Robert De Cormier

Robert De Cormier has written a wide variety of works ranging from choral to ballet to Broadway. His cantata The Jolly Beggars, based on the poetry of Robert Burns, premiered in New York to critical acclaim. His ballet score Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder has been in the active repertoire of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company for more than 30 years and his choral works Legacy, Four Sonnets to Orpheus, Shout For Joy and Under the Greenwood Tree were premiered at Carnegie Hall by the New York Choral Society.  Mr. De Cormier has arranged extensively, from African-American spirituals to American and international folk songs, and is in wide demand as a conductor in the United States and abroad.  His engagements have included musical theatre, opera, symphonies, television, and well over one hundred recordings.  His professional group the Robert De Cormier Singers recorded and toured throughout the United States and Canada for many years.  For the last twenty years he has been Music Director for the famed folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary.  Mr. De Cormier was Music Director of the New York Choral Society for 17 years, and under his leadership the group attained a reputation for excellent singing and imaginative, varied programming.  He co-founded and is the conductor of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus and is the founder and conductor of Counterpoint, a Vermont-based professional singing group.