Staff

Chorister turnover at GCS is quite small; very few resign because of dissatisfaction. What keeps them fulfilled and returning year after year? It is certainly a desire to sing... and the chance to perform... and a wish for camaraderie. But most would agree that the leadership of Music Director and Conductor PAUL F. MUELLER is key to this abundant loyalty. His ability to get 120 very diverse volunteers to sharply focus, reach for excellence, and become as one is a marvelous talent to watch and experience. He is a consummate musician, a wonderful teacher with a good sense of humor, and he is the hardest worker among us all.

He likes us, too. Says Paul:

“The Greenwich Choral Society is committed to creativity and excellence. It is the total dedication of each chorister that makes us a most outstanding ensemble. This group does it all: lively rehearsals, passionate performances, even productive Board meetings. How could I not be overjoyed to be the Music Director of GCS? In fact I’m overwhelmed. I love GCS. The process of making music together and the various journeys we have taken, both literally and figuratively, have made these years one of the joys of my life. To quote Mary Travers, of Peter Paul and Mary fame, ‘I want to come back in another life as a Greenwich Choral Society chorister.’”

Maestro Mueller is a versatile musician who has excelled in operatic, orchestral and choral repertoire. Recent European appearances include performances of Haydn’s Theresienmesse in Vienna and Mozart’s Requiem in London and Oxford with the English Chamber Orchestra. Other engagements include performances by Brahms, Monteverdi, Rossini, and Vivaldi in the Czech Republic, Italy, France, Spain and Hungary.

He has appeared as guest conductor of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra’s Holiday Pops and the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall; and, on the operatic side, has conducted performances of the Barber of Seville, La Traviata, and La Boheme.

Paul is a Professor of Music at Hunter College in New York City and Music Director of Our Saviour’s Atonement Church. He also has taught at Yale University, the State University of New York, and Hofstra. An accomplished organist, he earned an Artist’s Diploma at the Hochschule fur Musik in Vienna and holds masters and doctoral degrees in Choral Conducting from Indiana University School of Music.

ACCOMPANIST

JAMES D. WETZEL is Organist & Choirmaster of the Church of Saint Agnes in midtown Manhattan where he oversees one of the most renowned Catholic music programs in the country. He directs the semi-professional Schola Cantorum that sings for over seventy-five Masses each season, including the weekly Sunday Tridentine Latin Mass. At each Mass, the Schola offers a different polyphonic setting of the Mass ordinary as well as all of the Gregorian propers. Since his appointment in September of 2010 at the age of twenty-three, Mr. Wetzel has begun an organ recital series featuring the church’s Mander organ and a Wednesday concert series with a newly-founded ensemble-in-residence. He has also established a set of choral scholarships that promotes Catholic music instruction to conservatory students.

Mr. Wetzel came to Saint Agnes from the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine where served as Organ Scholar for two years; and, for three years prior to that, was Organist of Saint Malachy’s Church – The Actors’ Chapel in Times Square.

Mr. Wetzel is finishing his Master’s degree in Choral Conducting with Kent Tritle at Manhattan School of Music as the recipient of the Joseph F. McCrindle Scholarship. At M.S.M., Mr. Wetzel founded and directs the school’s Schola Cantorum, an auditioned a cappella chamber choir, and is a graduate assistant for the Symphonic Chorus and Chamber Choir. In 2009, Mr. Wetzel graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Organ Performance from The Juilliard School where he studied with Paul Jacobs. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he began his organ studies there with Donald K. Fellows of Saint Paul Cathedral.

An active recitalist and continuo player, Mr. Wetzel’s New York recital venues have included Alice Tully Hall, the Churches of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint Mary the Virgin, Saint Paul the Apostle, Saint Thomas, Saint Vincent Ferrer, and Trinity – Wall Street, and the Cathedrals of Saint Patrick Cathedral and Saint John the Divine.

He became accompanist for the Greenwich Choral Society in January 2011.

ADMINISTRATOR

SANDRA LUNDGREN
As an alto with GCS since moving to Connecticut in 2002, Sandra brings an insider’s perspective to the business-side of the chorus. She’s delighted to share her non-profit management experience for the benefit of an organization she loves and respects. The Greenwich Choral Society office is on the third floor of the Greenwich Senior & Arts Center, 299 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830. Get in touch any time by email at

or by phone, 203-622-5136.