The Miami Collegium Musicum is Miami’s community chamber choir. As the chorus of the Miami Bach Society the ensemble has given highly acclaimed performances of many Baroque masterpieces, including the Bach B Minor Mass, St. John, St. Matthew, and St. Mark Passions, the Christmas Oratorio, motets, and numerous cantatas; Handel oratorios and anthems; music of Heinrich Schütz, Henry Purcell, and Antonio Vivaldi; and modern world premieres of the Pergolesi Mass in D, the Lorenziti Mass (in collaboration with the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles), and the Pange Lingua of Michel Richard de Lalande. Collegium has also sung with the Mainly Mozart Festival, the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Naples Philharmonic, and it has toured in England, France, Germany, and Italy. In 1987 the group sang at the mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II in Miami.
The Collegium’s 24 to 30 singers are of different backgrounds and of all ages–some members are students, some are faculty,some are in careers (teachers, medical people, bankers, attorneys), and some are retired. All make a commitment to learn music outside of regular Monday evening rehearsals, so that rehearsals focus on musicality and performance considerations. Auditions for membership can be arranged by emailing auditions@miamicollegium.org.
Founded in 1977 by Dr. Donald Oglesby, the Collegium became well known for its annual Madrigal Dinners during the Christmas season; these grew to become the Holiday Dinners of the Frost School of Music’s Choral Program. Its acclaimed “Italian Baroque Christmas” in December, 2013, was sponsored by the Italian Consulate. In 2014 a French Baroque Christmas concert, sponsored by the French Consulate, Collegium was joined by the Ft. Lauderdale Singing Sons.
In 2013 the Collegium sang four performances of Choral Music of the Civil War. In 2015 it presented a Lincoln Tribute concert in Miami and, marking the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s assassination, at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., which was the Lincoln family’s church, and the Cosmos Club.
After Dr. Oglesby’s retirement from the University of Miami, Collegium reorganized as an independent organization. A board of directors was formed, the name was changed from Collegium to Miami Collegium Musicum (MCM), and in 2016, MCM was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization and obtained 501(c)3 status. Collegium began adding repertoire from more contemporary composers, including locals Rachel Currea and David Pegel. Dr. Pegel was commissioned to write “That Music Always Round Me” based on words of Walt Whitman, and “Lincoln: The Walls of his Monument” based on Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address and Second Inauguration Speech for Collegium.
Since 2016, MCM has regularly sung four different concerts each year, with some concerts performed on multiple occasions. MCM’s performs a broad repertoire of choral music, including works from the Western tradition classical tradition from the Renaissance to the present day, and also music from folk traditions, particular those of North and South America. Between 2015 and 2023, Collegium performes included Brahms’ Requiem, The Judgment of Solomon by Charpentier, and sacred music of the English Renaissance and Tudor periods. During the pandemic, MCM collaborated with the Alhambra Orchestra in a virtual performance of Schubert’s Mass in G. In every Christmas season, MCM performs holiday concerts at several local venues with festive music in several traditions.
In the 2022-2023 season, Dr. Olgesby prepared to pass on the baton. To celebrate his many years directing MCM, we capped off season with a performance Bach’s Mass in B Minor to cap. In fall 2023, MCM hired a new artistic director, Dr. Matthew Brady, Director of Choral Studies at the University of Miami. It should be noted that MCM is an independent entity but benefits informally from its legacy and relationship with UM. An experienced choral conductor with boundless energy, Matthew Brady has a goal of expanding MCM’s venues to include alternative space throughout Miami and programming music that will appeal to a large variety of audiences. The choir is growing in numbers and fulfilling its aspiration to be Miami’s premier community chamber choir.
In the 2023-2024, 2024-2025, and 2025-2026 concert seasons, Dr. Brady expanded MCM’s repertoire to include contemporary composers from a variety of musical traditions as well as less frequently performed composers from older traditions. MCM gave the first full performance of C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificat in Miami, with its own singers performing all the solo sections as well as the choral sections. MCM expanded its range of performance venues to include bigger spaces that drew larger audiences with Holiday Concerts at Pinecrest Gardens’ Banyan Bowl and Mother’s Day Celebration Concerts at the Sanctuary of the Arts. MCM has performed in collaboration with the Falcon Singers of Rober A. Ferguson High School and the Anglican Chorale of Southeast Florida. MCM plans to build on these collaborations as well as explore new, alternative spaces in the coming years.