Concerts Choral Arts features a symphonic chorus of over 190 professional caliber volunteer singers. It produces an annual series of subscription concerts, typically presented at the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and other venues across the Metropolitan D.C. area. The chorus also regularly performs with the
National Symphony Orchestra, both at the Kennedy Center and at the
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. The chorus has also performed with the
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra,
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra,
BBC Symphony,
London Symphony Orchestra,
Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra,
New York Philharmonic,
The Philadelphia Orchestra, Paris Opera Orchestra, and
Prague Symphony Orchestra, among others. The chorus has performed with many notable conductors, including
Leonard Bernstein,
Christoph Eschenbach,
Leon Fleisher,
Valery Gergiev,
Lorin Maazel,
Helmuth Rilling,
Mstislav Rostropovich,
Robert Shaw, and
Leonard Slatkin. In recent years, the chorus has made regular annual television appearances, including
A Capitol Fourth during the 1812 Overture (Washington's annual
Independence Day celebration), and the
Kennedy Center Honors. The chorus has also occasionally appeared in the televised gala at
Ford's Theatre. In 2000, the chorus appeared in an
episode of
The West Wing involving a major character's recovery from music-induced
post-traumatic stress disorder.
Community outreach and education Choral Arts maintains an active community outreach program, including an annual Christmas concert designed for families with young children, and an annual choral tribute concert dedicated to
Martin Luther King Jr. Since 2004, the Society has presented an annual Humanitarian Award honoring individuals who have furthered Dr. King's legacy. Honorees have included
Dorothy Height, Congressman
John Lewis,
Marian Wright Edelman,
Harris Wofford,
Julian Bond,
John Doar,
Charlayne Hunter-Gault,
Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon,
Norman Scribner,
Nelson Mandela (in absentia),
Dr. Ysaye M. Barnwell, and Rev.
C.T. Vivian. Choral Arts' education programs reach K-12 teachers and students, including students in the
District of Columbia Public Schools, through in-school programming, a partner high school program, and specially designed curricular materials. The educational programs also reach prospective arts professionals at the university level through arts administration internships. In 2008, Choral Arts won the District of Columbia Mayor's Arts Award for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education.
Tours Choral Arts has toured both domestically and internationally, including international tours every three to four years since 1993 as follows: • 1993 –
Italy :The chorus participated in the
Festival dei Due Mondi in
Spoleto, giving performances of the
Berlioz Requiem and the
Rachmaninoff Vespers. The chorus also performed in
Rome at the Basilica of
Santi Apostoli, for
High Mass at
St. Peter's Basilica in the
Vatican, and in
San Ginesio. • 1993 –
Russia :The chorus joined with Mstislav Rostropovich and the National Symphony Orchestra for a performance of the finale from
Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky in
Moscow's Red Square. The concert was attended by 100,000 people, including Russian president
Boris Yeltsin. The chorus also performed in Bolshoi Hall at the
Moscow Conservatory, and in
Saint Petersburg at the Glinka Capella and the Bolshoi Zal of the
Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. The chorus also performed the
Mozart Requiem with the Sinfonica della Provincia di Bari as part of the festival, and performed a program of
a cappella works in the Basilica Superiore (Upper Basilica) of the
Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi in
Assisi. The chorus also appeared with the
City of London Sinfonia at the Cambridge Festival, and with the
Manchester Camerata at the Chester Summer Music Festival and the Harrogate International Festival. • 2005 –
Argentina,
Brazil :The chorus joined the
Youth Orchestra of the Americas for two performances of
Carmina Burana at
Teatro Colon in
Buenos Aires. The chorus also joined the Orquestra Petrobras Pró Música (now the Petrobras Symphony Orchestra) under the direction of
Isaac Karabtchevsky for a performance of the
Verdi Requiem at
Teatro Municipal in
Rio de Janeiro. • 2008 –
England :Under the direction of
Valery Gergiev, the chorus joined the
London Symphony Orchestra, the
London Symphony Chorus and the Choir of
Eltham College for two performances of
Mahler's
Symphony No. 8 at
St Paul's Cathedral. The performances marked the conclusion of the annual
City of London Festival. A recording of the performances was commercially released. • 2012 –
France :In August and September of 2012, Choral Arts participated in two distinct performances with Orchestre National De Lyon, conducted by Leonard Slatkin. The first performance was on 31 August in the abbey at La Chaise Dieuin the Haute-Loire region. Choral Arts participation in this performance included rarely performed vocal settings of The Polovetsian Dances of Borodin, Fauré’s Pavanne, and the Second Suite from Daphnis and Chloé. The following day, Slatkin, the Orchestre National De Lyon, and Choral Arts were joined by Stefan Bevier's Philharmonia Chorus from London and the Bernard Têtu Choeurs de Lyon in rehearsing Hector Berlioz' Grande Messe des morts (Great missa of the dead), also known as the Berlioz Requiem. The performances occurred on 4 and 5 September. • 2015 –
China :In May and June of 2015, Choral Arts partnered with the
Qingdao Symphony Orchestra for a five-city tour of China, performing
Carl Orff's
Carmina Burana at internationally renowned venues such as the
China National Center for the Performing Arts in
Beijing, the
Oriental Art Center in
Shanghai and the
Guangzhou Opera House. ==Recordings==