The Roger Wagner Chorale is an American choir founded by choral musician and educator
Roger Wagner 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. 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 music, Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque music, Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The Polyphony, polyphoni ...
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 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''), 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 pr ...
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 (on several recordings),
Salli Terri (on several recordings as well as researching for several of the LP liner notes),
Earl Wrightson, and
Carol Neblett.
In 1997, for the 50th anniversary of
Radio Korea, 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 Mosk ...
References
External links
Roger Wagner ChoraleOxford Music*
* {{imdb name, 1133460
American choirs
Musical groups established in 1946
Choirs in California
Musical groups from Los Angeles