The Junior Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh

Click here to learn about the JMCP’s current season performances.

“Singing alongside other young people who are serious about music and working with phenomenal teachers—it’s like a dream come true.”

“The Junior Mendelssohn gave me a much needed outlet for singing and a mature perspective on music that I couldn’t find anywhere else. I count my experience with the Junior Mendelssohn as one of the best experiences of my life.” –Junior Mendelssohn Alumni

Nationally, the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh is one of the few symphonic choirs to operate a vocal training program for youth. The Junior Mendelssohn Choir (JMCP) was founded in 1986 by then Music Director Robert Page and Christine Jordanoff to provide talented youth, who were too old to perform with the Children’s Festival Chorus (now Pittsburgh Youth Chorus) and too young to perform with adult choruses, the opportunity to train with accomplished professional singers and music educators.

The Junior Mendelssohn Choir is the only program of its kind in the region. It provides talented youth with a rigorous, fast-paced musical environment in which to develop their vocal and ensemble singing skills. This kind of high-quality training program is vital to helping young singers learn the self-discipline, commitment to excellence, and ensemble-related skills necessary to succeed in music—and in life. Each year the Junior Mendelssohn is filled with the region’s best young voices representing many different school districts. Students in grade 9 to 12 from throughout the greater Pittsburgh area are eligible to audition for membership and scholarships ensure that no youth is turned away for financial reason.

In 2011, the Junior Mendelssohn celebrated its 25th anniversary with a Jubilee Concert and the first ever Junior Mendelssohn Alumni Reunion at the Omni William Penn. More than 70 alumni returned to Pittsburgh for the Reunion coming from as far as North Carolina, New York City, and Vienna. Many more alumni sent their well wishes and told us about their post-Junior Mendelssohn endeavors. We learned that over half of Junior Mendelssohn alumni have gone on to have careers in music and that they credit their Junior Mendelssohn experience as a key “stepping stone” towards reaching their career goals.

Winner of the 2011 American Prize in Choral Performance, High School Division, the Junior Mendelssohn continues to enchant audiences with its artistry and passion.

The JMCP has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Youth Chorus, the Plum Creek Chamber Orchestra and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh. This season’s JMCP consists of 27 singers representing 19 schools.

The Junior Mendelssohn Choir is a proud member of UniSound.