Choral Arts

Last updated
Choral Arts
Origin Seattle, WA, United States
Genres Choral, A cappella, Classical, Contemporary
Years active1993–present
Members'Artistic Director
Robert Bode
Past membersFounder
Richard Sparks
Website www.choral-arts.org

Choral Arts is an American choir, based in Seattle, Washington, performing under the direction of conductor and artistic director Robert Bode. Choral Arts comprises volunteer singers drawn exclusively from the Seattle region who combine a deep sense of community with a degree of artistic excellence that has garnered national recognition and critical acclaim.

Contents

Composer in Residence

Each year, Choral Arts chooses a Composer-in-residence to help direct the artistic choices of the choir throughout the season. The composer also composes a new piece for the choir in the spring, putting to words the poetry of the choir's "Finding Your Voice" competition, [1] which invites students between 6th-12th grade to submit poetry to be set to choral music. Following is a list of recent Composers in residence:

Awards

Premieres

Discography

CDs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle Symphony</span>

The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera.

Eric Nelson is an American choral conductor, clinician and composer.

The American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization with the stated purpose of promoting excellence in the field of choral music. Its membership comprises approximately 22,000 choral directors representing over a million singers.

Magnum Chorum is a choral ensemble based in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Magnum Chorum performs sacred choral music in cathedrals and sanctuaries throughout the Midwest. The 65 voice auditioned choir presents concerts, commissions new sacred works, makes recordings, and provides music for worship. Founded in 1991 in the choral tradition of St. Olaf College, membership was originally limited to St. Olaf graduates, but since 2005, auditions are open to singers devoted to excellence in choral music. Magnum Chorum’s name is intended to convey the importance of the choir in expressing the divine and infinite through voice, music, and text.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radcliffe Choral Society</span> Choral ensemble

The Radcliffe Choral Society(RCS) is a 60-voice treble choral ensemble at Harvard University. Founded in 1899, it is one of the country's oldest soprano-alto choruses and one of its most prominent collegiate choirs. With the tenor-bass Harvard Glee Club and the mixed-voice Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, it is one of the Harvard Choruses. All three groups are led by Harvard Director of Choral Activities Andrew Clark. The RCS Resident Conductor is Meg Weckworth. RCS tours domestically every year and travels internationally every four years.

Seattle Pro Musica is an American choir, based in Seattle, Washington, performing under the direction of conductor and artistic director Karen P. Thomas. Seattle Pro Musica is widely considered to be one of the finest ensembles in the Pacific Northwest, and has received international recognition and acclaim for its CD recordings and live performances. Seattle Pro Musica has appeared as a featured ensemble on the NPR radio show Saint Paul Sunday, has performed by invitation for the World Festival of Women's Singing 2004, Festival Vancouver 2003 in Canada, the American Guild of Organists National Convention 2000 and the American Choral Directors Association Northwest Division Conventions 2000 and 2006, as well as numerous Northwest festivals. Seattle Pro Musica produced and hosted the American Masterpieces Choral Festival in 2007, under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Arts' American Masterpieces Choral Initiative.

Karen P. Thomas, composer and conductor, is the Artistic Director and Conductor of Seattle Pro Musica and Director of Music at University Unitarian Church. With Seattle Pro Musica she has produced six CD recordings, and has received the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence and the ASCAP-Chorus America Award for Adventuresome Programming of Contemporary Music. Ms. Thomas has guest conducted at international festivals in Europe and North America, and has served on the boards of the American Choral Director's Association for Washington State, the Conductor's Guild, the League-ISCM and the International Alliance for Women in Music. Ms. Thomas is a recipient of grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and ASCAP, among others. Her compositions have been awarded prizes in various competitions, and her commissions include works for the Grand Jubilee 2000 in Rome, the American Guild of Organists, and the Goodwill Arts Festival. Her compositions are regularly performed internationally, by groups such as The Hilliard Ensemble, and have been praised as "superb work of the utmost sensitivity and beauty." Her conducting has received critical praise for its "integrity and high purpose...delivered with taste and impeccable musicianship."

The University of Louisville Cardinal Singers is a choir consisting of between 29-40 members, and is the most selective choral ensemble at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melinda O'Neal</span>

Melinda O'Neal is a conductor of choral and choral-orchestral music, professor emerita of music, and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Nally</span> Musical artist

Donald Nally is an American conductor, chorus master, and professor of conducting, specializing in chamber choirs, opera, and new music. He is conductor of the professional new-music choir, The Crossing, based in Philadelphia. He teaches graduate students at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music.

The Seattle Girls Choir (SGC) was established in 1982 by Dr. Jerome L. Wright as a "junior conservatory" where young women from throughout the Puget Sound region could gather after school to develop their music education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Forrest</span> American composer, pianist, educator, and music editor

Daniel Ernest Forrest Jr. is an American composer, pianist, educator, and music editor.

The Westminster Williamson Voices is an ensemble that specializes in choral music. It is named for Westminster Choir College's founder, John Finley Williamson, who believed that choral music performed at the highest level should be accessible to all. The Choir is directed by conductor, pedagogue, and writer Dr.James Jordan

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Ensemble</span>

TheRose Ensemble is an early-music group based in St. Paul, Minnesota, and founded in 1996 by Artistic Director Jordan Sramek.

Ludovic Morlot is a French conductor.

The Peninsula Women's Chorus is a women's choir based at Palo Alto, California.

The Wartburg Choir is a select auditioned a cappella choir from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Founded in 1937, the choir became one of the first American college groups to tour Europe. The Wartburg Choir performs sacred music from all historical periods and styles and often premieres new works by contemporary composers. Called a "mighty fortress of skill" by The Washington Post, the Wartburg Choir is one of Wartburg's three musical ensembles that tour internationally on a triennial basis. Beyond national and international tours, the choir has received invitations for special appearances in the United States and abroad.

Boston Children's Chorus (BCC) is composed of over 300 singers from 10 choirs in over three locations around Boston. Its mission is to address the social problems of Boston's children and communities. Founded in 2003, BCC has performed all over the world in countries such as Japan, Mexico, Australia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Jordan, the Czech Republic, Germany and the United Kingdom. In addition, BCC has received critical acclaim for its music and hosts Boston's Martin Luther King Jr. annual celebration at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall. This concert has featured guests such as Lou Gossett Jr, Patti Austin, Melinda Doolittle, Cindy Blackman Santana, Leslie Odom Jr., Dom Flemons and Roomful of Teeth and has been televised nationally. BCC's believes in the transformative power of music as a tool for social bridging. Its program focuses on providing children with a comprehensive music education and strong diverse youth leadership.

Become Ocean is an orchestral composition by American composer John Luther Adams. The Seattle Symphony Orchestra commissioned the work and premiered it at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, on 20 and 22 June 2013. The work won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music and the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. In 2019, writers of The Guardian ranked it the 10th greatest work of art music since 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston Chamber Choir</span>

The Houston Chamber Choir is a professional chamber choir based in Houston, Texas. It was founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Robert Simpson. The ensemble regularly presents a five-concert series of diverse, innovative choral programming throughout the Houston region. They have appeared nationally at the American Choral Directors Association convention, the Chorus America convention, Spoleto Festival USA, Trinity Church in Manhattan, and Yale University. The choir has also has toured internationally in Mexico and Wales.

References

  1. "Finding Your Voice Competition". Archived from the original on 2015-08-13. Retrieved 2015-09-13.
  2. "Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence".