Our Crowdfunding Groups
Although this campaign has concluded, if you would still like to make a donation to support the Heinz Chapel Choir Goldsmith Commission, you may always do so here.
We're filled with gratitude that the Heinz Chapel Choir Goldsmith Commission EngagePitt campaign is 108% funded – and we found it poetic that we reached 100% on the eve of Thanksgiving. Your generosity, support for this project, and beautiful tributes to JG on the campaign page and on social media have been humbling.
We promise to work diligently next semester to learn Mr. Chilcott's "When Spring Comes Walking," to sing it as beautifully as we are able on April 14, and to share a recording of that premiere performance online soon after.
In the meantime, we hope your holiday season is full of peace and joy and we look forward to seeing you in 2019!
We’re filled with gratitude that the Heinz Chapel Choir Goldsmith Commission campaign is 100% funded – and we found it poetic that the final gifts arrived on the eve of Thanksgiving. Your generosity, support for this project, and beautiful tributes to JG here and on social media have been humbling. We promise to work diligently next semester to learn Mr. Chilcott’s “When Spring Comes Walking,” to sing it as beautifully as we are able on April 14, and to share a recording of that premiere performance online soon after. In the meantime, please know that we’ll be holding our HCC family in our hearts every time we sing in the Chapel. We hope to see you all in the coming weeks and again in April.
~Susan Rice and the members of the Heinz Chapel Choir, 2018-19
We couldn’t be more grateful for the amazing first week of this campaign! In just 7 days you’ve contributed more than half of the amount needed to fund the commission! We’re so thankful to all of you who have contributed and to those of you who’ve spread the news about this campaign through email, social media, and word of mouth.
We're hard at work preparing for our Holiday Concert Series and look forward to moving rehearsals to the Chapel next week! We hope to see you at one of the performances (ticket information here), but if you're far from Pittsburgh, we hope you'll join us for the live broadcast and webstream of our performance on Friday, December 7 (a link will be posted here by the 7th), brought to you by WQED. We’ll be singing a lovely Bob Chilcott carol, “Mary’s Child”, from the aisles to remind us all of his wonderful craftsmanship and whet our musical appetite for “When Spring Comes Walking.”
Thanks again for your generosity and support of this project. We can’t wait to sing “When Spring Comes Walking” for you all (and for JG) in April.
Although not the first to take HCC abroad, John Goldsmith established a regular cycle of international touring every 3 years, making music in French Canada (’91), Eastern Europe (’92), Greece & Italy (’95), Spain & France (’98), Coatia & Italy (’01), Scandinavia (’03), South America (’06), China (’09), Peru (’12), and the Balkans (’14) in his final tour before retirement.
John Goldsmith directed HCC for an impressive 25 years before retiring in 2014. In all, he directed approximately 534 choristers and made an indelible impact on each of them. In his 25th and final year, he took the choir on an international tour of the Balkans. HCC was so lucky to have Mr. Goldsmith with them for a whole quarter of a century!
JG gave a starting pitch to HCC with a tuning fork tuned to a frequency of 440 Hz, or the musical note A4. Today’s singers in HCC carry on the tradition by giving pitch from within the choir using their own tuning forks.
Founded in 1938, the Heinz Chapel Choir has been celebrating traditions in music for 80 years. Many generations of alumni have been brought together though HCC, and it continues be a highlight of many students’ college experiences. Here’s to 80 years, and many more in the future!
The University of Pittsburgh is 231 years old! Since 1787, Pitt has been making a name for itself as one of the leading research institutions in the world. The University of Pittsburgh serves as the home and support system for the Heinz Chapel Choir, the group that will be able to sing a beautiful commissioned piece in honor of the late John Goldsmith with the help of your gift!
