Performing j.s. Bach's Magnificat in D major at the Basilica of st. patrick's old cathedral, december 2013

Performing j.s. Bach's Magnificat in D major at the Basilica of st. patrick's old cathedral, december 2013

The Chorus

In 1984 Susan Glass founded The Glass Menagerie with a group of eight parents and teachers from the Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School community. Since this modest beginning the chorus has grown in numbers, repertoire, and musical accomplishments. Our members come from throughout the metropolitan area, from every walk of life, and include enthusiastic amateurs as well as professional music educators and performers. Performances have highlighted classical masterworks, folk and vernacular musical traditions, and the work of living composers. 

We have commissioned and performed new works by Elliot Z. Levine, Jonathan David, and Julie Dolphin; celebrated the renowned Robert DeCormier; and collaborated with guest arranger/conductors. Over our 37 years, performances have included Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana; J. S. Bach’s monumental Magnificat in D Major, with Baroque chamber ensemble; Ariel Ramirez’s Navidad Nuestra; John Rutter’s Gloria with organ and brass; Zoltán Kodály’s Missa Brevis; Mozart’s Missa Brevis in F Major; Haydn’s Te Deum; and music for chorus and harp, including the Fauré Requiem, Bassi’s Harpsonnets, and Brahms’s Four Songs for Women’s Chorus, Two Horns and Harp. We celebrated Shakespeare’s 400th birthday with an evening of choral music and dramatic readings; joined with Joan Litman’s Cantigas Women’s Choir to perform Zimriyah: A Festival of Jewish Song; and celebrated the rich diversity of American song with One Land, Many Voices. We have presented Bach to Bach to Bach, a musical journey with J.S, C.P.E, and P.D.Q. Bach; Love, War, and Remembrance, featuring songs of war through the ages; and Chilcott’s The Miracle of the Spring, a celebration of water, one of Earth’s most precious resources; and Mostly Mozart, in 2019. We emerged from COVIS-19 restrictions in the fall of 2021 to sing again in person with The Storm Is Passing Over; followed by Navidad Nuestra, an International Celebration of the Nativity;  and Song Cycles, a tribute to works of Bartók, Brahms, and Randall Thompson.

We are proud to have been one of the area choruses invited in 2018 to perform in The Mile Long Opera, co-created by architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang, with words and lyrics by acclaimed poets Anne Carson and Claudia Rankine. Participants presented free performances over seven consecutive evenings on New York City’s High Line.


Board of Directors

Fran Onne-Fong, President
Stephen Stanczyk, Vice President
Kathleen O'Connell, Treasurer
Nan Rothschild Cooper, Secretary

Directors at Large
Wilhelmina Eaken
Charles Fournier
Julie Layton
Nancy Watt Rosenfeld
Cynthia Stuart

Past President
Alan Tung