Get to know two more!

Both of the singers featured today have been singing in the Chorus for at least 15 years!

Want to get to know more singers? Click here! And be sure to check back next Friday for two more!

Ruehr in Rehearsal

Guest Blogger: Catherine Davies

Whenever I bring friends to a TWC concert, one of their first questions after the performance is: "how much rehearsal did you have?" The average number of rehearsals for one of our concerts is 8 –– that's a total of about 17.5 hours, taking out break and announcements. For many of us, when we sing works like the Verdi Requiem (which we will do for the third time in three seasons this June, this time with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra), the notes and rhythms are already in our muscle memory from previous performances so rehearsals can shift quickly into focusing on interpretation. But I think the only work that 95% of the chorus knew right off the bat (by show of hands), was "Oklahoma!" for a Wolf Trap NSO Pops Performance last summer. (P.S. Chorus manager Amy Lipstein totally won a bet about that...)

So, at the moment we're preparing for the first New Music for a New Age concert. The series is now in its third year, but this will be the first time it will be part of the subscription season and the first time it will involve all 185 of us. It's music by Elena Ruehr. Who? Not Mahler? No–that's in May. Monteverdi? Nope. Mozart? Nein.


It is just as the title says: new music. Elena, a Boston-based composer whom Julian has known since his days as organist at the BU Chapel, will be coming down for the week prior to the concert to work with us, as well as presenting workshops on her music and the texts she selected by Langston Hughes, Louise Gluck, and others at libraries, community colleges, and high schools in the metro area. I suspect I might be the only person in the chorus who had heard of her before Julian introduced us to her music, as I actually sang the world premiere performance of "Gospel Cha Cha" with my former chorus, VocalEssence in Minneapolis, MN.

But it's thrilling to have the chance to learn completely unfamiliar music – and challenging in such a large chorus. The intricate rhythms, singing in English (ridiculous, should be easy, right? But everyone in the audience knows how it should sound, so each consonant and vowel has to be exactly right...!), the modern tonality – it's a totally new experience. Fortunately, Julian, in addition to everything else he does, is a composer in his own right. So he's at home here. He can disassemble the various parts of the score and teach it to us in three different ways until we get it. Thank goodness. After all, we have just about 12 hours left…

Just for fun: leave a comment below with the name of your favorite living composer...

New Singer Profiles Added

Click here to get to know a few more of our wonderful singers... and check back next Friday for the next additions!

Singers share their favorite TWC concert over the years

Leah Wu conducted a (very unscientific) poll with chorus members during rehearsal break, asking which has been their favorite TWC concert over the years. It’s fun to think back on the variety of music we’ve sung over the years! Here are some highlights:

Jimmy (Tenor II): Verdi Requiem; Heather (Soprano II) Handel’s Messiah; Dave (Tenor I): Carmina Burana

Howard (Baritone): NSO Pops conducted by Marvin Hamlish; Ashby (Alto II): Puccini, Rachmaninoff and everything except Christmas!

Sandy (Alto I): Rachmaninoff Vespers

Carol (Alto I): Bach Mass in B Minor; Suzie (Alto I): The Essential Puccini; Sue (Alto I): Berlioz Requiem

Jim (Bass II): Eugene Onegin

Mark (Tenor I): Faure Requiem after 9/11; Kira (Alto II): Rachmaninoff Vepsers at the Greek Orthodox Church

Leslie (Alto II): Christmas 2010 concert; Katie (Alto I): The Essential Puccini; Heather (Alto I): Rachmaninoff Vespers

Meet the Singers - New Profiles

Here are this week's new profiles. Check back each Friday for additional profiles of the wonderful singers who make up our Chorus. You can see all of the profiles by clicking here. 

Welcome to our 50th Anniversary Season Blog!

Welcome to The Washington Chorus' 50th anniversary blog! We are excited to share this space with you as we celebrate the rich heritage of choral singing in Washington, DC!

On these pages, you'll find more information about our history, our singers and our future.

Click through to check out the profiles of our volunteer singers.

Or maybe you'd like to explore some concert programs or articles from one of our many performances throughout the years!

If you're interested in sharing your memories with us, we would love to have them!

Don't miss our exciting spring full of celebrations and performances! New Music for a New Age featuring works by Elena Ruehr on April 3, our 50th Anniversary Celebration Gala Concert - Mostly Mahler on May 1, our 50th Anniversary Season Gala Auction on May 14 and our 50th Birthday Party on June 4 in a beautiful rural setting are just a few of the occasions we hope to celebrate with you!

We'll be featuring new content here each week and we would love to have you join us as we post new memories, feature new singers and explore our history and future together!

To help us get started, please post a comment below letting us know your all-time favorite piece of choral music.

Meet the Singers - New Profiles Added!

Here are this week's new profiles. Check back each Friday for additional profiles of the wonderful singers who make up our Chorus. You can see all of the profiles here. 
If you'd like your profile to be featured, please send us an email at staff@thewashingtonchorus.org. Enjoy!