John W. Ehrlich
Music Director

On behalf of the Spectrum Singers, I’d like to welcome you to our Web site and invite you to learn more about one of Boston’s most adventurous choral groups. The Spectrum Singers perform choral music from the pre-Renaissance through the 20th century, emphasizing seldom-heard works by master composers. We encourage you to attend one of our upcoming concerts or to join our mailing list. And if you’re looking for a group to sing with, please consider auditioning for us.

"...their delivery radiated the wide and seemingly contradictory emotional range contained in these works–passionate reverence, plaintive joy, aching peace–with stunning power and sensitivity... seemed to stretch space and slow time, so that at the end of every piece, though only minutes had passed, one had experienced a lifetime of expressions... in all cases, the melodic lines were creatively ornamented in the best Baroque tradition, hardly surprising from an ensemble that is so clearly comfortable in any century.

"A particular pleasure... chorus sang... with vigor and joy... admirable... graciously... give-and-take of the frequent imitative counterpoint... dramatic and forceful on the one hand... singing with caressing tenderness and melting beauty... crisp articulation... expressive... within a quite narrow dynamic range of pianissimo to mezzo piano. "

"Compelling... unfailingly dramatic performances that grappled with real issues in the music and real issues the music is about."

"One would be hard-pressed to find an amateur choral group in New England with a more adventurous spirit, higher musical standard and sense of serious purpose than John Ehrlich's Spectrum Singers... We marveled at Spectrum's resilience, pride and serious chops."

"Rare beauty, full of dynamic nuances and distinguished by impeccable intonation."

"The Spectrum singers brought... focused intensity to the soldiers and peasants they portrayed. They had a whole range of character to themselves, and they conveyed it perfectly."

"Ehrlich and company offered a deeply felt performance... The chorus, which has made a specialty of singing without accompaniment, knows how to blend into a harmonious entity. The sweetness of tone was particularly evident in some of the quiet passages. When called upon, too, Ehrlich and his ensemble could produce hair-raising tumult."

"The singers sounded secure in even the most demanding passages."