The Roger Wagner Chorale is an American choir founded by choral musician and educator

Roger Wagner Roger Wagner, KCSG (January 16, 1914 – September 17, 1992) was an American choral musician, administrator and educator. He founded the Roger Wagner Chorale, which became one of America's premier vocal ensembles. Early life Wagner was born in L ...

in 1946.

History

In 1937, Roger Wagner joined the

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

chorus in Hollywood and was subsequently appointed Music Director of St. Joseph's Church in Los Angeles where he established an outstanding choir of men and boys, including a young

Paul Salamunovich Paul Salamunovich KCSG (June 7, 1927April 3, 2014) was a Grammy-nominated, American conductor and educator. He was the Music Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1991 to 2001 and its Music Director Emeritus from 2001 until his death in ...

. In 1945, Roger Wagner became the supervisor of young choruses for the City of Los Angeles, most notably the "Los Angeles Concert Youth Chorus." It was from a

madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the number o ...

group of twelve of these singers that the Roger Wagner Chorale was born in 1946. In 1949, the Chorale won a contract with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

for whom it recorded over 20 records. Over time, the Chorale became recognized the world over through its numerous radio, concert, and television appearances, motion picture soundtracks (''

The Gallant Hours ''The Gallant Hours'' is an American docudrama from 1960 about William F. Halsey, Jr. and his efforts in fighting against Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto and the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Guadalcanal campaign of World War II. This film was direc ...

''), and more than eighty recordings. They were also famous for singing the theme song and "score" for ''

I Married Joan ''I Married Joan'' is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from 1952 to 1955. It starred actress Joan Davis as the manic, scatterbrained wife of a mild-mannered community judge (Jim Backus). Synopsis The show, whose syndicated ope ...

''. The ''Virtuoso'' recording won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in 1959, and the popular carol recording ''Joy to the World'' was a Gold Record Album, selling more than a half million copies. The Chorale toured all over the world and included such outstanding singers as

Marilyn Horne Marilyn Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages. She is a recipient of the Natio ...

Marni Nixon Margaret Nixon McEathron (February 22, 1930 – July 24, 2016), known professionally as Marni Nixon, was an American soprano and ghost singer for featured actresses in musical films. She is now recognized as the singing voice of leading a ...

, Claudine Carlson,

Harve Presnell George Harvey Presnell (September 14, 1933 – June 30, 2009) was an American actor and singer. He began his career in the mid-1950s as a classical baritone, singing with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States. His career re ...

(on several recordings),

Salli Terri Salli C. Terri (September 3, 1922 – May 5, 1996) was a singer, arranger, recording artist, and composer. Record audiences still cite Terri's "haunting" vocals, with ''Hi-Fi Review'' originally describing her as ''"a mezzo soprano whose velvet ...

(on several recordings as well as researching for several of the LP liner notes), Earl Wrightson, and

Carol Neblett Carol Lee Neblett (February 1, 1946 – November 23, 2017) was an American operatic soprano. Life and career Neblett was born in Modesto, California and raised in Redondo Beach. She studied at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1969 ...

. In 1997, for the 50th anniversary of

Radio Korea KBS World Radio (Korean: KBS 월드라디오; formerly Radio Korea and Radio Korea International) is the official international broadcasting station of South Korea. Owned by the Korean Broadcasting System, the station broadcasts news and informa ...

, the Chorale joined a celebratory concert in Los Angeles.

Present Day

As of 2018, the choir is active and maintains a presence on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

References

External links

Roger Wagner Chorale

Oxford Music
* * {{imdb name, 1133460 American choirs Musical groups established in 1946 Choirs in California Musical groups from Los Angeles