Houston Symphony Chorus Archive and History

The group, originally known as the Houston Chorale, was founded in 1946 by Alfred Urbach, then principal cellist of the Houston Symphony. The Chorale made its debut with the Houston Symphony in 1949 with a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. This inaugurated what was to be a lasting relationship, one that has produced hundreds of memorable performances of the great choral masterworks led by some of the world's leading conductors. In 1986, the Chorale was renamed the Houston Symphony Chorus.

The materials of this section have been researched and organized by Roger Cutler and Dave Nussmann with the help of many members.

Official Performance History, including Works, Composers, Conductors, Soloists, Venues. Over its sixty-five-year history the Chorus has performed over 1000 concerts.
- Complete - A customizable display of all the performances of the HSC from 1947 to present.
- Modern - A customizable display of performances of the "modern era", 1986 to present, which is the tenure of Charles Hausmann as director.
- Spreadsheet - The raw data on which the displays above are based. This is the master copy of the history.
The matinée performance of the Christmas Pops on Sunday, December 12, 2010, was the 1000th performance of the Houston Symphony Chorus. The charts on the right (click on the thumbnails to get big versions) summarize our first 1000 concerts by year, calling out some highlights, and the top sixteen works in terms of number of times performed.
Narrative History (1946-2007, written by Dave Nusssmann on the occasion of the chorus' Sixtieth Anniversary)
Performance Essays
Favorite Works Survey
Map of Members (Chorus members only)
CD Archive (Chorus members only)