Established in 1986 by Robert Page and Christine Jordanoff as a joint training and performance project of the Mendelssohn Choir and the Carnegie Institute, the Junior Mendelssohn has since become the major component of the Mendelssohn Choir’s educational outreach program. Designed to complement the school vocal music curriculum, students in every school district in the greater Pittsburgh area are eligible to participate. Scholarships are provided for students requiring assistance.
Membership in the Junior Mendelssohn program is gained by audition and is offered to 8th- through 12th-grade students. Applicants are generally recommended by their school music teacher and must prepare a solo and their own voice part of a pre-selected audition piece.
Under the direction of Susan Medley, Music Director and Conductor, the Junior Mendelssohn prepares music for their annual concert during a ten-week training session in the Fall. Students receive instruction in sight-singing, diction, voice training and performance from the staff, which includes members of the professional core of The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh.
The Junior Mendelssohn has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra, the Plum Creek Chamber Orchestra and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh.