Bringing quality classical and contemporary choral music to midcoast Maine and beyond for over 40 years.

Photography courtesy of Marti Stone Photography

Interested in joining Down East Singers? Click here to register and join!

Registration for Down East Singers is now open for fall semester 2024. Registration will continue through September 24. The first rehearsal will be on Tuesday, September 10.

Fall repertoire includes Holst's "On this day earth shall ring," movements from Rachmaninoff's "Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom," and Vaughan Williams's "Fantasia on Christmas Carols." Rehearsals are held at Watts Hall, 174 Main Street, Thomaston, from 6:45 to 8:15 on Tuesdays. Performances will be Friday, December 6, at 7:30 p.m. at Watts Hall in Thomaston and Sunday, December 8, at 2 p.m. at Rockport Opera House. These performances will be in collaboration with Halcyon String Quartet.

Membership fees for fall semester are $80. Scholarships are available. New singers of all voice parts are welcome. A voice placement check is required. This will set proper section placement and determine the ability to match pitch and control vibrato. Sight reading skills are desired but not required. Students under 18 years of age sing for free. Members are expected to work on their music between rehearsals and to attend rehearsals regularly. Study aids for the music will be provided. A maximum of three absences is allowed.

For the first rehearsal, doors will open at 6 p.m. New singers are encouraged to come early to take care of voice placement checks prior to the rehearsal.

Down East Singers was founded in 1979 by Marion Gray and has performed masterworks from the Baroque to the contemporary period. Their past performances can be viewed on the group's YouTube channel. The group's commercial recording of the Rachmaninoff Liturgy is available for sale at rehearsals.

Upcoming Events

Thursday, November 14 at 6:30 p.m - Pascal Hall, Rockport

Friday, November 22 at 6:30 p.m - Watts Hall, Thomaston

Down East Singers will present two showings of the PBS documentary "Rediscovering Rachmaninoff". Artistic Director of Down East Singers, Dr. Anthony Antolini, will hold an informal discussion with the audience following the showing of the documentary, which he filmed in 1988 on location in the USSR. Members of Down East Singers will perform selected movements of the work as a preview of their December concerts. A suggested donation of $20 is requested. Additional information and tickets for the Pascal Hall showing can be found here. Tickets for the Watts Hall showing can be found here.

*Please note, unless you select otherwise, the ticket form includes a donation to Zeffy, a free online fundraising platform for nonprofits.

Upcoming Concerts

Friday, December 6, 2024 at 7:30 p.m., Watts Hall, Thomaston and Sunday, December 8 at 2 p.m., Rockport Opera House

Down East Singers and Halcyon String Quartet present multi-media performances of Gustav Holst's On this Day Earth Shall Ring, selected movements of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, chamber music to be announced, and Ralph Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on Christmas Carols. Purchase tickets to the Watts Hall performance here. Purchase tickets to the Rockport Opera House performance here.

*Please note, unless you select otherwise, the ticket form includes a $5 donation to Zeffy, a free online fundraising platform for nonprofits.


Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, 2025 at 5 p.m, Watts Hall, Thomaston

Down East Singers and Mozart Mentors Orchestra present Antonin Dvorák's Requiem with soloists Erin Chenard, soprano; Jazmin DeRice, contralto; David Myers-Wakeman, tenor; and John David Adams, bass.


Admission $25. Students 18 and younger admitted free, but must have a ticket.

Down East Singers, founded in 1979 by Marion Gray, is a musical organization specifically incorporated to create opportunities for participation and enrichment for community members to perform quality choral music under professional leadership and to bring affordable live choral music performances to community audiences. This experience enables those with talent and musical interest to develop their musical potential, while at the same time striving for excellence in musical performance.

Our Most Recent Concert

Josef Haydn's Mass in a Time of Anxiety, also known as The Lord Nelson Mass or Mass in D minor

Down East Singers and Mozart Mentors Orchestra present Josef Haydn's Mass in a Time of Anxiety, also known as The Lord Nelson Mass or Mass in D minor, with soloists Erin Chenard, soprano; Jazmin DeRice, contralto; David Myers-Wakeman, tenor; and John David Adams, bass.

What the Critics Say:

Testimonials

“That’s pretty sophisticated stuff… and it reflects their director’s unerring musical sensitivity.”

-Ellsworth American

“So many singers working so hard to produce such small dynamics bears on the mystery of this music, suggesting unending tone.”

-The American Organist

“What this amateur (in the best sense of the word) brings to this performance is a sense of enthusiasm and discovery that illuminates the piece in a remarkable manner.”

-Stephen Ritter, American Record Guide

“Dr. Antolini has found the perfect instrument to perform this masterpiece. Mostly non-professionals, they have produced a miracle.”

-Brunswick Times-Record

“The Rachmaninoff Liturgy is so well done…one hopes that it might be possible to have a second performance.”

-Christopher Hyde, Maine Sunday Telegram

“Joy and – dare I say it? – love of this music is communicated with an easy-going singing style that invites the listener to sit back and enjoy the music.”

-Stephen Ritter, American Record Guide

“They exhibit tremendous dynamic range from mere whispers to mighty fortissimo that tingles one’s spine.”

-Daily Hampshire Gazette