The Chapel Singers Celebrates 200 Years, Releases The Bicentennial Album
The Chapel Singers—Trinity College’s oldest student organization in continuous existence—is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year and recently released an album.
Founded in 1825 as the chapel choir, The Chapel Singers was the first and only musical group on campus during the early years of the College, which was founded in 1823.
Today, The Chapel Singers perform at special Chapel services including Choral Evensong and the Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols, and at major College events including Convocation and Baccalaureate. The group also sings at regular Sunday services at the Trinity College Chapel and performs other concerts on campus and on tour throughout the year.
The Chapel Singers is a mixed-voice choir of roughly 24 undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds and academic disciplines who enjoy studying and performing challenging choral music. No religious affiliation is required.
Since 2017, The Chapel Singers has been directed by Christopher Houlihan ’09, John Rose Distinguished College Organist, Director of Chapel Music, and Artist-in-Residence, who was a member of the group when he was a student at Trinity.
Houlihan said, “Membership in the The Chapel Singers is usually a defining experience in a student’s Trinity career, and certainly was for me. Rehearsing and performing music in our inspiring Chapel, shoulder to shoulder with some of your closest friends, is a rewarding and memorable opportunity.”
The Chapel Singers learned and recorded music for The Bicentennial Album in 2024, to celebrate both Trinity’s Bicentennial and the group’s own bicentennial. The music is entirely by composers with connections to Trinity, including Robert Edward Smith, the Chapel composer-in-residence since 1979. The album also features music by alumni and faculty members. Learn more about the compositions here. The recording is available from Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms.
The video below celebrates the history and 200th anniversary of The Chapel Singers.
