The Harvard University Choir

There are documents from the eighteenth century that mention choral performances taking place at Harvard University, but a formal constitution of the Harvard University Choir didn't appear until 1834. In 1862, noted American composer John Knowles Paine was engaged as the first university organist and choirmaster. Up until his appointment, many of the young members of the choir had merely joined in order to sit in the relatively unsupervised gallery of the chapel during the Sunday morning services at the Memorial Church. This all changed as Paine organized the group into a choi...