Pilgrim Festival Chorus (PFC) is a 100-member premier community chorus, bringing together experienced vocalists from over 20 local communities. Dedicated to presenting diverse and inspiring choral works, PFC strives to educate, enrich, and engage both its singers and audiences. Repertoire spans centuries and styles—from masterworks such as C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificat, Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Israel in Egypt, Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem, and Orff’s Carmina Burana, to 20th-century compositions by Bernstein, Britten, and Kodály, and works by living composers including Corigliano, Forrest, Hagenberg, Jenkins, Rutter, and the late James Whitbourn.
Under the artistic direction of William B. Richter and Elizabeth Chapman Reilly, PFC’s concert season begins with a festive holiday performance in early December. Mid-December features the popular Messiah Sing, where the audience joins in as the chorus. The spring concert typically highlights a major choral work with professional orchestra and soloists. In June, Pilgrim Festival Singers, an ensemble of PFC, presents concerts featuring selections from Broadway and American traditions. Smaller volunteer groups also perform throughout the year at local events, deepening the chorus’s community involvement.
New members are welcome to join at the start of each concert cycle: in September for the winter concert, January for the spring concert, and May for the summer concert. Prospective singers are invited to attend an open rehearsal and complete a Vocal Placement Session (VPS) prior to being accepted as a member.
Pilgrim Festival Chorus is a volunteer, nonprofit choral ensemble dedicated to presenting diverse choral works that educate, enrich, and engage both its members and its audiences.
Pilgrim Festival Chorus is widely recognized for sharing the world’s great choral music as a means of bringing people together. We aspire to produce concert experiences that are accessible to all and showcase our commitment to musical excellence.
We believe that singing in community and experiencing choral performance can be transformational. With that in mind, our core values are to:
President – Sara Weiss
Vice President – Joe Hutcheson
Secretary – David Tyler
Treasurer – Lynne Hare
Katie Allen
Kathleen Clark
Christine Conrod
Michaela Coombs
Peg Davis
Hilary Goodnow
Dianne Scott
Susan Wolfthal
Soprano – Susan Wolfthal
Alto – Beth Frasso
Tenor – Jim Doyle
Bass – David Tyler
Archivist – Susan Wolfthal
Grant Writer – Hilary Goodnow, Sara Weiss
Music Librarian – Hannah Woodbury
Program Editors – Elizabeth Chapman Reilly, Sara Weiss
Program Notes – Elizabeth Chapman Reilly
Program Printing & Design – Powder Horn Press
Publicity – Michelle McGrath – McGrathPR
Scholarship Committee – Joy Burns, Jodi Mulcahy, Hannah Woodbury, Wendela Doble Yeo
Stage Manager – Susan Wolfthal
Tickets – Kathleen Clark
Ushers & Box Office – Lori Brandt
Website – Dan Miot – GreenCastle Media
William B. Richter, Artistic Director, is a founding leader of Pilgrim Festival Chorus. He is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music and has completed graduate studies in choral conducting at Boston University and Westminster Choir College. For over 40 years, Bill has been a choral director and administrator in the Scituate Public Schools. He directs five choirs at Scituate High School (SHS) where over twenty percent of the school population is enrolled in the choral program.
As an administrator, Bill served as Music Department Chair and Program Specialist for Music, roles that oversee instruction, budget and programs for grades K-12. He is currently Manager of Scituate Center for the Performing Arts. His SHS choirs have been featured in local performances with recording artists Josh Groban, Michael Crawford, Barenaked Ladies, and Kenny Loggins.
Throughout his career, Bill has been involved in the Massachusetts Music Educators Association in numerous leadership positions such as Southeastern District chairperson, manager of the MMEA Allstate Chorus, the Southeastern District Senior Chorus, and conductor of the Western and Southeastern District Junior Treble Choruses.
Along with his teaching duties, Bill is Music Director of First Trinitarian Congregational Church (UCC) in Scituate. A lifetime South Shore resident, his elder son is a professor of music (UMass Lowell) and his younger son is on the road with The Beach Boys. His greatest joys are his grandkids Benjamin and Hannah.
Email Bill at director@pilgrimfestivalchorus.org
Elizabeth Chapman Reilly, Artistic Director and Accompanist, is a founding leader of Pilgrim Festival Chorus. She is well known in southeastern Massachusetts as an accomplished and versatile accompanist. She studied piano, organ, and voice at Acadia University in Nova Scotia and subsequently earned her Master of Music degree from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
Since completing her formal education, she has worked in many area churches and schools as organist, pianist, and choir director. She currently serves as organist and choir director at First Congregational Church in Middleborough where she plays the 1887 S. S. Hamill pipe organ, a two-manual tracker, built over 137 years ago by S. S. Hamill of East Cambridge. Elizabeth is also Director of Traditional Worship at Faith Community Church in Plymouth.
Her lifelong passion for choral music and keen interest in history result in the development of interesting and engaging programs for PFC. Elizabeth and her husband John have been residents of Middleborough since 2015 and are the parents of two children. Jack is vice president of engineering for a New York company. Anne holds a PhD in history and has been the executive director of several local historical societies. She and her husband, Karl, frequently sing with PFC and last year welcomed their first child.
Email Elizabeth at director@pilgrimfestivalchorus.org
We are proud to participate in the Card to Culture program, a collaboration between Mass Cultural Council and the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, and the Massachusetts Health Connector, by breaking down financial barriers to cultural programming.
EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare cardholders receive free admission to concerts (up to two adults per card and any accompanying children under 18). See the full list of participating organizations offering EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare discounts.
Website by GreenCastle Media
