The Choir

The Riverside Choral Society has made a specialty of presenting finely tuned performances of great classical works with full orchestra and highly esteemed soloists. Under the baton of acclaimed director Patrick Gardner, who is also Professor Emeritus and Director of Choral Activities at Rutgers University, RCS has performed major works by Beethoven, Bruckner, Brahms, Mozart, Schubert, Haydn, Britten, Pärt, Fauré, Harrison, Orff, Stravinsky, Berlioz, Shostakovich, Schnittke, Verdi, and many others at major concert halls throughout the city.
RCS has been a featured performer with the Mostly Mozart Festival since 1998, with the Kirov Orchestra with Valery Gergiev conducting at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, and at the Wall-to-Wall concerts at Symphony Space, among others.
Through Patrick Gardner's inspiring leadership, rehearsals with this congenial and welcoming group are not only an opportunity to obtain an intimate and historical knowledge of each piece, but to perfect the craft of singing and choral artistry.

Collaborations have included:

• Mostly Mozart Festival, under Gerard Schwartz and Louis Langrée

• Symphonies by Shostakovich (Nos. 2, 3 & 13) and Mahler (No. 2) with Kirov and Rotterdam Orchestras, under Valery Gergiev

• Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms and Mendelssohn Lobgesang with Mannes College Orchestra

• Mark Morris Dance Group, at Lincoln Center and BAM under Nicholas McGegan and Jane Glover

“The Riverside Choral Society had obviously prepared the score thoroughly and sang the music with confidence and full-bodied sound. This was a sensitive and rewarding performance of Mozart's most ambitious choral work.”

-Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times

Board of Directors 
Eliza Lansdale — President
Phyllis Faust — Treasurer
Kerry Fristoe — Treasurer
Lillian Redl — Secretary
William Benson
David Budd
Carl Courant
Josh Greenman
Delia Guazzo
Alan Ravage
Janet Robusto
Julia Rundbaken
Avery Somers