Sounds of Stow Chorus is an all-volunteer, self-auditioned group, open to anyone who can match pitch and learn their parts. Principles of good singing and musicianship are realized through rehearsals that are challenging and fun. The Chorus is a member of the Greater Boston Choral Consortium and the Central Massachusetts Choral Consortium. Sounds of Stow Chorus & Orchestra is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

The Sounds of Stow Orchestra is drawn from a talented pool of local musicians, and joins the Chorus for its fall and winter concerts.

Sounds of Stow has performed for over 40 years, many times in collaboration with other groups in the cultural neighborhood. Our delight in bringing treasured classical music to vigorous life is balanced with a proactive and supportive stance toward emerging new works, performers, and composers.

The chorus began as a humble entry at a Stow Springfest celebration, it incorporated in 1992, and the group is now one of the most respected musical groups in the area, presenting three concerts each year to packed audiences and critical acclaim.

Sounds of Stow is especially known for exploring and bringing to light either major works that are underperformed or new editions of familiar repertoire that reflect advances in current scholarship. The organization gave the first Boston peformance  in a century of the Grand Mass in E-flat by New England’s own Amy Beach (1995), resulting in the first commercial recording of this piece, available from Albany Records.  Another “first in New England” was The Armed Man: a Mass for Peace, by Welsh Composer Karl Jenkins (2011).  Other rarely heard offerings include Robert Levin’s completion of Mozart’s Requiem (1998), Berlioz’s Messe Solennelle (2001), Zelenka’s Missa Dei Filii (2007), and Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 (2010).  In 2004, the chorus performed a  collection of “Dona Nobis Pacem” movements from the great masses by Bach, Haydn, Schubert and Beethoven, and in 2006,  Bostonian Horatio Parker’s Hora Novissima.

To continue to bring such great music to the area, as well as to offer performance opportunities to so many singers and players, Sounds of Stow relies on both ticket sales and donations. Please consider supporting us with time and energy too, it’s just as crucial to our success–and it can be so much fun! There are lots of ways to feel like you’re part of the big picture; and we are grateful for the involvement of everyone in our community. Donors are thanked on a special page in our November and March programs. Contributions in kind are also encouraged and gratefully accepted.