Pacific Chorale

Pacific Chorale, founded in 1968, is a professional chorus performing in Costa Mesa, California at the Renée and Henry Segerstom Concert Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Artistic Director

John Alexander has been the Chorale's music director since 1972, and he has held posts including Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies in the California State University System for 35 years. [John Kroll. "Commanding Respect - Reknown conductor John Alexander created and sustains an oral history". TITAN Magazine. Cal State Fullerton University website. Retrieved February 28, 2008.] He has conducted hundreds of performances of choirs and orchestras in 27 countries around the globe. In 2006 he was presented a Distinguished Faculty Member award from California State University, Fullerton. He is a past president of Chorus America (2001 - 2003). Other awards include the Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award (2003) for lifetime achievement as an artistic visionary in the arts in Orange County, and Outstanding Individual Artist Award (2000) from Arts Orange County.

Program and Singers

Pacific Chorale consists of 180 professional and volunteer singers. The Chorale performs about six times per year in its own season. It also performs regularly with the Pacific Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic and performs as part of the Hollywood Bowl series in the summer. Other noted collaborations include the Boston Symphony, the National Symphony, and the Long Beach, Pasadena, Riverside, and San Diego symphonies. The Chorale performs a wide range of classics and modern pieces, and has commissioned numerous works including most recently "Chanson Eloignee" by Morten Lauridsen and "Bruce Springsteen Rocks New Orleans" by Jake Heggie. [Daniel Cariaga. "Pacific Chorale Gladly Shows Off Its Wide Range." Los Angeles Times, October 24, 2006 ] The Chorale's regular season includes two performances of their popular Christmas concert as well as an annual performance of Handel's "Messiah" with the Pacific Symphony. The Chorale has toured in Spain, South America, China, and Estonia.

The Pacific Chorale's 24-voice professional chamber ensemble, the John Alexander Singers, specializes in modern and early music, presenting a cappella chamber concerts and collaborating regularly with the Musica Angelica period chamber orchestra.

Awards

Pacific Chorale has won a number of grants and awards including:

National Endowment for the Arts, $100,000 grant to present the "American Masterpieces Choral Music Festival" (2007) [Los Angeles Times, April 25, 2007. "Pacific Chorale Gets NEA Grant"]
ASCAP Chorus America (2005) "Alice Parker Award for Adventurous Programming" [http://www.chorusamerica.org/awards.cfm Accessed May 23, 2007]
Orange County Department of Education (2002) "Outstanding Contributions to Education Award"
Chorus America (1993) "Margaret Hills Achievement Award for Choral Excellence" [http://www.chorusamerica.org/awards.cfm Accessed May 23, 2007]

Recordings

The Chorale has recorded a number of CDs including:

"Christmas Time is Here" (2005) with Pacific Symphony, conducted by John Alexander
"An American Requiem", by Richard Danielpour (2002) with Pacific Symphony, conducted by Carl St. Clair
"Sweet Harmony" (2002) A cappella works performed by the John Alexander Singers with guest soloists, conducted by John Alexander
"Nocturne" (2000) A cappella works by Samuel Barber, Adolphus Hailstork, Eric Whitacre and John Alexander, conducted by John Alexander
"Musica" (1997) American a cappella works, conducted by John Alexander
Pacific Symphony's "Fire, Water, Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio", by Elliot Goldenthal (1996) Conducted by Carl St. Clair
"Songs of Eternity" by James F. Hopkins and "Voices" by Stephen Paulus (1995) with Pacific Symphony, conducted by John Alexander
"Sing Noel" (1992) with Pacific Chorale Children's Chorus and Pacific Brass Ensemble, conducted by John Alexander

External links

* [http://www.pacificchorale.org/ Official website]

References