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 KENNERLEY has been Organist and Music Director at the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Times Square, since 2008. He has full responsibility for the church’s renowned music program, and its magnificent Aeolian-Skinner organ. In addition to directing the church’s professional choir, he is currently establishing a vibrant concert series.

As an organist, Mr. Kennerley has performed at many of the major venues in Europe and the US, both as a soloist and accompanist, and has been a prizewinner at several competitions. At Saint Mary’s, he performs weekly on the church’s famous 1932 organ during services and concerts. He has studied with David Sanger, Thomas Trotter and McNeil Robinson, and holds the Fellow of the Royal College of Organists diploma.

Mr. Kennerley made his New York conducting debut at Lincoln Center this November in two performances of a contemporary operetta, The Velvet Oratorio, which was received to great acclaim by press and audience alike, and is increasingly becoming involved in concert work in addition to his work within the liturgy at Saint Mary’s.

Born in England in 1984, Mr. Kennerley was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge University, and subsequently held positions at Saint Paul's Cathedral, London, and Christ Church, Greenwich, where he was Associate Organist and Director of the Choir of Men and Boys.

GENERAL MANAGER

ELLEN SLEMP, a Norwalk resident, manages the Greenwich Choral Society office, sells concert tickets, keeps all the information on GCS subscribers and donors, deals with all the correspondence, runs the computer and puts out the cat.

But she’s never too busy to help a GCS patron with a seating request. Reach Ellen at the GCS office, located in the Greenwich Senior & Arts Center:

Greenwich Choral Society
299 Greenwich Avenue - 3rd Floor
Greenwich, CT 06830
Phone: 203-622-5136
Fax: 203-622-8370