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Francis V.Gregory

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Francis V. Gregory (1921-2000) was a Chicago-area choral director and Executive Director of the Chicago Sunday Evening Club (later 30 Good Minutes).

Mr Gregory served with distinction in the European theater during WWII, awarded a Bronze Star for bravery above and beyond the call of duty, transporting medical supplies through a mine field. Following the war, he moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he began his musical career. In the mid-50s, he began directing the Chicago Sunday Evening Club choir during their weekly performances at Orchestra Hall. He soon expanded his work with the organization to become Executive Secretary, then Executive Director, serving under Presidents which included well known Chicago businessmen Joseph O. Hanson, Bouton T. McDougal, John D'Arcy, Jr., and David K. Hardin.

He was responsible for the move of the Club from Orchestra Hall to the studios of WTTW, Chicago's PBS station, in 1969. At that time he formed the Chicago Sunday Evening Club Chorale, whose singers included, over the years, Isola Jones, Carol Huston, Ann Irving, and Barrington Coleman. The Chorale and its music was featured in each program and had a dedicated "fan base." In his addition to his Executive Director role, he was the director of the Chorale until he retired from the Club in 1988.

Mr. Gregory was always involved in music, directing choirs all over the Chicagoland area, including multiple church choirs and the Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital Nurses Choir. In the early 1960s, he directed the Merchandise Mart Chorus, which presented annual Gilbert & Sullivan shows, including The Mikado (in which he also portrayed the Mikado), Pirates of Penzance, and the Gondoliers. He was also the music director for more than 20 years of the Great Lakes Dredge and Philharmonic Society of Friends (colloquially "The Dredge), which gathered to sing Christmas carols each holiday season to hospitals, nursing homes, and who went caroling on the streets of the Gold Coast shortly before Christmas.

Mr. Gregory had a rich bass baritone voice and performed in many operas and with many companies, including the New York City Opera and the Chicago Opera Theater, where he sang such roles as Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni), Escamillo (Carmen), Figaro (Marriage of Figaro), Bartolo (Marriage of Figaro), and Gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi). He studied under Madame Maria Hussa-Greve.

Mr. Gregory was a deeply devoted Christian.

Francis V.Gregory
BornDecember 18, 1921
Parkersburg, IA
💀DiedMay 3, 2000
Wheaton, ILMay 3, 2000
💼 Occupation
Executive Director, Chicago Sunday Evening Club; Choral Director
👩 Spouse(s)Rose (married 1959-2000, his death)

References[edit]


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