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Rider University is a college of music with a unique choral emphasis that educates men and women at the undergraduate and graduate levels for music leadership careers in churches, schools, performance, and management. Professional training in musical skills with an emphasis on performance is complemented by studies in the liberal arts in an atmosphere which encourages individuals in their personal and musical growth and nurtures leadership qualities. Located in
Princeton, New Jersey , the programs of study are career-oriented and designed to prepare students for careers in music leadership in churches, schools, and communities. Students are trained to achieve technical mastery in their art and have unparalleled access to some of the finest musical centers in New York, Philadelphia and around the world.
In the belief that a choir of volunteer singers could be trained to perform on a professional level, John Finley Williamson established the Westminster Choir in 1920 at the
Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio. The national prominence achieved by this choir and Dr. Williamson's conviction that churches could best be served by dedicated, professionally trained musicians led him to found Westminster Choir School at the Dayton church in 1926. Graduates of the original three-year program were called "ministers of music," a term of reference recognized nationally today.
In 1929 the college moved to Ithaca, New York, and became associated with what is now
Ithaca College , where a four-year program leading to the Bachelor of Music degree was instituted. Relocated in Princeton, N.J., in 1932, it added a master's program in 1934 and became known as Westminster Choir College in 1939.
The move to Princeton was motivated by a desire to provide ready access to the great metropolitan centers and orchestras of the eastern seaboard. Since then the Westminster Symphonic Choir has performed hundreds of times and made many recordings with the principal orchestras of New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh, Boston, and Atlanta. Conductors of the choir have included
Bernstein ,
Ormandy , Steinberg, Stokowski,
Toscanini and Walter, and such contemporary figures as Leinsdorf, Levine, Macal, Masur, Muti, Ozawa, Sawallisch,
Shaw , and Wolff.
The institution has expanded in more recent decades by adding programs in music education, performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree. Although it has never had a formal affiliation with any church ouside beyond its founding at a Presbyterian church in Dayton, its programs draw students from most denominations of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Changes and expansion notwithstanding, the college continues to maintain its original commitment to the church and to choral music.
In 1991, Westminster Choir College affiliated with Rider College in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. In 1992, the College merged with Rider College, later Rider University.
Famous alumni of Westminster Choir College include
Anwar Robinson of
American Idol , a contestant on the fourth season and
Jennifer Larmore , international opera star. The most recent conductor was Dr.
Joseph Flummerfelt , who recently retired.
Timothy Brown will serve as the Interim Director of Choral Activities for the 2005-2006 academic year, after which Dr. Joe Miller (recently of Western Michigan University) will become the third D.C.A. in Westminster's history.
