Longtime Worcester Chorus director Gerald Mack dies at age 94

Gerald R. Mack, 94, music director and conductor of the Worcester Chorus for 28 years, died Aug. 3.

From 1977 to 2005, Mack led the chorus through many memorable concerts and programs as well as 28 annual performances of Handel’s “Messiah.”

"I love the Worcester Chorus. We've done some wonderful things,'' Mack said during an interview with the Telegram & Gazette just before his final concert with the Worcester Chorus June 4, 2005, "In the Sunlight and Shadow: Folk Songs and Spirituals.''

Obituary: Dr. Gerald R. Mack

Mack was also director of choral activities for 27 years at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford before his retirement. Even after his retirement, Mack continued to conduct and share his love of music. After moving to Nantucket to live year-round, he was executive director of the Nantucket Community Music Center. Serving on the Nantucket Arts Council, he established a winter concert series bringing professional artists to the island enhancing its cultural life.

'Kindness and care'

Mack grew up in Rochester, New York, and lived in Connecticut many years before moving to Nantucket in 1999. He is survived by Nancy, his wife of many years, children and grandchildren.

An obituary posted on legacy.com recalled that Mack, "would engage with anyone anywhere. The kindness and care he extended came back to him; when he walked into a local restaurant or deli, he was enthusiastically and warmly greeted."

Mack's tenure with the Worcester Chorus began when he was teaching a class at the Hartt School of Music. One of his students was Jayne Boardman, who was a member of the Worcester Chorus. "She came up to me and said, 'We're looking for a conductor.' I thought, 'Why not? It's only an hour away,'" Mack recalled.

Mack would not walk into a totally settled situation. There had previously been disputes and breakaways, which led to the formation of the Master Singers of Worcester and the Salisbury Singers. "There had been a major schism,'' Mack said. "I had 45 in the chorus. It was a very challenging beginning.''

Twenty-eight years later when Mack left, the Worcester Chorus had 120 members. Mack said he built the chorus up by recruiting. "I recruited very heavily.'' The group was also put back on track, "by doing good music and doing it artistically,'' he said. "It just became a wonderful group.''

Asked about his conducting style, he said, "I don't have a specific style. I change my style according to the music. I've always taught a lot of voice in the chorus. I dig deep into what the elements are.''

He prepared the chorus to perform with the Boston Symphony under Seiji Ozawa and to perform with the Prague Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall. In collaboration with Dave Brubeck, Mack conducted Brubeck's jazz mass "To Hope." The chorus also performed with the Mexican Symphony Orchestra in Oaxaca and on tours in Europe.

The Worcester Chorus is under the auspices of Music Worcester.

'Gerry was an institution'

Adrien C. Finlay, executive director of Music Worcester since 2012, said, "When I started here at Music Worcester it was immediately clear that Gerry was an institution — for his longevity, for the heights the Worcester Chorus reached under his leadership, for the fact that he had had Chris Shepard (the current music director and conductor of the Worcester Chorus) under his tutelage, and certainly for the varied programming and touring he led for almost three decades."

Mack recalled that, "I was always around music," while growing up in Rochester. His mother was a piano teacher and church organist, and his father was a minister. He began studying the violin at age 7. "I also loved to sing,'' he said.

The Rochester school systems had excellent music programs, he said, and Mack found a mentor for his singing in Marlowe Smith, who was head of music education for Rochester schools. With Smith's encouragement, Mack was a founder of the Gentlemen Strollers, who won sponsorship and their own local radio show. "We became quite famous there,'' Mack said.

After being drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War era, Mack would soon be starting up another chorus. Stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey, for basic training, he volunteered when the call went out for someone to help the chaplains with music. There were 11 chapels at Fort Dix. Mack organized a 25-member chorus — "I had my pick of 20,000 men.'' Army brass heard the chorus and were so impressed they dispatched it to New York City to sing with the Army Big Band on television. Their TV show ran on ABC for 18 months. Mack conducted the choir as it also performed on TV programs such as the "Kate Smith Show'' and "Your Hit Parade.''

Mack graduated from State University of New York, College at Fredonia, with a bachelor's degree in musical education and vocal conducting, and received master's and doctorate degrees in the same areas of study from Columbia University. After a spell as director of choral music for Greenwich (Conn.) High School, where he ran seven choirs and summer programs, he joined the Hartt School of Music.

Began N.H. music festival

Mack also had a home on Lake Winnipesaukee. He once brought the Worcester Chorus there and the concert was such a success that the Great Waters Music Festival in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, was born, drawing singers from far and wide every summer. Mack was the festival's first music director.

"Wherever he went, Gerry brought voices together to sing. His achievements in choral music are 'breathtaking,'" according to the legacy.com obituary.

"A rich and important era in Worcester Chorus' history was brought to a moving conclusion Saturday night," wrote David Lasky in reviewing Mack's final concert with the Worcester Chorus for the Telegram & Gazette in 2005.

Stasia B. Hovenesian, then executive director of Music Worcester, said in 2005, "During his 28 years he has brought the Worcester Chorus to definitely higher levels of excellence."

Special performances

Mack had said that performances by the chorus he remembered with particular fondness were renditions of Johannes Brahms' choral masterpiece "Ein Deutsches Requiem" ("A German Requiem") and Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis.''

"They were just beautiful, but there were many highlights along the way," Mack said.

"It is such a tribute to his tenure, and now his memory, that so many Worcester Chorus members kept in touch with him and Nancy while also supporting the annual Gerry Mack scholarship through the chorus," said Finlay.

"I had the privilege of spending some time with Gerry and Nancy over the years, and his generosity of spirit was so striking and apparent."

A Celebration of Life will be held on Nantucket in October. Visit legacy.com for details. Donations in Mack's name may be made to Great Waters Music Festival, P.O. Box 488, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, 03894; The Nantucket Arts Council, P.O. Box 1267, Nantucket, Massachusetts, 02554; or Music Worcester, 319 Main St., Worcester, Massachusetts, 01608.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Longtime Worcester Chorus director Gerald Mack dies at age of 94