A choir is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. 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.
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is the second-oldest professional symphony orchestra in the United States, preceded only by the New York Philharmonic. Its principal concert venue is Powell Hall, located in midtown St. Louis.
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.
The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA) is an amateur choral group composed of gay men from the Los Angeles area. Established in 1979, GMCLA has grown in size, gained professional artistic and administrative staff, toured nationally and internationally, and released 16 CDs. GMCLA has appeared with numerous stage, film, and television celebrities including Billy Porter, Lily Tomlin, Angela Lansbury, Bea Arthur, Malcolm Gets, Doris Roberts, Jerry Herman, Melissa Manchester, Mary McDonnell, Levi Kreis, Joanna Gleason, Alex Newell, Amber Riley, Charles Pierce, Miss Coco Peru, Valarie Pettiford, Jane Lanier, Randi Driscoll, Margaret Cho, Michael Jeter, Stephen Schwartz, Liz Callaway, Lance Bass, Jennifer Holliday, Tierney Sutton, and LeAnn Rimes. The Chorus has appeared on several television broadcasts including the 85th Academy Awards, Access Hollywood, Will & Grace, $#*! My Dad Says, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Mad TV, and a six-episode arc on Six Feet Under.
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 29-40 members, and is the most selective choral ensemble at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
The Chicago Gay Men's Chorus (CGMC) is a choral organization in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1983 with 55 singers, the chorus currently consists of approximately 150 singing members and over 200 members in total.
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.
Jo-Michael Scheibe was the former chair of the Department of Choral and Sacred Music at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. Following an unplanned and unannounced sabbatical in Fall of 2022, Scheibe retired from his position as Professor of Choral and Sacred Music. He formerly conducted the USC Chamber Singers. In 2008, he assumed a new post as National President-Elect of the American Choral Directors’ Association. No stranger to the ACDA, Scheibe previously served as the organization’s Western Division President (1991–1993), as well as National Repertoire and Standards Chairperson for Community Colleges (1980–1989). Ensembles under his leadership have sung at six national ACDA conventions, as well as two national conventions of the Music Educators National Conference, and various regional and state conventions.
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, Minnesota. 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 aims to promote community spirit and a positive image of the gay community. 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, dedicated to providing leadership and inspiration to the gay and lesbian movement through excellence in the choral arts.
The Peninsula Women's Chorus is a women's choir based at Palo Alto, California.
The Ohio State University Men's Glee Club is an all-male choral ensemble at The Ohio State University. Officially founded in 1875, the Men's Glee Club is one of the oldest student organizations on Ohio State's campus and one of the oldest collegiate glee clubs in the United States. The group has garnered many accolades, most notably winning Choir of the World 1990 from the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.
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, and is dedicated to giving voice to the gay community through song. 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.
Millennial Choirs & Orchestras (MCO) is an American musical organization that was founded in 2007 for the purpose of teaching sacred and classical music, especially to its youth. The organization prioritizes in offering music performance education, with a focus on the works and styles of classical composers.
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.
