Choral Chameleon

Founded by Vince Peterson in January of 2008, Choral Chameleon has begun to make significant strides on the NYC choral music scene as a new generation of artists thinking outside of the box about choral music. Hailed by The New York Concert Review as having “forward thrust and an expressive musical profile” and called “stunning” by emerging composer Jeff Parola, the group is out to give rest to the old ideals of putting genres of music in categories. Time Out New York said to go see Choral Chameleon’s annual December concert if you’d like to get a “Handel-Free” Holiday and about Chameleon's recent concert "The Choir...Electric", Steve Smith said "Sparks will fly".  Celebrated composer, Conrad Susa praised the group calling its performance of his piece “Hymns for the Amusement of Children” “the best performance of the work ever done”.  Among Choral Chameleon’s accomplishments to date are grants from The Sparkplug Foundation as well as The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and a successful inaugural season of its Composer-In-Residence program.  In addition, Chameleon’s exciting Education Outreach initiative has already begun changing the lives and musical work of young composers and conductors of choral music as well as high school choral singers.

By David Teitelbaum
The history of music is constantly evolving and every new concept in the industry must be examined against the backdrop of all of music history.  Every now and then, however, a personality or ensemble comes along and sticks out as that element to reckon with in the history that is being written; these are the memorable tidbits that we read about in history books.  Such a personality and ensemble has been tenaciously making its mark on the music scene of New York City for around two years, in the person of Vince Peterson and his incredible choir, Choral Chameleon.  Still in its infancy, Choral Chameleon is a chamber choir of individually highly gifted and accomplished musicians, and its impact is being felt by an ever increasing audience across the city that wants to hear a wider variety of music than is usually offered by the more established choruses in the region.  The name “Choral Chameleon” already denotes what its purpose is; like a chameleon that can change its appearance at will, this choir’s mission and purpose is to perfect and perform every style of music and to present the varied sounds within carefully amalgamated programs.  Being that Maestro Peterson is a true expert in every musical expression—and his love for the music is infinite—the results are nothing short of phenomenal.