Cheryl Frazes Hill on Margaret Hillis

October 25, 2023, 8:00 pm

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black and white photo of Margaret Hillis smiling onstage at Symphony Center
Margaret Hillis onstage in Orchestra Hall in 1978 (Terry’s Photography)

Book cover: Margaret Hillis, Unsung Pioneer by Cheryl Frazes Hill

Margaret Hillis was the first woman to regularly conduct a major symphony orchestra, she was the founder of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and served for thirty-seven years as its first director, winning nine Grammy Awards.

In the new biography Margaret Hillis: Unsung Pioneer, author Cheryl Frazes Hill—a longtime colleague and associate—examines how Hillis was able to overcome the many challenges she faced, navigating a career in ways relatable not only to musicians but also to women in all professions. For this Women’s History Month program, Cheryl Frazes Hill is joined by Frank Villella, director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Rosenthal Archives, to share stories from the book as well as performances by the Chicago Symphony Chorus directed by Margaret Hillis.

Learn more about Margaret Hillis: Unsung Pioneer HERE.

Playlist

Giuseppe Verdi: “Sanctus” from Messa da Requiem 
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis and Terry Edwards, directors
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Sir Georg Solti, conductor

Stephen Foster (arr. Alice Parker and Robert Shaw): Beautiful Dreamer
Grant Williams, tenor
Robert Shaw Chorale
Robert Shaw, conductor

Verdi: “Libera me” from Messa da Requiem 
Leontyne Price, soprano
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Sir Georg Solti, conductor

Igor Stravinsky: The Wedding Feast from Les noces 
Mildred Allen, soprano
Regina Sarfaty, mezzo-soprano
Loren Driscoll, tenor
Robert Oliver, bass
American Concert Choir
Margaret Hillis, director
Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, and Roger Sessions, pianos
Columbia Percussion Ensemble
Igor Stravinsky, conductor

Sergei Prokofiev: “The Entry into Pskov” from Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Fritz Reiner, conductor

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, “Resurrection”
V. Finale: “Auferstehen, ja auferstehen wirst du gesät”
Carol Neblett, soprano
Marilyn Horne, mezzo-soprano
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Claudio Abbado, conductor

Johann Sebastian Bach: “Osanna in excelsis” from Mass in B Minor, BWV 232 
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Sir Georg Solti, conductor

Arnold Schoenberg: “Wo ist Moses?” from Moses und Aron 
Philip Langridge, tenor
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Sir Georg Solti, conductor

Johannes Brahms: A German Requiem, Op. 45 
IV. “Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen”
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Daniel Barenboim, conductor

Béla Bartók: Cantata profana
I. Molto moderato
Jane Green, soprano
Deborah Guscott, mezzo-soprano
Thomas Dymit, tenor
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Pierre Boulez, conductor

Hector Berlioz:  Pandemonium from The Damnation of Faust, Op. 24
José van Dam, bass-baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Sir Georg Solti, conductor

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125, “Choral” 
IV. “O Freunde, nicht diese Töne”
Jessye Norman, soprano
Reinhild Runkel, mezzo-soprano
Robert Schunk, tenor
Hans Sotin, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Sir Georg Solti, conductor