Chicago Master Singers (CMS) was founded in 1979. Its mission is to perform sacred choral works at the highest artistic level for the cultural enrichment of its members and the communities it serves. Since 1989, the chorus has been under the artistic direction of Alan Heatherington and has expanded its membership to 130 singers.

Alan Heatherington has built his career in the Chicago metropolitan area as a choral and orchestral conductor, a violinist/concertmaster and an educator. So distinguished are his accomplishments that the Chicago Tribune named him a Chicagoan of the Year in the arts in 2004.

He has held the post of Music Director of the Chicago Master Singers (CMS) since 1989, leading the chorus on 10 concert tours in most of the musical capitals of Western and Eastern Europe.