The Choir
The North Carolina Boys Choir was founded in 1971 by William J. Graham, in Durham, NC, who directed the choir until late 2014. The Choir was originally named the Durham Boys Choir. In the 1980s, the Choir joined with the college and university choirs of Meredith and North Carolina State and with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra in three performances of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. At the performance, in 1983, Governor James B. Hunt designated the choir as the North Carolina Boys Choir.
In 1992 the Chamber Choir of tenors and basses was founded to supplement the touring Concert Choir. The Chamber Choir is geared toward graduates of the Concert Choir, fathers of boys in the Concert Choir, and male vocal artists in the community
In the spring of 2011, the Choir started an entirely new and very important chapter in its history – the addition of a girls choir. The girls choir was founded to enrich and expand the artistic excellence of this choral institution. Today, our advanced girls choir, named the North Carolina Girls Choir (Prima Choir Division) performs a rich girls choir repertoire and joins the Concert Choir of boys in various performances.
Throughout the years, the Choir has sung with all the area’s major choral groups, such as the Duke Chapel Choir, the Choral Society of Durham, and the choirs of Meredith College, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They have also sung with the North Carolina Symphony. The Choir has toured regionally, nationally, and internationally. The Choir has appeared on a number of area TV specials, including “Christmas at the Governor’s Mansion” and “North Carolina People with William Friday.” In the summer of 2014, the Choir sang at Carnegie Hall in New York City. In 2016, the Choir participated in the Requiem by Faure, and it recently collaborated with the Choral Society of Durham, the Duke Chapel Choir, and the Riverside High School Chorus for a performance of the Te Deum by Berlioz at Duke Chapel. In May 2017, the Choir was featured at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC. In June 2018, the Choir toured the Outer Banks and Elizabeth City of North Carolina. In December 2019, the Choir joined Voices, The Chapel Hill Chorus, and orchestra to perform Une Cantate de Noël by Arthur Honegger. In 2020, the Choir successfully transitioned to virtual programming due to pandemic, and delivered a full-length holiday virtual choir concert. The Choir returned to hybrid and then live programming in 2021, performed as a featured choir at the NASCAR Xfinity Series Race and sang at Duke University Chapel in Durham and at the University Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill in December 2021. In the summer of 2022, the Choir toured to West Virginia to participate at the Appalachian Festival of Young Voices with the world-renowned choir conductor, Dr. Rollo Dilworth.
Choir Divisions
- Concert Choir (advanced boys)
- Prima Choir (advanced girls)
- Training Choir (beginning girls and boys)
- Chamber Choir (tenors, baritones and basses)
Mission
The mission of the North Carolina Boys Choir and the North Carolina Girls Choir is to develop, enhance, and instill character, insight, cultural awareness, respect and self-discipline, and a love for music by direct exposure and involvement in the boychoir and girlchoir art forms. Our choirs will achieve these goals through dedication, hard work, and a commitment to excellence and the ideals of the great State of North Carolina and beyond.
Goals
The Choir endeavors to provide life-enhancing experiences through the study and performance of classical choral music, to inspire a lifelong enjoyment of singing, and to encourage singing both in the family and throughout the community.
North Carolina Boys Choir | North Carolina Girls Choir 