixty works, by composers including Mrs. H.H.A. Beach, Deems Taylor, and Virgil Thompson.

...
Wikipedia