Choral Art Society of NJ Announces 2025 / 2026 Season

Choral Art Society of New Jersey, one of the area’s leading choral organizations, announces two open rehearsals as preparations begin for its 2025/2026 season. Singers of all ability levels who have choral singing experience are invited to attend open rehearsals on September 9th and September 16th. Rehearsals are held in the Chapel of The Presbyterian Church in Westfield, 140 Mountain Avenue, Westfield on Tuesday evenings from 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm. Attending an open rehearsal is an opportunity to learn about the group, meet current members, and consider joining. Interested singers are encouraged to arrive at 7:00 pm on those evenings. No formal auditions are conducted.

Following his acclaimed debut concert as Music Director of Choral Art Society of New Jersey in May of 2025, Seth Velez has planned an exciting and innovative program for the group’s January 25, 2026 concert. The largely a cappella concert, The Cohort, will explore the interpersonal and artistic connections among many of the great 20th Century English composers. It will include works by Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Hebert Howells, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, George Dyson, and John Ireland. In addition to performances by the full chorus, the concert will feature a chamber ensemble arrangement of “The Blue Bird” by Charles Villiers Stanford, under whom all of the aforementioned composers studied, and composer Rebecca Clark’s stunning arrangement of the Ave Maria text for women’s voices.

The program for the spring concert, scheduled for May 3, 2026, promises to be equally as exciting and will include Jose Mauricio Nunes Garcia’s “Requiem Mass”, as well as works by both Mozart and Haydn. This concert will showcase the musical similarities across the compositions and will be accompanied by an orchestra.

If you love to sing, you should consider singing with us! We hope you will join us for one or both of the open rehearsals. Questions can be submitted through the group’s website, CASofNJ .

Choral Art Society of New Jersey, which originated as The Suburban Symphony Chorus, has been in existence for 64 years and is a group of avocational singers dedicated to the study and performance of the great choral masterpieces, performing works spanning many centuries and styles. It is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization whose members, with a variety of training and experience levels, share a common joy in singing and community.

Performances made possible by funds from the Union County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.