The Valley Concert Chorale is a choir composed of about 40 auditioned singers from Livermore, California, USA, and the surrounding Tri-Valley area, which is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. [1] It usually performs three concerts each year, starting with a holiday concert in November, followed by a concert of serious music in March and a lighter concert in May. These concerts are often given in collaboration with other choruses in the area, including the San Francisco Concert Chorale, the Las Positas College Chamber Choir and the Cantabella Children's Chorus. [2] Recently,[ when? ] the chorus has also organized an annual "sing-it-yourself" Messiah , which is held at Livermore's First Presbyterian Church.
The chorus was established in 1963 by Ellen Cunningham. Recent directors have included David Babbit and Philip Manwell. Since 1998, the chorus has been led by John Emory Bush, [3] who is also the director of the San Francisco Concert Chorale, and has been director for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California, and the Cathedral Church of Saint Matthew, Dallas, Texas. The chorus' accompanist is Daniel Glover, a concert pianist who has performed in 42 American states and 42 countries.
The chorus has a community outreach program, the most important part of which is a Music in the Schools program. This program was started in 1990. About ten members of the chorus present a short musical play to elementary schools in the area. These plays have included Hansel and Gretel , Tom Sawyer and several plays that were written by one of the troupe's members, Bobby Jensen. The scenery is painted by a local artist, Carolyn Ramsey, and the costumes and props are made by the members of the cast. Some students are selected to participate in the play and when it is over, all the students are given a chance to ask questions.
The chorus has made two CDs. The first, which consists of Christmas music, was recorded the Trinity Episcopal Church in San Francisco in 2003. The second CD, Carl Orff's Carmina Burana , was recorded at the Mission Dolores Basilica in San Francisco in 2006. [4]
Robert Lawson Shaw was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. He was known for drawing public attention to choral music through his wide-ranging influence and mentoring of younger conductors, the high standard of his recordings, his support for racial integration in his choruses, and his support for modern music, winning many awards throughout his career.
The San Francisco Girls Chorus, established in 1978 by Elizabeth Appling, is a regional center for music education and performance for girls and young women, ages 4–18, based in San Francisco. Each year, more than 300 singers from 45 Bay Area cities participate in SFGC's programs. The organization consists of a professional-level performance, recording, and touring ensemble and a six-level Chorus School training program.
Margaret Eleanor Hillis was an American conductor. She was the founder and first director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus.
Carmina Burana is a cantata composed in 1935 and 1936 by Carl Orff, based on 24 poems from the medieval collection Carmina Burana. Its full Latin title is Carmina Burana: Cantiones profanae cantoribus et choris cantandae comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis. It was first performed by the Oper Frankfurt on 8 June 1937. It is part of Trionfi, a musical triptych that also includes Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite. The first and last sections of the piece are called "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi" and start with "O Fortuna".
Conducted by Dr. Kent Hatteberg, the Collegiate Chorale is the premiere choral ensemble at the University of Louisville. The Chorale performs primarily unaccompanied repertoire and is known to commission works by Lithuanian composers Vytautas Miškinis and Vaclovas Augustinas. The Chorale enjoyed rising popularity in the late 1990s and now performs regularly at national choral events around the United States with a large following.
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.
Eleanor Joanne Daley is a Canadian composer of choral and church music, a church choir director, choral clinician and accompanist. She lives and works in Toronto, Ontario. Among her best-known works are The Rose Trilogy and Requiem.
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.
Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale is a boys' choir and men's chorale based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, currently under the direction of Jeffrey R. Smith. They are known as "America's Ambassadors of Song" and are considered to be one of the best boys choirs in the world. They have performed in concert venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, the Kimmel Center, Notre Dame de Paris, King's College Cathedral, and Philadelphia's Academy of Music.
The New York City Master Chorale (NYCMC) is a 60-person non-profit chorus, led by Artistic Director David Recca. NYCMC was founded in 2005 by Dr. Thea Kano, and directed by her until 2019. From 2019 to 2021, the Chorale's Artistic Director and conductor was Dusty Francis. In July 2021, the Chorale announced David Recca as the new Artistic Director with the mission “to connect people through chorale music by presenting high-quality concerts inspired by the distinct energy, diversity, and talent of New York City.”
The Master Chorale of Washington, formerly the Paul Hill Chorale, was a symphonic choir based in Washington, D.C., composed of approximately 126 auditioned volunteer choristers and twenty-four professional choristers. Its most recent music director was Donald McCullough (1997–2009).
The International Orange Chorale of San Francisco (IOCSF) is an auditioned all-volunteer chamber choir devoted to performing established repertoire of all periods, with particular attention to 20th-century music—including newly commissioned works of promising composers. Since its inception, the group has been committed to performing free concerts featuring challenging and imaginative choral a cappella programming. The ensemble is based in San Francisco.
Masterworks Chorale is a choral ensemble based in San Mateo, California.
The Marionettes Chorale of Trinidad and Tobago is one of the oldest performing arts organisations in the Caribbean. Formed in 1963, the choir has toured the Caribbean; North and Central America; and Great Britain; has won prizes at music festivals both in Trinidad & Tobago and internationally; has recorded seven albums; and received local awards. Founded in 1963 by Jocelyn Pierre and June Williams-Thorne, the choir has been led since 1974 by Gretta Taylor as conductor and artistic director; and founder member Joanne Mendes as secretary and production manager. Susan Dore served as assistant musical director 1974–2011, and was succeeded by Dr. Roger Henry. The choir has been sponsored by BP Trinidad & Tobago since 1972, and formed a Youth Chorale in 1995 and a Children's Choir in 2012. The group was incorporated as a non-profit in 2005.
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.
Julian James Wachner is an American composer, conductor, and keyboardist. From 2011 to 2022, he served as the Director of Music and the Arts at Trinity Wall Street, conducting the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, and NOVUS NY. Wachner recorded five albums with these ensembles, primarily for the Musica Omnia label. From 2008 to 2017, he served as the Director of The Washington Chorus. In March 2018, Wachner was named Artistic Director of the Grand Rapids Bach Festival, an affiliate of the Grand Rapids Symphony, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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.
Berks Youth Chorus (BYC), originally named the Berks Classical Children’s Chorus, is a children’s and youth chorus based in Reading, Pennsylvania, that performs classical, contemporary, and popular music. Singers are in grades three through twelve, and come from Berks and neighboring counties. The group was founded in 1992 by Donald Hinkle, and was led by Executive Director Dail Richie from 1997 to 2020. The current Executive and Artistic Director is Sam Barge. The organization has received various accolades, and provides a valuable resource for music performance, education and advocacy throughout Berks County.
Zachary Gordin is an American baritone who performs leading roles in operatic productions and major concert works with orchestras and choruses.
The GRAMMY® Award-winning National Children's Chorus of the United States of America (NCC) is a private, non-profit organization, and one of the largest children's choruses in the world. It has 1,000 choristers and its members are between the ages of five and eighteen, and divided into Junior Division and Senior Division across its seven chapter cities – Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Austin, Dallas and Boston.