Chorus Information
Pacific Edge Voices
Lynne Morrow, Music Director
Information last updated: 2014-11-07
Status:
Current
Basic Information
| Description: | This is an amateur, semi-professional chorus, open to the general public. |
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| Web Address: | http://www.pacificedgevoices.org |
| Year Estab: | 1980 |
| Mission: | This chorus performs 4 concert sets a year plus professional appearances with various orchestras, ballets, and commercial recordings. While members are not paid, the chorus demands professional standards. It performs major works, usually done by large choruses, with a small, highly selective group. |
| Emphasis: | All periods, with and without orchestra. A wide variety of and special focus on classical and Baroque, but all periods represented most seasons. Growing interest in challenging 20th century literature, such as Messiaen, Stravinsky, Milhaud, Weill and performances with Dave Brubeck, etc. The Spring concert of a cappella jazz and pop has now become a Bay Area institution. |
| Size: | 40 |
| Concerts/Year: | 3-4 times a year |
| Auditions: | Yes, held by appointment (call Melinda Miller-Castro (510) 848-8022) or send an email to info@pacificedgevoices.org. Auditions consist of singing two prepared pieces of your choice and vocaleses to hear your range. Please print their audition form: http://pacificedgevoices.org/join-us/sing-with-us (requires Adobe Acrobat software) and fill it out prior to your scheduled audition. If you have a resume outlining your music experience, please bring it as well. |
| Dues: | No. If chorus members want to keep the scores, they buy them. |
| Dress: | For classical concerts: men: tuxedo; women: concert black, either street length or floor length for women. |
| Rehearsals: | Monday (September-June), 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Crowden School, 1475 Rose Street (at Sacramento), Berkeley |
Categories
| Type of Music: | Classical Church/Sacred Contemporary Early Music Popular Jazz |
Type of Chorus: | Mixed Adult |
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| Rehearse City: | Berkeley | ||
| Region: | Alameda County West | ||
| Audition Req'd: | Y | ||
Chorus Contact Information
| Mailing Address: | P.O. Box 8568, Berkeley, 94707-8568 |
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| Phone: | 510-848-8022 |
| Fax: | 510-848-8022 |
| Email: | info@pacificedgevoices.org |
Other Information
| Related Groups: | For the spring a cappella jazz and pop concerts, there are many small groups formed to perform specific arrangements. |
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| Discography: | Through Pacific Mozart Ensemble or Primarily A Cappella Catalogue: 1995. The Pacific Mozart Ensemble: A Cappella Jazz and Pop. Ensemble Recordings. Compact Disk. 1993. A Saint-Saens Sort of Christmas. Pro Organo CD 7040. Compact Disk. |
| Bibliography: | See Pacific Mozart Web Page at: http//www.pacificmozart.org San Francisco Chronicle review in Datebook, November 26, 1995. Kosman, Joshua, San Francisco Chornicle, December 5, 1995. Ulrich, Allan, San Francisco Examiner, May 6, 1996. Fenstermaker, John, San Francisco Classical Voice, December 12, 1998. Cahill, Sarah, East Bay Express. |
| History: | From PME Website (3/2008) Founded in 1980 by Artistic Director Richard Grant, the Pacific Mozart Ensemble (PME) delivers passionate, expert and engaging choral performances of music from Brahms to Brubeck to the Beach Boys. During its time, PME has grown to fill an important role in the cultural life of the San Francisco Bay Area, presenting courageous and innovative programs of many works that have never been performed in concert settings. In 2005, the group's 25th anniversary season, PME named Dr. Lynne Morrow as the group's Music Director. PME is perhaps best known for its collaborations with contemporary composers and artists, including John Adams, Dave Brubeck, David Lang, Meredith Monk, The American Bach Soloists, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, The Oakland East Bay Symphony, and many others. PME was nominated for a Best Choral Performance " Grammy(r) Award in 2006 for the Harmonia Mundi recording of Bernstein's Mass with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester under the direction of Kent Nagano. PME made its Carnegie Hall debut in November 2005, representing choral music for Meredith Monk's 40th Anniversary Celebration; selections of those performances were broadcast on WNYC radio. In 2006, members of PME appeared in local concerts by "indie " rocker Sufjan Stevens and avant garde composer and musician John Zorn. PME was a featured performer at the 2007 Green Center Festival at Sonoma State University, presenting its multimedia concert program "A Story of Freedom: An Evening of Spirituals. " The ensemble has made three European tours and numerous recordings. PME annually presents a season of three concert programs in various locations around the Bay Area; these concerts often include collaborations with other music institutions. The 2007-08 season will include performances of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Napa Valley Symphony in April 2008. PME closes each season with its highly popular A Cappella Jazz & Pop concerts, which showcase members of the choir in small and large groups performing sophisticated, original arrangements of a wide variety of musical styles. " |
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