Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Manfred Honeck is widely regarded as one of the world's leading conductors, celebrated for his distinctive and revelatory interpretations that have garnered international acclaim. As Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where he is now in his 19th season, he continues to shape the orchestra’s artistic identity with a deep sense of purpose and passion. His tenure, recently extended through the 2032–2033 season, has seen the orchestra flourish artistically while strengthening its role as a cultural ambassador for the city of Pittsburgh. Celebrated at home and abroad, the orchestra has appeared at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, as well as at major venues throughout Europe and prestigious festivals such as the BBC Proms, Salzburg Festival, Musikfest Berlin, Lucerne Festival, Rheingau Music Festival, and Grafenegg Festival.

Manfred Honeck's acclaimed Pittsburgh tenure is reflected in an extensive discography on the Reference Recordings label, featuring works by Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Shostakovich, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and others. These recordings have received widespread critical acclaim and multiple GRAMMY® nominations, including a win for "Best Orchestral Performance" in 2018. In August 2025, he and the orchestra released Requiem: Mozart’s Death in Words and Music, an original concept reimagining a funeral mass for Mozart, combining the composer’s Requiem with Gregorian chant, poetry, and other choral works by Mozart. 

Born in Austria, Manfred Honeck completed his musical training at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. His years as a violist with the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna State Opera Orchestra have had a lasting influence on his work as a conductor, and his approach to interpretation is rooted in a desire to venture deep beneath the surface of the music. He began his conducting career as an assistant to Claudio Abbado and as director of the Vienna Jeunesse Orchestra. Subsequently, he was engaged by the Zurich Opera House, where he was awarded the European Conducting Prize in 1993. He has since served as one of three principal conductors of the MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig, as Music Director of the Norwegian National Opera, Principal Guest Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and Chief Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm. In 2023, he was appointed Honorary Conductor by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, following decades of close collaboration.  

Manfred Honeck also enjoys a distinguished profile as an opera conductor. In his four seasons as General Music Director of the Staatsoper Stuttgart, he conducted premieres of operas by Berlioz, Mozart, Poulenc, Strauss, Verdi, and Wagner. He has also appeared as a guest conductor at major institutions such as Semperoper Dresden, Komische Oper Berlin, the Royal Opera of Copenhagen, and the Salzburg Festival. In 2020, Beethoven’s anniversary year, he conducted a new staging of Fidelio (1806 version) at the Theater an der Wien. In autumn 2022, he made his much-acclaimed debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, leading a revival of Mozart’s Idomeneo. Beyond the podium, Manfred Honeck has created a series of symphonic suites, including Janáček’s Jenůfa, Strauss’s Elektra, Dvořák’s Rusalka, as well as Puccini's Turandot, which he regularly performs around the globe. The most recent arrangement, based on Strauss's Arabella, received its premiere with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2025.

As a guest conductor, Manfred Honeck appears regularly with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra London, the Orchestre de Paris, and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. In the United States, he has conducted many of the nation’s most distinguished ensembles. He has also been Artistic Director of the International Wolfegg Concerts in Germany for over three decades. 

In summer 2026, he returns to the Salzburg Festival to conduct Ariadne auf Naxos with the Vienna Philharmonic. He will also lead the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on a European festival tour, with appearances in Salzburg, Lucerne, Amsterdam, Hamburg, and at the opening concert of the season at the Vienna Konzerthaus. In the 2026/27 season, he will commemorate the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s death with special programs and a new commission from Jüri Reinvere, to be presented worldwide.

Manfred Honeck holds honorary doctorates from several universities in the United States and has been awarded the honorary title of Professor by the Austrian Federal President. In 2018, the jury of the International Classical Music Awards declared him "Artist of the Year." In 2026, he received the Julio Kilenyi Medal from the American Bruckner Society, an honor bestowed on distinguished interpreters of Bruckner.

Bertrand Chamayou has mastered an extensive repertoire displaying striking assurance, imagination, artistic approach and remarkable consistency in his performances. He is a regular performer in venues such as the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Lincoln Center, the Herkulessaal Munich and London’s Wigmore Hall. He has appeared at major festivals including New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival, the Lucerne Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn and Klavier-Festival Ruhr.

The 2017/18 season will see him make his debuts with New York Philharmonic under Semyon Bychkov, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Bamberger Symphoniker, Staatskapelle Berlin, Atlanta Symphony, Orchestre symphonique de Québec and Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Further highlights include his return to Orchestre National de Belgique, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orchestre de Paris and Orchestre National de France. He will perform as a soloist on tour in South Africa with the Orchestre Nationale du Capitole de Toulouse.

He has worked with orchestras including London Philharmonic Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic orchestras, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Orchestre National de France, NHK Symphony Orchestra and Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Recent highlights have included his celebrated debut with Seoul Philhamonic Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Accademia di Santa Cecilia and Cleveland Orchestra. Chamayou’s conductor collaborations have included Pierre Boulez, Leonard Slatkin, Sir Neville Marriner, Semyon Bychkov, Michel Plasson, Louis Langrée, Stéphane Denève, Ludovic Morlot and Andris Nelsons.

Chamayou is a regular chamber music performer, with partners including Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Quatuor Ebène, Antoine Tamestit and Sol Gabetta. He will open the season at London’s International Piano Series and perform in recitals at Wigmore Hall, Kissinger Sommer, Lakeside Arts Center Nottingham, in Monte Carlo, Vilnius, Essen, at Salzburg’s Easter Festival and Great Performers series at Lincoln Center, New York.

ertrand Chamayou has made a number of highly successful recordings, including a Naïve CD of music by César Franck, which was awarded several accolades including Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice. In 2011, Chamayou celebrated Liszt’s 200th anniversary with a recording of the complete Années de Pèlerinage - also for Naïve – a work he performed in several venues throughout the world. The album received rave reviews worldwide – including Gramophone Choice. The only artist to win France's prestigious Victoires de la Musique on four occasions, he has an exclusive recording contract with Warner/Erato and was awarded the 2016 ECHO Klassik for his recording of Ravel’s complete works for solo piano.

Bertrand Chamayou was born in Toulouse; his musical talent was quickly noted by pianist Jean-François Heisser, who later became his professor at the Paris Conservatoire. He completed his training with Maria Curcio in London.

Rachele Gilmore has established herself as one of America’s most sought after coloratura sopranos, and continues to thrill audiences around the globe combining what Opera News describes as a “silvery soprano…with an effortlessness that thrills her audience.”  A regular performer in America, Europe and Asia, Ms. Gilmore is consistently praised for being “the vocal standout” and a dynamic actress; “displaying more talent and charm than any one person should be allowed to possess.”

This season, Ms. Gilmore appears with Maestro Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony for both Haydn’s Creation and Handel’s Messiah, sings performances of Nannetta in Falstaff with Opera Omaha, and essays the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor with Virginia Opera.

Rachele Gilmore’s 2016-2017 season featured performances of Gretel in Hansel und Gretel with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Marie in La fille du regiment with Austin Opera, and Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann with Hawaii Opera Theatre. She also appeared in concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for performances of the Haydn Creation, the Seoul Philharmonic for scenes from Alice in Wonderland, and with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for a performance of Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate and three songs by Duparc.

The 2015-2016 season included performances of Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Theâtre Champs-Elysées, and returns to Boston Lyric Opera as Sophie in Werther and the Glimmerglass Festival as Ninetta in La gazza ladra.

The 2014-2015 season featured a reprisal of the role of Alice in Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, she debuted with Opera Omaha as Gilda in Rigoletto, NCPA Beijingas Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, and closed the season as Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail in a debut with Festival d’Aix en Provence.

In the 2013-2014 season, Ms. Gilmore’s engagements included the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor for her debut at Opéra de Lille; La Monnaie in Brussels for Ophélie in Hamlet; Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann with the Bayerische Staatsoper; Gilda with Opera Colorado; and a return to the Glimmerglass Festival, as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos.

The 2012-2013 season brought Ms. Gilmore’s role debut as the Queen of the Night in Opera Philadelphia’s production of Die Zauberflöte and highly acclaimed performances as Amina in La sonnambula with Florida Grand Opera.

During the 2011-2012 season, the soprano made her debut with Teatro alla Scala, as Olympia in Robert Carsen’s production of Les contes d’Hoffmann; sang Blonde in Die entführung aus dem Serail with Grand Théâtre Genève, bowed as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opéra de Vichy, reprised the roles of Das Feuer and Die Nachtigall with the Bayerische Staatsoper, and sang her first performances of Cunegonde in Candide with Portland Opera.

To begin the 2010-2011 season, Ms. Gilmore returned to the Metropolitan Opera, covering the role of Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann, following which she sang the roles of Das Feuer and Die Nachtigall in L’enfant et les sortileges with the Bayerische Staatsoper, led by Kent Nagano. She then returned to Knoxville Opera to make her role debut as Elvira in Bellini’s I Puritani, and took the stage as Gilda in Rigoletto with Michigan Opera Theater.

Most notably in 2009, Ms. Gilmore made a “show-stopping” [Classical Source] debut with the Metropolitan Opera, in the role of Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann. Ms. Gilmore began the 2009-2010 season as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with Indianapolis Opera, and performed this role later in the season for Boston Lyric Opera. In February of 2010, Ms. Gilmore made her house and role debut with Knoxville Opera in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor. In the spring, she sang the title role in the groundbreaking Swiss premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland with Grand Théâtre de Genève. Other notable appearances include her European debut with Deutsch Oper am Rhein, singing Blondchen in Die entführung aus dem Serial.

Rachele is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, and received her Bachelor’s of Music from Indiana University and continued with Graduate studies at Boston University.  She was a member the Young Artist Programs of Glimmerglass Opera, Florida Grand Opera and Aspen Music Festival’s Opera Center, and was a winner in Placido Domingo’s Operalia World Opera Contest in Paris.

During the 2011-2012 season, the soprano made her debut with Teatro alla Scala, as Olympia in Robert Carsen’s production of Les contes d’Hoffmann; sang Blonde in Die entführung aus dem Serail with Grand Théâtre Genève, bowed as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opéra de Vichy, reprised the roles of Das Feuer and Die Nachtigall with the Bayerische Staatsoper, and sang her first performances of Cunegonde in Candide with Portland Opera.

To begin the 2010-2011 season, Gilmore returned to the Metropolitan Opera, covering the role of Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann, following which she sang the roles of Das Feuer and Die Nachtigall in L’enfant et les sortileges with the Bayerische Staatsoper, led by Kent Nagano. She then returned to Knoxville Opera to make her role debut as Elvira in Bellini’s I Puritani, and took the stage as Gilda in Rigoletto with Michigan Opera Theater.

Most notably in 2009, Gilmore made a “show-stopping” [Classical Source] debut with the Metropolitan Opera, in the role of Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann. Gilmore began the 2009-2010 season as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with Indianapolis Opera, and performed this role later in the season for Boston Lyric Opera. In February of 2010, Gilmore made her house and role debut with Knoxville Opera in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor. In the spring, she sang the title role in the groundbreaking Swiss premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland with Grand Théâtre de Genève. Other notable appearances include her European debut with Deutsch Oper am Rhein, singing Blondchen in Die entführung aus dem Serial.

Gilmore is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, and received her Bachelor’s of Music from Indiana University and continued with Graduate studies at Boston University.  She was a member the Young Artist Programs of Glimmerglass Opera, Florida Grand Opera and Aspen Music Festival’s Opera Center, and was a winner in Placido Domingo’s Operalia World Opera Contest in Paris.

Described by the Maryland theatre guide as having a “stunning, and luminous timbre,” Corrie Stallings is gaining quick acclaim for her work on both operatic and concert stages around the country.

The 2017-2018 season brought Ms. Stallings back to Pittsburgh opera, where she was a resident artist from 2014-2016, to sing Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro. She then made her role and company debut with Washington concert opera singing Isoletta in Bellini’s rarely performed La Straniera, where her performance was described as “one of the highlights of the evening, a voice capable of chesty strength and silvery lightness” (Washington Classical Review).

In the 2016-2017 season, Ms. Stallings made her company and role debut as Angelina in La Cenerentola with Syracuse Opera before traveling to Toulouse and Bordeaux, France to remount Francesca Zambello’s production of Candide at Opéra National de Bordeaux and Théâtre du Capitole. After receiving first prize in the 2017 Gerda Lissner international vocal competition, Ms. Stallings went on to win third place in the Giulio Gari International vocal competition before returning to the Santa Fe opera for a second season as an apprentice artist to cover Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus in summer of 2017.

In Pittsburgh’s 2015-16 season, she performed Jo in Adamo’s Little Women and Rosina in Rossini’s il Barbiere di Siviglia. In 2014-15, she appeared as Bertarido in Handel’s Rodelinda and Mercedes in Bizet’s Carmen. In December of 2015, Ms. Stallings made her debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as the alto soloist in Mozart’s coronation mass under the baton of Maestro Honick and returned to Denver, CO to perform the alto solos in Handel’s Messiah with the Colorado symphony. 

In summer 2015, Ms. Stallings was a member of the Young American Artists program at Glimmerglass Festival and appeared as jazz trio girl in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti and covered Vanderdunder & Paquette in Bernstein’s Candide.

Ms. Stallings was a festival artist with opera theatre of saint louis in 2013 and 2014, where she performed as third lady in the Magic Flute under the baton of Jane Glover, and covered Stephanie Blythe in the role of Gertrude Stein in the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s 27, both in 2014. She also performed the role of Kate in The Pirates of Penzance in 2013. Additionally in 2013, Ms. Stallings was a soloist in Chicago symphony orchestra’s Christmas production, welcome, yule! As well as the alto soloist cover in Bach’s mass in b minor under the baton of Maestro Muti. In 2012, she was the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and was a 2013 third place regional finalist in the metropolitan opera national council regional auditions. While pursuing her master’s degree at northwestern university, Ms. Stallings performed the roles of Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Samira in the Ghosts of Versailles, and second lady in Die Zauberflote.

A native of the San Francisco bay area, Ms. Stallings holds a B.A. in vocal performance and art history from Cal Poly State University and a M.M. in opera performance from northwestern university. She now resides in Pittsburgh, pa. 

Admired for his interpretive depth, vocal strength and range of expressivity, rising star tenor Paul Appleby is one of the sought-after voices of his generation. A versatile artist, Appleby is equally in demand on the world’s leading concert, recital, and opera stages.

Following a summer season that introduced Paul Appleby to Glyndebourne in a new production by Barrie Kosky of Händel’s Saul, the tenor’s 2015-2016 season included a return to the Metropolitan Opera stage as Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail conducted by James Levine and a San Francisco Opera debut as Tamino in The Magic Flute.  Concert performances featured collaborations with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony in Händel Messiah and Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic with performances of the Mozart Requiem, and with Jane Glover and the New York Philharmonic in Händel’s Messiah.  Profoundly committed to the art of song, the tenor makes a Wigmore Hall recital debut accompanied by Malcolm Martineau and tours North America with pianist Ken Noda presented in performances by Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Celebrity Series, Friends of Chamber Music of Miami, and the University of Notre Dame.  With Steven Blier, Appleby serves a unique program at the New York Festival of Song offering the exquisite lyricism of Franz Schubert and The Beatles.

Appleby closed his 2014-2015 season “in spectacular form” (The New York Times) as Tom Rakewell in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of The Rake’s Progress(Stravinsky) conducted by James Levine. Earlier in the season, Appleby was seen and heard there as David in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

Additional engagements included his role debut as Don Ottavio with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in concert, his San Diego Opera debut in the same role in Don Giovanni, and performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on tour, and with the National Symphony Orchestra in Mendelssohn’s Lobegesang at the Kennedy Center.

Other recent performance highlights include the lead role of Brian in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2013-2014 North American premiere of American composer Nico Muhly’s Two Boys conducted by David Robertson, and Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with Oper Frankfurt.  Company debuts included the Santa Fe Opera singing Fritz in Offenbach’s The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, the Canadian Opera Company in Così fan tutte, and Washington National Opera as Tamino in Mozart’s The Magic Flute.  Concert appearances include performances of works by Benjamin Britten as part of Carnegie Hall’s “Britten Discovery Day,” an art song recital with the Voce at Pace recital series in New York City with pianists Ken Noda and Brian Zeger, and a joint recital with baritone Joshua Hopkins and pianist Natalia Katyukova presented by the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Appleby’s discography includes albums for Delos, Virgin Classics, EMI’s Juilliard Sessions and Nonesuch.  Nico Muhly’s opera, Two Boys, released by Nonesuch was recorded live during the Metropolitan Opera’s 2013 production with conductor David Robertson and mezzo-soprano Alice Coote.  In April 2014, Delos released Dear Theo; the first album dedicated solely to works by American composer Ben Moore features Appleby’s performance of the song cycle from which the album takes its name accompanied by Brian Zeger, as well as the bonus track, Mr. Mooore’s widely performed setting of W.B. Yeats poem, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree.”

Appleby is a graduate of Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and received the 2012 Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Performing and Visual Arts.  Other awards include the 2012 Top Prize by the Gerda Lissner Foundation, 2012 Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center, 2011 Richard Tucker Career Grant and George London Foundation Award, and National Winner of the 2009 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.  A recipient of an Artist Diploma in opera studies at The Juilliard School, he has also received a master’s degree from Juilliard and a bachelor’s degree in English literature and in music from the University of Notre Dame.

Mexican-American bass-baritone, Richard Ollarsaba, praised by The Washington Post for his "meltingly smooth bass-baritone" and for "evoking a young Ruggero Raimondi in looks and manner", represented the USA in the 2019 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, was a member of the prestigious Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago for three seasons and a grand finalist in the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. This season he will make his debut with Kentucky Opera as Escamillo in their performances of Carmen, make his home-state debut with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, and debut at Dallas Opera in their performances of Stravinsky's Pulcinella. Last season he debuted in the title of role of Don Giovanni with Opera Hong Kong (香港歌劇院), and performed with North Carolina Opera, Annapolis Opera, and the Barharbor Music Festival as Escamillo in Carmen. He also made his Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra debut in performances of Haydn's Mass in Time of War and Messiah.

While at the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, his tenure included productions of La Traviata, Capriccio, Anna Bolena, Tosca, The Passenger, Otello, Madama Butterfly, Parsifal and the title role in Don Giovanni, stepping into the iconic part with a few hours' notice. Other operatic engagements include Escamillo in Carmen with Minnesota Opera, Tulsa Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago (cover); Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Virginia Opera; Asdrubale in Rossini's La pietra del paragone in addition to performances as Angelotti in Tosca, Luciano in Musto's Bastianello, and Fallito in Gassmann's L'opera seria with Wolf Trap Opera; Timur in Turandot and Rochefort in Anna Bolena with Minnesota Opera; Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Cleveland; Pistola in Falstaff both in his debut with Opera Omaha and Intermountain Opera Bozeman. Ferrando in Il Trovatore with North Carolina Opera; Reverend John Hale in Ward's The Crucible and Colline in La bohème with Piedmont Opera.

In addition to performances on the operatic stage, Mr. Ollarsaba appears regularly in concert and recital. He has been the bass soloist with the Mainly Mozart Festival in a rare performance of Mozart's Thamos, König in Ägypten, Handel's Messiah with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Kansas City Symphony as well as in Bach's St. John's Passion with the Madison Bach Musicians, Dvorak's Te Deum with Apollo Chorus of Chicago, Bernstein's Songfest at the Ravinia Festival, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Macon Symphony Orchestra, Verdi's Requiem with the Salisbury Symphony and Beethoven's Choral Fantasy in his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood. That concert was a gala celebration of the venerable festival's 75th birthday and was telecast nationally on PBS.

Audiences and critics alike have praised The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh’s programming, saying, “EXCEPTIONAL and MEMORABLE… I’m still talking about it,” “One of the finest music events I have ever attended,” and “the Mendelssohn never ceases to amaze me… This city should be proud of its choir” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). 

Critically acclaimed as one of the finest choruses in the country, MCP is the “voice of the greater Pittsburgh region” — whether premiering a choral work composed by Stewart Copeland of The Police at a rock venue, or performing Mozart with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Unlike other professional arts organizations, MCP is proudly comprised of mostly amateur singers with professional-caliber talent, whose day jobs vary from postal clerk to physician to casino card dealer. MCP singers give generously of their talent, passion, and commitment to share the magic of live music with the widest possible audience, within Heinz Hall and throughout the community. 

For more than a century, MCP has proudly partnered with the PSO as its “chorus of choice,” bringing the joys of symphonic choral music to tens of thousands of people each year. MCP has performed under the batons of world-renowned conductors, including Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Michael Tilson Thomas, Claudio Abbado, Mstislav Rostropovich, Leonard Slatkin, Charles Dutoit, André Previn, Sir Neville Marriner, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Helmuth Rilling, Ingo Metzmacher, Richard Hickox, Zdenek Mácal, and Manfred Honeck.

MCP embraces its long legacy of performances, recordings, and commissions that reimagine choral music for today’s audiences and bring bold, unique programming to the Pittsburgh region, such as the recent world premieres of Satan’s Fall by the Police’s Stewart Copeland and The Times They Are A-Changin’ by composer and conductor Steve Hackman. Under the leadership of its new Robert Page Music Director Daniel Singer, MCP looks forward to continuing its tradition of excellence while seeking innovative ways to encourage broader community participation in MCP as singers and as members of the audience. 

MCP fosters the next generation of choral singers and audience members through its educational program, the Junior Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh (JMCP). Founded in 1986, JMCP is the region’s premier high school choral training and performance program. Annually, JMCP attracts singers from more than a dozen school districts, providing youth with a challenging musical environment in which to develop their skills and encouraging them to be lifelong participants in the arts.