Michael Kemp Fund for New Music
The Michael Kemp Fund for New Music was established in 2020 as a way for MCCO to honor our founding Artistic Director and Conductor. The goal of this fund is to commission composers, focusing on local, women, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color), and other under-represented composers to write pieces for choir and orchestra every two years.
Donations can be made throughout the year.
We are excited to announce Melissa Dunphy as our next Commissioned Composer.
Australian-born composer, Melissa Dunphy, is one of today's most sought after composers, and we are delighted that she will be our second commissioned composer through the Michael Kemp Fund for New Music.
Melissa will write the finale piece for our 2025 Festival of Carols for choir, orchestra, and organ.
Donate today and be a part of this exciting project!
She has written pieces for the Oberlin Conservatory, the Immaculata Symphony Orchestra, Kennett Symphony, Volti, the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus, the BBC Proms, the BBC Singers, VOCES8, Cantus, and the Mendelssohn Chorus, just to name a few!
Melissa lives in Philadelphia and is on faculty at Rutgers University.
"I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to write something for the Montgomery County Chorale & Orchestra! I grew up playing in orchestras and singing in choirs, and some of my most formative musical experiences were performing masterworks that brought these groups together.
Opportunities to write large scale works like this are few and far between.
I am especially delighted that MCCO is local to me, giving me the chance to interact directly with the performers."
At our 25th Anniversary Concert on April 16, 2023, MCCO presented
To Sing and Rejoice, a three-movement piece for Choir and Orchestra by Dr. Rollo Dilworth.
This was the first commissioned piece funded by the Michael Kemp Fund for New Music.
Want to donate by check? See below:
Please mail your check to:
Montgomery County Chorale and Orchestra
PO Box 3393
Ambler, PA 19002
Checks can be made out to MCCO or
Montgomery County Chorale and Orchestra.
Please indicate "Kemp Music Fund" in the memo line.