The Columbia Festival Chorale has been dormant since 2003.

The Columbia Festival Chorale, a community chorus, was founded by Gwen Gould in 1994 as the Occasional Chorale. The name was later changed to the Columbia Festival Chorale and the group performed with the Columbia Festival Orchestra annually at the popular Salute to America concert at the Shaker Museum & Library in Old Chatham, NY, from 1995-2003, as well as, on occasion, at other times during the concert year. Singers were drawn from a wide area including Columbia County, Dutchess County, the Capital Region and the neighboring Berkshires.

The Chorale sponsored a series of Summer Sings from 1993-2003, taking place in various venues around Columbia County including The Shaker Tannery in New Lebanon, The Spencertown Academy, St. Peter’s Church in Spencertown, St. James Church in Chatham, North Pointe Cultural Center in Kinderhook, Camphill Village in Copake, and The Congregational Church in Stockbridge, MA.  From 2006-2009, Summer Sings took place at PS21 (Performance Spaces for the 21st Century) in Chatham, NY:  www.ps21chatham.org.

The Columbia Festival Orchestra continues to sponsor an Annual Community Sing of Handel’s Messiah at St. James Church in Chatham, NY.  For information visit: columbiafestivalorchestra.org.