The mission of Grace Chorale of Brooklyn is to promote and cultivate the art of choral singing in Brooklyn by:

• Presenting a wide variety of choral music, including newly commissioned works, to audiences through concerts, partnerships and educational outreach

• Offering amateur singers the opportunity to study the art of choral singing under dynamic and professional leadership

• Engaging public support for these endeavors

Grace Chorale of Brooklyn is committed to building and sustaining a diverse, equitable and inclusive choral community that nurtures diversity of thought and perspectives, that represents the heterogeneity of Brooklyn, and that champions works by historically underrepresented composers.

We are proud of our commissioning program: For nearly a decade, Grace Chorale of Brooklyn has commissioned a wide variety of choral works by talented New York City composers as part of our mission to support living composers and expand the choral repertoire of the 21st century. The Chorale values our collaboration with them and the wonderful opportunity to breathe life into the work they compose for us. 

Grace Chorale of Brooklyn is a community chorus based in Brooklyn. Our members are a group of singers who bring diverse musical experiences and backgrounds to the group and all share a love of choral music. We are an 85 member chorus with smaller ensembles drawn from our ranks. Under the baton of music director Jason Asbury, the Chorale is committed to serving the wider Brooklyn community by presenting various traditions of choral music. Our concerts include well-known and little-known masterpieces of choral literature from Early Music to Contemporary composers. 

Prior to 2014, GCB was known as Grace & Spiritus Chorale of Brooklyn which had been established in 2006 by the joining of two Brooklyn Heights choruses – Grace Choral Society which had a 30-year history in the Heights, and Spiritus et Anima which had been associated for years with the local Saint Ann’s School. The Chorus thrived and grew under the baton of James Busby and now looks forward to new frontiers with its new name and Jason Asbury at the helm.

GCB presents two or three concerts a year in Brooklyn neighborhoods, and is dedicated to performing a wide range of music, including the music of living composers with an emphasis on performing newly commissioned work.

The Early Years Prior to the Merger in 2006

The Grace Choral Society of Brooklyn took its name from Grace Church in Brooklyn Heights, where it was founded in 1976 as a supplement to the music program of the church. It retained the name of Grace but for many years had been an independent, secular, non-profit organization under the direction of an elected board of directors. 

Spiritus et Anima was formed in the 1990’s by Linda Kaufman and James Busby, the former Chair of the Saint Ann’s School Music Department. Its membership was drawn from faculty, parents, and other members of the Saint Ann’s community. The group performed many choral classics in concerts in Brooklyn Heights, including the Verdi Requiem and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jeanne Nagle, President
Donna Epstein, Secretary
Marta Nelson, Treasurer

Alison Carnduff
David Frutkoff
Eric Granwehr
Ashley Mabbitt
Anne Mazza
Maura McGrath
Gordon Reynolds
Ellen Telzer
Deborah Wythe

Read Jason Asbury's bio HERE

Chris Urquiaga’s bio HERE