Pacific Chorale, founded in 1968, is a professional chorus

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

 performing in Costa Mesa, California

Costa Mesa, California

Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light...

 at the Renée and Henry Segerstom Concert Hall at Segerstrom Center for the Arts (formerly the Orange County Performing Arts Center

Orange County Performing Arts Center

The Orange County Performing Arts Center is a performing arts complex located in Costa Mesa, California, United States.The Center offers the world’s leading dance companies, Broadway shows, award-winning classical, jazz and cabaret artists, family entertainment, special events and year-round...

).

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. 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

California State University, Fullerton

California State University, Fullerton is a public university located in Fullerton, California. It is the largest institution in the CSU System by enrollment, it offers long-distance education and adult-degree programs...

. 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

Arts Orange County

The Arts Orange County is the official Orange County, California, USA arts council.The Arts Orange County runs under the California state arts council, the California Arts Council .-Arts Education:...

.

Program and Singers

Pacific Chorale consists of 140 professional and volunteer singers. The Chorale performs about six times per year in its own season. It also performs regularly with the Pacific Symphony

Pacific Symphony

The Pacific Symphony is a symphony orchestra located in Orange County, California. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstom Concert Hall, part of the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, California...

 and Los Angeles Philharmonic

Los Angeles Philharmonic

The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...

 and performs as part of the Hollywood Bowl

Hollywood Bowl

The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...

 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

Morten Lauridsen

Morten Johannes Lauridsen is an American composer. He was composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and has been a professor of composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music for more than 30 years.-Biography:Lauridsen was born February 27, 1943, in...

 and Bruce Springsteen Rocks New Orleans by Jake Heggie

Jake Heggie

Jake Heggie is an American composer and pianist.Jake Heggie is the composer of the operas Dead Man Walking , The End of the Affair , At The Statue of Venus , To Hell and Back , and Moby-Dick , as well as the stage work For a Look or a Touch...

. The Chorale's regular season includes two performances of its popular Christmas concert as well as an annual performance of Handel's Messiah with the Pacific Symphony. The Chorale has toured in England, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, France, Austria, Spain, South America, China, and Estonia, among others.

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

Musica angelica

The Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra is a period chamber orchestra specializing in historically informed performance of music from the Baroque through early Classical eras. They are based in Santa Monica, California.-History and Musicians:...

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)

ASCAP Chorus America (2005) Alice Parker Award for Adventurous Programming

Orange County Department of Education (2002) Outstanding Contributions to Education Award

Chorus America (1993) Margaret Hills Achievement Award for Choral Excellence

Recordings

The Chorale has recorded a number of CDs including:

Vespers (2010) by Sergei Rachmaninoff, conducted by John Alexander

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