Goodwin Steps Down as NY Choral Society Music Director

The New York Choral Society (NYCS) announces that John Daly Goodwin will be stepping down following the 2011-2012 season, during which he will celebrate his 25th year as Music Director of the chorus.

Over the past 23 years Maestro Goodwin has built on the ensemble's tradition of excellence to make it one of New York's preeminent symphonic choruses. In addition to conducting acclaimed performances of such works as Mahler's 8th Symphony, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, and the Requiems of Verdi, Mozart, and Brahms, Goodwin's concerts with the NYCS have featured works by forty-four composers from the 20th Century, twenty of them American. Under his direction, the chorus has performed in China, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Israel, Austria, France, Italy, and Greece. He has also conducted more than ninety concerts around New York City, including forty-one in Carnegie Hall and seven at Lincoln Center. Maestro Goodwin has led the NYCS in performances with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai Symphony Broadcasting Orchestra, the Qingdao Symphony, the Collegium Ducale in Venice, the Orchestre Symphonique Bell'Arte in Paris, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería in Mexico City. During his tenure, the NYCS has become the chorus of choice for the American Ballet Theatre, the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, and the September Concert Foundation. Maestro Goodwin has prepared the chorus for performances with Leonard Bernstein, Dennis Russell Davies, Robert DeCormier, Asher Fisch, Yong Yan Hu, Fabio Luisi, Yehudi Menuhin, Eve Queler, Julius Rudel, Gerard Schwarz, Leonard Slatkin, and Robert Spano as well as for 17 telecasts.

In a statement, Goodwin declared, "As hard as it is to make a change like this, I believe that it will be an appropriate time for me to move on after my 25th season as Music Director. In my opinion, these decisions are best made from a position of strength rather than necessity or emergency. The chorus has excellent leadership and has never been in better shape musically or financially. This is not the end of our relationship, but the beginning of a new chapter. I look forward to many more years of fruitful collaborations with my friends in the extended family of the New York Choral Society."

The chorus has begun the search for his successor. Further details will be made public as they become available. Michael Colosi, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the New York Choral Society, stated, "Maestro Goodwin has been instrumental in making the New York Choral Society everything it is today. We all thank him for his tremendous service to the organization and wish him well with his new opportunities."