A choir ( KWIRE; also known as a chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words is the music performed by the ensemble. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the medieval era to the present, or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, hand, and facial gestures.
Lou Silver Harrison was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his former teacher and contemporary, Henry Cowell, but later moved toward incorporating elements of non-Western cultures into his work. Notable examples include a number of pieces written for Javanese style gamelan instruments, inspired after studying with noted gamelan musician Kanjeng Notoprojo in Indonesia. Harrison would create his own musical ensembles and instruments with his partner, William Colvig, who are now both considered founders of the American gamelan movement and world music; along with composers Harry Partch and Claude Vivier, and ethnomusicologist Colin McPhee.
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 Elizabeth Eschen. RCS tours domestically every year and travels internationally every four years.
The Turtle Creek Chorale (TCC) is an American men's chorus located in Dallas, Texas. With 38 recordings and two commercially produced, feature-length motion picture documentaries in public distribution, it is among the most recorded men's choruses in the world.
The University of Louisville Cardinal Singers is a choir consisting of between 29 and 40 members, and is the most selective choral ensemble at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC) is a children's choral youth organization based in Los Angeles. LACC has appeared in more than 300 performances with such organizations as the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC) is the world's first openly gay chorus, one of the world's largest male choruses and the group most often credited with creating the LGBT choral movement.
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.
The choirs at Brigham Young University (BYU) consist of four auditioned groups: BYU Singers, BYU Concert Choir, BYU Men's Chorus, and BYU Women's Chorus. Each choir is highly accomplished and performs from an extensive repertoire. Together, the choirs have recorded and released over 30 albums. The choirs perform frequently throughout the academic year, both as individual ensembles as well as a combined group.
A men's chorus or male voice choir (MVC), is a choir consisting of men who sing with either a tenor or bass voice, and whose music is typically arranged into high and low tenors, and high and low basses —and shortened to the letters TTBB. The term can also refer to a piece of music which is performed by such a choir.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. (GMCW), is one of the oldest LGBT choral organizations in the United States. With more than 300 singing members, it is also one of the largest. The chorus's stated mission is that it "delights audiences and champions gay equality with robust artistry, fun, and surprise." In addition to singing members, GMCW has nearly 100 support volunteers, 400 subscribers, 500 donors and an annual audience of nearly 10,000. The parent organization is the Federal City Performing Arts Association, Inc., and GMCW is a member of GALA Choruses.
The Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus (TCGMC) is a choral group in Minneapolis—St. Paul. The all-male chorus sings a variety of songs arranged for TTBB, ranging from Broadway show tunes to Latin motets to original compositions specially commissioned by the Chorus or written by its members.
The Vancouver Men's Chorus is a non-profit choir. Composed of gay men and their friends, the chorus is a member of the Vancouver Cultural Alliance, the British Columbia Choral Federation and of GALA Choruses, an association of over one hundred men's, women's, and mixed choruses from the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia.
Heartland Men’s Chorus (HMC) is a gay men’s chorus located in Kansas City. Founded in 1986, and currently featuring more than 150 singing members, HMC performs an annual concert series to live audiences in excess of 6,700 at its performance home, the Folly Theater. In addition to its subscription concert series, HMC regularly performs community outreach, reaching an estimated 8,000 additional audience members. The Chorus is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and, as a performing force, is the largest men’s chorus in the region. In terms of infrastructure and budget, HMC is the largest community chorus in the region. HMC is also the oldest cultural institution serving the LGBT community in the region.
The Peninsula Women's Chorus is a women's choir based at Palo Alto, California.
Golden Gate Men's Chorus (GGMC) is a gay men's chorus founded in 1982 and located in San Francisco. The GGMC is a group of 50 ethnically and socially diverse gay and gay-supportive men. The GGMC presents spring, summer, and winter programs annually, in addition to numerous guest and community benefit performances throughout the year.
The New York City Gay Men's Chorus is a choral organization in New York City that has been presenting an annual concert season for more than four decades.
Joyful Noise is a choir for adults with disabilities. The group consists of 50 members between the ages of 17 and 75. The members of the Joyful Noise have disabilities, ranging from physical to intellectual and acquired brain injuries. Founded in 2000 by director Allison Fromm and chorus member, Elizabeth Fromm, the ensemble is hosted by Bancroft, a support program for those with disabilities in southern New Jersey and Delaware. Joyful Noise's mission is to foster an atmosphere of community, acceptance, and teamwork in which members can discover their voices and express themselves through music. Cathy Sonnenberg and Rob Kennan serve as associate director and Delaware director.
In 1983, Marguerite McCormick founded the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio. The organization runs eight core ensembles, one of which is in special collaboration with the Boys and Girls Clubs, as well as an extensive early-childhood music and movement program for babies and toddlers called Music Together.
Washington, D.C., and its environs are home to an unusually large and vibrant choral music scene, including choirs and choruses of many sizes and types.
