Chorus Information

 

Peninsula Women's Chorus

Martín Benvenuto, Artistic Director

Information last updated: 2011-07-26
Status: Archived

Basic Information

Description: The Peninsula Women's Chorus is a Palo Alto-based, 55-voice choir performing high-quality classical and contemporary music in the Bay Area, the U.S. and many parts of the world. This group has developed a reputation as one of the finest women's choruses in the U.S. through live performance and recordings and has added significantly to the choral literature by commissioning new music. Experienced treble voice singers (soprano and alto) are encouraged to audition.
Web Address: http://www.pwchorus.org
Year Estab: 1966
Mission: The Peninsula Women's Chorus is committed to excellence in performance of diverse and challenging choral literature for women's voices. The chorus inspires and enriches its audiences through compelling musical artistry, through its concert series, its ongoing program of premiering new works, and its numerous collaborations with other Bay Area performing groups.


PWC's objectives are:
-to promote the recognition and musical growth of the chorus by participating in festivals, cultural exchanges and musical collaborations, and through the creation and distribution of quality recordings.

-to encourage and support opportunities for women's choirs by expanding and promoting choral literature and by serving as a role model.

-to attract and retain talented musicians and active supporters by providing a challenging and rewarding environment with opportunities for musical and personal growth.

-to complement all artistic endeavors with sound business practices and effective public relations, publicity and marketing programs.
Emphasis: Renaissance to contemporary classical music.
Size: 55-60
Concerts/Year: 6
Auditions: Auditions are generally held twice a year in January and August. Auditions include vocalizing, sight-reading, and pitch discrimination. Call (415) 327-3095 for appointment.
Dues: Singer fee is $250/season (half year), plus a donation of $100, for a yearly total of $700.
Dress: Yes. The PWC requires that each singer purchase their own costume from the chorus. The costume consists of a black outfit (top, skirt, pants) a colored vest, scarf and pendant necklace. Total cost is approximately $200.
Rehearsals: Monday, 7:15 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Foothill College, Middlefield Campus, Room M-2, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto

Categories

Type of Music: Classical
Church/Sacred
Contemporary
Early Music
Christmas
Type of Chorus: Women's
Rehearse City: Palo Alto
Region: Santa Clara County
Audition Req'd: Y

Chorus Contact Information

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 50532, Palo Alto, 94303
Phone: (650) 327-3095
Fax: 408-370-9314
Email: info@pwchorus.org

Other Information

Related Groups: Small ensembles vary from time to time.
Discography:

Song of Survival. Originally sung in a World War II Prison Camp. Phonorecord. Pressed by RCA in the USA. Sold Out. Kirke Mechem--Music for Women's Voices. Performing instrumental music vocally, music for a Women's Vocal Orchestra. Phonorecord. Sold Out. Treasures. Mostly contemporary music for women's chorus--Nystedt, Cleveland, Conte, Holst, Vittoria, Skold. Compact Disk. Sold Out.  Alleluia Psallat  (1997) features Kirke Mechem's Seven Joys of Christmas, Britten's Ceremony of Carols, medieval carols, and works by Cleveland, Holmes, Bach, etc. Compact disk. Songs of the Spirit--1998 release, featuring Snowforms by R. Murray Schafer, Song of Survival selections, and works of MacIntyre, Johansson, Harrison, Jeffers, and Hennings. Compact disk.  Songs of the Spirit (1999) features inspirational music ranging from the vocal orchestra arrangements of "Song of Survival" to the scintillating contemporary works of Ron Jeffers and Lou Harrison. For those who have requested a recording of Dvorak's powerful "Largo," Johansson's shimmering "Examine Me," R. Murray Schafer's exotic "Snowforms," or the PWC's favorite "Shenandoah," this CD is for you!  Carols and Lullabies (2000) is the PWC's fourth CD and our second holiday CD featuring festive choral music. Conrad Susa's Lullabies and Carols of the Southwest, an audience and chorus favorite from our December 1999 concerts, is the CD's centerpiece. Also included are Randall Thompson's traditional choral favorites "Carol of the Rose" and "Alleluia," Jozsef Karai's powerful "Hodie Christus Natus est," Ramona Luengen's beautiful "Missa Brevis," and David Conte's "Christmas Intrada."  EarthTones (2004) is a tribute to our late conductor Patricia Hennings and her love of music and nature. From the sublime "O viridissima virga" by Hildegard von Bingen to Libby Larsen's soaring "Psalm 121" to Lojze Lebic's spine-tingling "Urok," the CD showcases a wide array of pieces that spans seven centuries, but collectively celebrates nature and the Earth's beauty.  Winter Patterns (2006) This holiday-themed CD is our first release with Martín Benvenuto as executive producer.  The title is the English translation of Talvemustrid, Estonian composer Veljo Tormis' blustery series that depicts moments in winter.  Also featuring William Mathias' joyous Salvator Mundi, A Carol Sequence, Einojuhani Rautavaara's haunting "Suite" de Lorca, and Daniel Pinkham's lively Christmas Cantata, this holiday CD will become a favorite all through the year!  Nature Pictures (2010) In this CD, the PWC celebrates a close relationship with prominent Estonian composer, Veljo Tormis.  Influenced by his deep conviction that ancient song traditions reflect a close connection to nature, the prolific Tormis gives us the four seasons in 36 miniatures of intense choral imagery in his evocative song cycles, Looduspildid (Nature Pictures).  We are proud to present the first American recording of this cycle!  This eclectic recording continues the theme with Karl Korte's "Spring, Chen Yi's "Looking at the Sea" and Samuel Barber's "To be Sung on the Water."  Also included are Edward Elgar's "The Snow" and Kenneth Leslie's lovely "Cape Breton Lullaby," a PWC favorite.  To order CDs call 650-327-3095 or email info@pwchorus.org or go to www.pwchorus.org/recording.html

Bibliography:

The Choral Journal, February, 1987. Song of Survival; film brochure. 1985. Song of Survival: when music made the great difference, " Panpipes, Summer, 1984. Ratliff, William, "Music sustained the human spirit, " Peninsula Times Tribune, February 25, 1982. Zimler, Richard, "Voices arise from the war camps, " Palo Alto Weekly, March 3, 1982. Moreillon, Stan, "Voices united by adversity to be heard again, " San Jose Mercury News, March 8, 1982. "Recreating a special concert, " The Country Almanac, March 10, 1982. Nichols, Dorothy, "A unique labor of love, " Peninsula Times Tribune, March 11, 1982. Ratliff, William, "A distinctive choral ensemble, " Peninsula Times Tribune, June 8, 1982. "An unusual concert, " Pan Pipes of Sigma Alpha Iota, Summer 1982. Ratliff, William, "A Palo Alto-based tribute to music and the human spirit, " Peninsula Times Tribune, December 15, 1982. Brown, Joe, "Limelight, " The Washington Post, January 2, 1983. Singelstad, Nylene, "Surviving hell through the sound of music, " The Washington Times Magazine, January 13, 1983. "Faith and hope in music from prison camp " and "Prayer from Prison, " Palo Altan, April 30, 1983. Ratliff, William, "Survivors reunite for 'Song of Survival', " Peninsula Times Tribune, May 5, 1983. Stein, Ruthe, " The song of captive choir, " San Francisco Chronicle, May 11, 1983. Long, Barbara, "Tribute, " Accent Magazine, April/May, 1983. Emanuels, Roger, "Song of Survival, " The KUSP Review, KUSP public radio station, Santa Cruz County, California, December 1983/January 1984 . Ratliff, William, "The Bay Area's outstanding musical events of the year, " Peninsula Times Tribune, January 1, 1984. Ratliff, William, "Story of the 'Sumatra Bunch'; will be a documentary, " Peninsula Times Tribune, January 1, 1984. "Women's chorus set for high note, " San Jose Mercury News, March 14, 1984. Allen, Holly, "'Song of survival'-Chorus revives inspirations music of WW II camp, " Menlo-Atherton Recorder, April 3, 1984. "Song of Survival: music from a women's prison camp, " Pomona Today, Spring 1984. "Songs that mean hope, " Coventry Evening Telegraph, Coventry, England, July 10, 1984. Sherlock, Barbara, "Women's 'orchestra' voice of WWII prison camp, " Chicago Tribune, July 27, 1984. "Het zeer bijzondere kampkoor (The very special camp choir), " Haagsche Courant (The Hague Courant), Netherlands, January 26, 1985. Bauer, Bernard, "Song of life saved internees, " San Jose Mercury News, Spetember 18, 1985. Andrews, Michael, "Groot Mannenkoor Zwolle and the Peninsula Women's Chorus, " Peninsula Times Tribune, October 21, 1985. Smith, Karen, "Women's choruses effective, " Peninsula Times Tribune, February 24, 1986. Mecham, Merrilyn, "Experiencing San Antonio, " American Choral Directors Association Western Division Newsletter, April 7, 1987. Smith, Karen, "Peninsula Women's Chorus joins in a truly international effort, " Peninsula Times Tribune, April 22, 1987. Owen, Angela M., "International choruses give the spotlight, " Peninsula Times Tribune, May 2, 1987. Thompson, Tracie, "New songs, challenges, " Peninsula Times Tribune, December 1, 1987. Andrews, Michael, "Glorious sounds, " Peninsula Times Tribune, December 16, 1987. "   "The Many Moods of Mahler" by David Bratman, San Francisco Classical Voice, 4/8/2008; "Celebrating 40 years of singing" by Anna Carol dudley, San Francisco Classical Voice, 3/20/2007; "Peninsula women to Debrecen" by Janos Gereben, San Francisco Classical Voice, 7/11/2006; "summer rhapsody" by Rebecca Wallace, Palo Alto Weekly, 5/12/2006; "New music that sings and dances" by Benjamin Frandzel, San Francisco Classical Voice, 4/10/2001).

History:

Founded in 1966 under the auspices of the Association of American University Women, the Peninsula Women's Chorus is now affiliated with Foothill College in Los Altos, California, and is the premier vocal ensemble for women in the San Francisco Bay Area. Under the direction of Dr. Patricia Hennings from 1975 until her untimely death in 2001, the PWC was led by Karen Robinson until the fall of 2003 when current artistic director, Martín Benvenuto, assumed the musical leadership of the chorus. Unusual repertoire:  The PWC's commitment to performing new and interesting music has produced many works that have expanded women's choral literature and has also prompted the chorus's involvement in projects beyond the scope of the normal concert season. From 1982 to 1987, the PWC was involved in performing unique "vocal orchestra " music from a World War II women's internment camp in Sumatra, resulting in a beautiful documentary film, Song of Survival. In 1995, the PWC and music director Patricia Hennings performed Puccini's opera, Suor Angelica, with Palo Alto's West Bay Opera company. In 2000, a Poetry and Music Project brought together local elementary schoolchildren with the California Poets in the Schools and three composers to produce nine new pieces based on poems written by the children. Collaborations For more than 30 years, the PWC has not only brought outstanding performances to local audiences through its own concerts, but it has also drawn visiting choirs (women's, men's, and mixed) from around the world for joint events. Tours to the British Isles, Eastern and Western Europe, British Columbia, and Newfoundland have extended the PWC's impact beyond the United States and enlarged the chorus members' appreciation and knowledge of the music of other cultures. Awards In 2006, the PWC was awarded third place in the Bela Bartok 22nd International Choir Competition and Folklore Festival, women's division. Twice the PWC has received the prestigious ASCAP award for adventurous programming, most recently in June 2003, reflecting the excitement of performing challenging contemporary music from around the world.  In 2001, the PWC tied for 2nd place in The American Prize in Choral Performance (community chorus division).

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