North River Sing is a community chorus based in Jersey City devoted to the Great American Songbook. To spice things up, we sing an occasional folk or R&B tune, too. Founded in 2014, NRS is a place where friends and neighbors in and around Jersey City can form lasting bonds singing this incredible repertoire as a community.
North River is the Dutch nickname for that part of the Hudson River that lies between New Jersey and Manhattan. As such, we thought it the perfect expression of both our Jersey roots and our Broadway vibe!
We’re a motley crew! Our members include social workers in their 20s, techies in their 30s, lawyers, writers, artists, administrators, scientists, secretaries, nurses, retirees, men, women … you name it. We reflect lots of different cultural and racial backgrounds, political stripes, sexual orientations, and gender identities, too. We are sorry to say one has to be at least 18 years old to join NRS.
While some members have virtuosic voices and extensive musical training, most of us came to NRS simply having sung in our high school or college choir. But no prior choral experience is necessary at all for membership. Plenty of us had sung only in the shower!
Except during the summer and holidays, we rehearse Sundays from 5:45 to 8:00 p.m. at Barrow Mansion, which is just blocks from the Grove Street PATH station.
We have two seasons: Fall (September–January) and Spring (February–June) and perform roughly four concerts per year. Our gigs consist of roughly 15 songs most of which we sing SSATB (or five-part harmony). We offer opportunities for those looking to solo or be part of a smaller ensemble as well.
Main stage performances take place throughout Hudson County and the NYC Metro area. We’ve also sung in museums, public plazas, nursing homes, homeless shelters, and community centers all around Northern New Jersey and Manhattan.
To help you learn your notes, each week you will receive electronic recordings of each song played in your vocal part. Members should expect to spend at least an hour per week on this preparation. Rehearsals are a ton of fun, but members who find they lack the time for homework may struggle to enjoy rehearsals and keep up.
Finances should never hinder a singer from joining NRS! While members pay seasonal dues of $225 (to cover our operating expenses), we happily offer payment plans and all levels of financial aid up to 100 percent. For information on either of these programs, please contact us.
Conrad Chu, Artistic Director
With more than 20 years of deep and varied directing experience, Music Director Conrad Chu has worked with ensembles of all sizes, including college choruses, community orchestras, and small opera companies. Before the pandemic, he served as Lecturer in Choral and Orchestral Music and Director of Performance at Union College of Schenectady, New York. Conrad’s recent engagements have included guest conducting appearances with the Litha Symphony and Queer Urban Orchestra in Manhattan, and serving as guest chorusmaster for the New Jersey Symphony’s annual Chinese New Year gala concert. In 2023 Conrad joined the staff of the Bloomingdale School of Music on Manhattan’s Upper West Side as director of its orchestra and chamber music programs.
Conrad’s choral career began in academia, as the choral director for ten years at Eugene Lang College of The New School, where he also established a community orchestra called the New School Arts Ensemble. Since 2000 he has been a fixture in New York’s Chinese American community, leading several award-winning choruses that promote traditional Chinese music alongside western music.
Currently he directs the New York Formosa Chorus of Long Island and Huaxia Chorus of New Jersey. This fall, Conrad was appointed the music director of the Brooklyn Conservatory Chorale, a classical 50-voice mixed choir based at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music in Park Slope. In the opera world, Conrad has held the post of assistant conductor with Gotham Chamber Opera and Bronx Opera, and made guest appearances with American Opera Projects, Rhymes With Opera, Opera America New Works Forum, Gilbert & Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island, and Victory Hall Opera. In fall 2019 he debuted with Santa Fe Opera as assistant music director for the premiere of Augusta Read Thomas’s children’s opera Sweet Potato Kicks the Sun.
A graduate of Yale University, Conrad earned his master’s degree in conducting from Mannes School of Music and attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio for doctoral work in contemporary music.
James Nascimento, Bassist
James Nascimento, hails from Staten Island, NY where he attended Curtis High School and graduated from its performing arts program in 2013. His education continued at Rutgers University where he received his BM (2017) and MM (2019) in Jazz Studies. Now James freelances throughout New York and New Jersey, playing mostly jazz and rock. James also enjoys software development.
Isaac Del Rosario, Pianist
Born and raised in the greatest city in the world, Isaac Del Rosario is an artist that regularly performs throughout the Greater NYC area. He currently endeavors as a pianist, educator, and band director in the styles of classical, jazz, contemporary, and theatre. With a degree in music education and over a decade of experience in the field, Isaac is musically affiliated with plenty of grade schools, bands, churches, and universities throughout the NJ/NY area. Additionally, he serves as an adjunct professor at Montclair State University and provides audio-visual engineering and video editing assistance for multiple schools, DJ’s, and corporations internationally. Isaac hopes to combine his curiosity, knowledge, and passion in building a life that his parents, wife, and son would be proud of. His additional hobbies include biking, hiking, engineering, chess, learning, long sleeps on the beach, and playing with his little chunky baby boy.
Errold Lanier, Jr., Percussionist
Percussionist and Jersey City native Errold Lanier, Jr. attended McNair High School and graduated from its program in the visual and performing arts. Upon graduation, Errold studied jazz at William Paterson University, where in 2012 he was named a New Jersey Jazz Society Scholar. Currently, Errold freelances throughout New York and New Jersey playing mostly jazz and R&B. Amongst those musicians he has performed with are Mulgrew Miller, Radam Schwartz, and The Ally Mac Project at venues such as Showman’s Jazz Club and Rockwood Music Hall.
Liz Morrill
Liz grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan before moving to Port Washington, Long Island at eleven. After college, she volunteered for the Mondale campaign, sparking a passion for fundraising that led her to spend most of her thirties running a high-donor program at amFAR. In 2001, Liz launched “Fizzy Lizzy,” a healthful beverage company born from her idealism and entrepreneurial spirit, which she successfully sold to White Rock Beverages in 2013.
In 2014, Liz founded North River Sing as a space to unite the community through music. She once shared that she deliberately scheduled rehearsals for Sunday nights, inspired by the warm, familiar tradition of big Sunday family dinners. Her goal was to recreate that same sense of connection and togetherness within NRS.
Since then, Liz has been managing operations for Two Boots in Jersey City, which she and her husband own, freelancing as a copy editor, and working through law school.
Drew Bilcik
President
Kat Kelly
Vice President
Janice Shapiro
Treasurer
Christine Murray
Secretary
Sara Welch
Trustee
Hanna Lee
Trustee
Other members who volunteer key services include Natasha Dzurny, our tireless social coordinator and choreographer.
