About Us

The Northeastern University Choral Society fosters aesthetic and educational experiences through the rehearsal and performance of choral music, and promotes harmonious social interaction among members of the Northeastern community. Members of the Choral Society come from all backgrounds and majors, and any interested member of the NU community (student, faculty, staff) is eligible to join.

At Northeastern University, there are three choral ensembles for students to participate in. The choirs at NU performs a wide variety of repertoire, spanning from Renaissance to present time, and with special focus on global repertoire.

All ensembles are directed by Dr .Katherine Chan, director of choral activities. Participation requires class registration and successfully completing an audition.

CHORUS

(MUSC 1904)

An auditioned 85-100 mixed-voiced ensemble, and is taken as a free 1-credit elective by registering for MUSC1904. Rehearsals are held on Tuesdays from 6:00 to 8:30 pm in the Fenway Center.

CHAMBER SINGERS

Chamber Singers is an auditioned ensemble of approximately 32 members. The ensemble rehearses on Tuesdays from 8:15pm to 9:30pm in the Fenway Center. Singers in this ensemble must also sing in either Mosaic Ensemble or Chorus

MOSAIC

Advance Treble Ensemble

(MUSC 1915 -003)

Mosaic is an advance soprano and alto vocal ensemble that presents choral programs of classical, folk, popular and global repertoire. Rehearsals are held on Wednesdays from 4:35-5:40pm in Ryder Hall. Register for MUSC 1915, Section 003, listed under Chamber Ensemble.

Faculty

Dr. Katherine Chan

Director of Choral Activities & Assistant Professor of Music

Contact: k.chan@northeastern.edu

Australian conductor Dr. Katherine Chan is known for her energy and enthusiasm both on and off the podium. Chan is the Director of Choral Activities and Associate Teaching Professor of Music at Northeastern University. She directs the Northeastern University Choral Society Choir and Chamber Singers, and teaches courses in conducting, fundamental theory, and class piano. A sought-after clinician for civic and school ensembles, Chan also serves as Artistic Director of Boston Choral Ensemble, and Director of Community Engagement with Back Bay Chorale, Boston, and directs the ESL choir in collaboration with Boston Public Library (BPL). Prior to Northeastern University, Chan served as visiting Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

Known for her highly innovative collaborations, Chan partnered with librettist Michael Dennis Browne in 2015 to present a semi-staged performance of Fauré’s Requiem with singers from the Minnesota Chorale. In the 2017-2018 season, she was invited to direct Minnesota Chorale’s holiday program: A Christmas Fantasia. 2019 engagements include guest performance with the Xi’an Symphony Chorus, China and selected as one of the top-12 finalists in the World Choral Conducting Competition 2019 held in Hong Kong.

Chan has performed at numerous prestigious international festivals. In 2010, Chan was a presenter at the Australia National Choral Association's Choralfest and in the same year, was awarded the Sydney Symposium Choral Foundation’s Fifth Choral Conducting Scholarship. Chan has been a conducting scholar with Maestro Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival (2011), Taipei Bach Festival (2012), Hong Kong SingFest (2012). In 2015, she was invited to conduct at the national conducting master class with John Nelson at American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Convention, followed with an invitation to conduct at the 2016 National Conductors’ Symposium, Canada. In 2017, she placed among the top four finalists at the ACDA National Graduate Conducting Competition.

Prior to relocating to the United States, Chan was extensively involved in Australia’s choral community, serving as a National Council Member of the Australian National Choral Association (ANCA), and holding numerous positions throughout Australia, including as the Musical Director of Choral Connection and the Choir Director at St Andrew’s Uniting Church, Brisbane.

Chan holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Minnesota (UMN), where she studied with Kathy Saltzman Romey and Matthew Mehaffey. While at UMN, she directed Campus Singers Gold and Campus Singers Mosaic, and served as the Assistant Conductor to the University Singers and Chamber Singers, the Men’s Chorus and Women's Chorus, and was a teaching assistant for undergraduate conducting. She also helped lead the annual WomanVoice festival in Minneapolis, focusing on the power of collaboration between female choristers. Chan received a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Music Performance and Pedagogy in classical piano from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University. While studying at the Queensland Conservatorium, Chan won numerous awards, including the Brisbane Women’s Club and Yvonne Hayson Bursary, the Ruby C. Cooling Piano Bursary, and M. K. Lassell Piano Scholarship.

Chan has studied and worked with prestigious conductors from around the world, including Weston Noble, Jeffrey Kahane, Matthew Halls, Simon Carrington, Edith Copley, Emily Cox, and Debra Shearer-Dirié.

Dr. Maja Tremiszewska

Accompanist

Native of Poland Dr. Maja Tremiszewska is a classically trained concert pianist, accompanist and music educator. She has been performing as a soloist and collaborative pianist since she moved to Boston in 2003, after receiving her Masters of Music in Piano Performance from Gdańsk Academy of Music in Poland. Upon completing a Graduate Performance Diploma at the Boston Conservatory, she was employed as a staff pianist for its vocal and instrumental departments, the position she held for ten years. In the spring of 2014 Dr. Tremiszewska graduated from Boston University with the Doctorate of Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano, where she received a Graduate Assistantship, Dean’s Scholarship and a Collaborative Piano Department Honors Award. Between 2010 and 2016 she was employed to serve as a vocal coach and staff pianist at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, an esteemed summer program for high-school singers and instrumentalists.

Dr. Tremiszewska frequently serves as a rehearsal pianist for Boston opera companies. As an Emerging Artist for Boston Lyric Opera, she served as a rehearsal pianist for the company’s production of Stravinsky’s Rake’s Progress and performed recitatives on harpsichord for the same production at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theater. She collaborated with MetroWest Opera, Guerilla Opera, Boston.

Dr. Tremiszewska resides in Belmont, MA with her family and serves as a pianist/organist at St. Mary's of Assumption Parish in Brookline, MA.