Club History
Introduction
The historical summary below was prepared by E. Andrew Mills. A comprehensive list of the Club's major concerts may be checked for a history of our performances. Originally compiled by former club historian J. Richard Hartnett, it is now updated after each performance.
The Early Years
The Mendelssohn Club was founded in 1909 by Dean T.J. Bradley of the Albany College of Pharmacy and Dr. Frank Sill Rogers, organist and choirmaster for St. Peter's Episcopal Church. Rogers, the founding conductor, was a distinguished gentleman with a large mustache and pince-nez glasses. With the men from his choir as a nucleus, he used his connections with other choirmasters to recruit male singers. Soon, there was hardly a male choir singer in the city who wasn't a member!
Rehearsals were at St. Peter's Parish House on State Street. The Club performed their concerts in white tie and tails, and also sang at many of Albany's civic and social events. Some of the original members continued to sing with the group for thirty or forty years.
With Dr. Rogers' death in 1934, there was a succession of conductors, including accompanist Stuart Swart, noted composer and arranger Mark Andrews, T. Frederick H. Candlyn, and J. Lawrence Slater.
Early Mendelssohn Club concerts featured performances by guest artists including Marian Anderson and Nelson Eddy.
The Middle Years
In the early 1940's Reinald Werrenrath was named conductor. A former leading baritone with the Metropolitan Opera, "Werrie" was a tall, imposing gentleman with a full head of white hair. Through his New York connections, many past and present opera stars were guest artists at the Club concerts. It was not unusual to have a noted composer or arranger appear to hear his work performed!
In 1952, Joel Dolven was appointed conductor. Joel was the first former member to become conductor. He had joined the Club in 1936 while a music teacher at Albany High School. He was Minister of Music at Westminster Presbyterian Church, and Professor of Music at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Under his leadership the quality of performance hit new heights. He remained conductor until 1967. In 1974 the Joel Dolven Vocal Awards were established in his honor, to encourage the study of vocal music.
The Club sang the next five concerts under guest conductors who were candidates for the permanent position. In 1968 Carl Steubing was named conductor. Carl, Director of Music for the Scotia-Glenville Schools, remained conductor for the next five years.
The Recent Past
In 1974 J. Lawrence Coulter was appointed conductor. Larry brought with him a rich background in both education and professional performance. He had been Professor of Music at four colleges, a vocal and instrumental soloist, a composer, an arranger, and a conductor. He was Performing Arts Specialist for the NYS Education Department. During summers he also was conductor of the Yankee Male Chorus. He remained conductor until 1984.
Again, in 1984-85, the Club performed under two guest conductors, David Janower and Myron Hermance. Myron Hermance was named conductor in the fall of 1985 and remained at the helm through the fall of 1988.
From 1989 to 2001, Jeffrey L. Vredenburg was the Club's conductor. Jeff, a graduate of Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam, with a Master's Degree from SUNY Albany, is Director of Choruses for the Saratoga Springs Schools. Through his leadership, the Club continued to grow and prosper, culminating in a performance in April 2000 at the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, which received a standing ovation.
Dr. Victor Klimash, a professor of music at Union College, directed the Club from the fall of 2001 through the spring of 2011, and was thus our director at the time of our celebratory Centennial Celebration in May 2009. During his tenure, in addition to the regular spring & holiday subscription concerts, other notable performances included concerts with the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra at Union College and at Proctor's theater, and a combined concert with the Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York City for Felix Mendelssohn's birthday bicentennial celebration in June 2009.
In Fall 2011, the Club welcomed back Jeffrey Vredenburg as conductor. We continued our subscription concerts through the next decade, and sang in numerous other locations and for other occasions, including sporting events, veterans groups, the St. Peters Episcopal Church Tricentennial in October 2012, first-night celebrations, the Albany Tulip festival, libraries, schools, senior residence centers, and churches. The Covid-19 pandemic during 2020-2021 presented unique challenges for the Club. For the first time in Club history, performances were suspended, subscription concerts in 2020 and spring 2021 were cancelled. The holiday concert in December 2021 was Jeff’s final concert with us, for which he flew back from Florida to conduct while we were in the process of hiring our next conductor.
The Club Today
Jason Dashew became our conductor in 2022. With degrees from SUNY Fredonia and SUNY Albany; he is director of choral activities at Bethlehem Central High School.
The Mendelssohn Club of today flourishes in spirit and in song. The Mendelssohn Club is one of the landmark institutions in the Northeast, and a unique part of the cultural life of the City of Albany.
