Mary Ongjoco Chapman

Mary Ongjoco Chapman is a graduate of Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, where she received her Music degree in Vocal Performance.

Ms. Chapman was quite active in the opera program, and was featured in several productions. She performed roles such as Pitti-Sing in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, Adele in Die Fledermaus, the Mother in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Susanna in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.

While at Millikin, she studied choral with Richard and Kay Hoffland, protégés of the renowned F. Melius Christiansen of St. Olaf College. She also studied orchestral conducting with Dr. Gary Shaw.

Ms. Chapman is a former member for the St. Louis Symphony Chorus. In her capacity as rehearsal soloist, she had the opportunity to sing for some of the world’s most illustrious conductors. Those performances included Haydn’s Harmoniemesse under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst; Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, under the direction of the late Robert Shaw; and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 Resurrection, Mozart’s Mass in C-minor, and Barber’s Prayers of Kierkegaard, all under the direction of Leonard Slatkin.

Concert-goers have also heard Ms. Chapman as a soloist throughout the St. Louis area. Her appearances included Saint-Saëns’ A Christmas Oratorio, Haydn’s The Creation, Handel’s The Messiah (with the St. Louis Metro Singers), and with the Manchester United Methodist Church choir and orchestra, John Rutter’s Requiem and Mozart’s incomparable Requiem.

In 1999, Ms. Chapman joined the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus. During the group’s 50th anniversary in 2005-2006, she was featured as the soloist for Aaron Copland’s stunning motet for soprano and a cappella chorus, In the Beginning.

Her association with the Chamber Chorus further deepened when she was tapped as assistant conductor for the Chorus. She also directs the adult choir of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion in University City.

A native of St. Louis, Ms. Chapman graduated from Ursuline Academy in Kirkwood, and currently resides in Ellisville with her husband Matthew and daughter Maria.