The Westminster Choir is one of the most justly famed college ensembles in the world. It’s composed of students from Westminster College of the Arts, a part of Rider University in Princeton, N.J., and the list of its alumni who have made significant careers in music is long and impressive. (Locally, it includes organists John and Karen Romeri of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.)

On Monday night, halfway through a Midwestern tour under the direction of conductor Joe Miller, they demonstrated their impressive discipline and musicianship to a sold-out house at Ladue Chapel.

The choir’s sound is light and young; at times it seemed thin, especially in the soprano section; the intensely dry acoustic of the church might have contributed to that impression. The basses will no doubt gain more depth and vocal darkness with age, but the alto section is to die for right now. The blend was just about perfect throughout.

The choir was completely together at almost all moments, staying with Miller like a well-tuned sports car on a winding mountain road.

The program was varied and interesting. They opened with a shape-note classic, “Weeping Mary.” The best place to hear shape-note is in the conductor’s spot, in the center of a square of singers − and the audience had the equivalent, with the singers surrounding us on three sides, in an exciting, exact rendition.

As the choir moved to the chancel, a tenor and a bass, taking the parts of the deacon and the priest, sang a Russian Orthodox chant. It was unhelpful to have the title printed solely in Cyrillic letters, but they sang it well, and it made for a natural transition to the next choral piece, John Tavener’s “A Hymn to the Mother of God.”

Josquin Desprez’s “Ave Maria, Gratia Plena” and the Kyrie from Louis Vierne’s “Messe Solennelle” closed the group strongly. They sang all these pieces from memory, with tonal and musical accuracy matched with superb diction.
J.S. Bach’s motet “Komm, Jesu, komm,” BWV 229, didn’t rise to those levels, but there was another extraordinary moment in a Finnish folk song, “Laevas Lauldakse (Singing Aboard Ship).” It showed off the choir’s rich alto sound, including a superb soloist, Melissa Fajardo.

The weakest composition on the program was “The Gartan Mother’s Lullaby,” an Irish tune arranged by Neil Ginsberg to sound like part of the soundtrack from a British costume drama. More pleasing were the final group, of three spirituals arranged by the late great Moses Hogan, ending with powerful rendition of “Elijah Rock.” This is one choir that has earned its reputation.