Based in San Jose,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, The Choral Project is a mixed-voice

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

founded in 1996 by artistic director and conductor Daniel D. Hughes. The group's vision is ''"to heal our world through music and words,"'' while their mission is ''"to connect to one another through choral theater, education and musical excellence."'' The Choral Project's repertoire is broad and diverse, ranging from Bach,

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

, and Brahms to modern composers like Kirke Mechem, Rene Clausen, Michael Ostrzyga, Stephen Jackson and

Eric Whitacre Eric Edward Whitacre (born January2, 1970) is an American composer, conductor, and speaker best known for his choral music. In March2016, he was appointed as Los Angeles Master Chorale's first artist-in-residence at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. ...

. They have performed in Washington D.C.'s National Cathedral, San Francisco's

Mission Dolores Dolores, Spanish for "pain; grief", most commonly refers to: * Our Lady of Sorrows or La Virgen María de los Dolores * Dolores (given name) Dolores may also refer to: Film * ''Dolores'' (2017 film), an American documentary by Peter Bratt * ' ...

Basilica, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, Santa Cruz' Holy Cross Church, and multiple venues in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. During their 2001 tour, The Choral Project appeared live on Mexican National Radio. In 2004, the ensemble competed in the Mixed Choir division of the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in Wales, coming away with a second-place finish. In 2007, while competing against six choirs from around the world at the California International Choral Festival & Competition in San Luis Obispo, CA, the group placed in all three categories - 1st place in the Choir's Choice category, 2nd place in the Required Music category and 3rd in the Folk Music category. Every season, The Choral Project uses one concert to focus on an important social issue. For example, in February 2017 the choir performed

Street Requiem A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...

with mezzo soprano

Frederica von Stade Frederica von Stade OAL (born June 1, 1945) is a semi-retired American opera singer. Since her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970, she has performed in operas, musicals, concerts and recitals in venues throughout the world, including La Scala, th ...

to highlight the issue of homelessness. The

Santa Cruz Sentinel The ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'' is a daily newspaper published in Santa Cruz, California, covering Santa Cruz County, California, and owned by Media News Group. Ottaway Community Newspapers, a division of Dow Jones & Company bought the paper in 1982 ...

wrote, "The piece, said the 53-voice Choral Project’s artistic director Daniel Hughes, addresses issues of what it’s like to live on the streets and assumes the voice of the homeless in confronting the audience, 'Why do you ignore me when you leave the concert hall?'” To date, The Choral Project has released eight albums: ''The Cycle of Life'', ''Of Christmastide'', ''Americana'', ''Water & Light'' (the group’s #1 best seller on the Clarion label), ''Winter'', ''One is the All'', ''Tell the World'', and most recently ''Yuletide'', a festive collection of holiday favorites. The Choral Project also performs on the San José Chamber Orchestra recording of the dramatic oratorio '' Choose Life, Uvacharta Bachayim'', by composer

Mona Lyn Reese Mona Lyn Reese (born August 24, 1951) is an American composer, best known for her operas and choral music.
Alburger, Mark, "Mona Lyn Rees ...

and librettist Delores Dufner, OSB. The Choral Project is also a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization involved in community outreach, including a choral mentorship program for local high school students, joint performances with visiting choirs and an annual Choral Composition Contest for high school students and undergraduates.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Choral Project, The Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups from San Jose, California Choirs in the San Francisco Bay Area 1996 establishments in California Arts organizations established in 1996