The Virginia Chorale
From its fledgling days with volunteer singers who performed early music to its present status as fully professional performing and educating ensemble, the Chorale has realized an extraordinary journey of artistic achievement. As it continues in its third decade, the Virginia Chorale has accumulated more than 800 pieces of repertoire, engaged hundreds of singers, recorded three compact discs, appeared on local and national radio broadcasts, and mentored and inspired thousands of students and audience members.
The current roster of Virginia Chorale singers represents an impressive body of experience and expertise:
- 19 music degrees
- Seven Singers in the Virginia Chorale for at least 10 years
- 141 years of experience in the Chorale
- 13 years of musical career experience
- Over 100 additional ensembles with which our artists have performed
- Performance experience with Robert Shaw, Lorin Maazel, Julius Rudel, Jane Glover, James Erb, Robert Page, Renee Fleming, Garrison Keillor, Mitch Miller, Rosemary Clooney, Kristen Chenowitz, Petula Clark, Lou Rawls, and Richard Carpenter
- International Performances in the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Central America, and Africa
The Chorale through the years
Holding fast to its mission of choral excellence and education, the Virginia Chorale is a recognized leader in the cultural community of Hampton Roads, serving audiences and high school choristers by teaching and performing with professional singers from all around the region. Please explore and enjoy the following timeline that spotlights many of the important moments in the Chorale’s musical journey:
| 1984 | • Norfolk Pro Musica is founded by Donald J. McCullough, and presents its first concert. Riu, riu chiu is the first work performed. The ensemble starts as a volunteer chorale specializing in Baroque and Renaissance repertoire |
| 1989 | • Name changed to Virginia Pro Musica |
| 1990 | • Performances in Norwich, England as part of a sister-city program |
| 1993• The Chorale makes the transition from volunteer to professional singers | |
| 1994 | • Name is changed to McCullough Chorale |
| 1995 | • Performance at the National Convention of the Association of Anglican Church Musicians. -Compact Disc Adolphus Hailstork – Choral Works released on the Albany/Troy label |
| 1996 | • Name changed to its present Virginia Chorale • Performance at the Southeastern Conference of the American Choral Directors Association • Founder Donald J. McCullough accepts a new position with the Washington Master Chorale, leading singers and Board members to launch a joint nationwide Music Director search with the Virginia Symphony |
| 1997 | • Robert Shoup is introduced as the Chorale’s second Music Director; his first concert featured an all Romantic program of Brahms and Schubert • National radio broadcast of performances with Dale Warland on NPR’s Performance Today |
| 1999 | • Compact Disc Heavenly Light released, featuring holiday favorites • Educational programs launched, including High School Master Classes and the Young Singers Project |
| 2000 | • National Composition Contest launched, drawing entries from 8 states; announced winner from Roanoke (Joseph Blaha for Moments) |
| 2001 | • Young Singers Project featured in nationally televised concerts with Petula Clark, Lou Rawls and Richard Carpenter • The Artists-in-Residence Quartet established, with soprano Virginia Vail, alto Lisa Relaford Coston, tenor Reggie Barnes, and bass Steve Kelley. |
| 2002 | • Compact Disc That We May Sing released, featuring live concert recordings • Virginia Chorale featured artists in the Garrison Keillor holiday show at Chrysler Hall |
| 2003 | • Chorale performs Handel’s L’Allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato with the internationally acclaimed Mark Morris Dance Group as part of the Virginia Arts Festival • Virginia Chorale records choral component of international motion picture release, a Polish re-make of the 1950s classic Quo Vadis |
| 2004 | • “American Legacies Series” introduced as a result of research conducted at the Library of Congress by composer Libby Larsen and Music Director Robert Shoup • Los Angeles composer Peter Rutenberg visits Norfolk for rehearsals and performance of his Ballad of the Buffalo Skinners in the Chorale’s first concert appearance at Monticello Arcade • New York composer Richard Einhorn attends rehearsals and performances of his Voices of Light/The Passion of Joan of Arc, a collaboration with the Virginia Symphony and Virginia Arts Festival at Chrysler Hall featuring the 1928 silent film by Carl Dreyer • The Young Singers Project joins the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus for a live telecast of Mendelssohn’s Elijah under the baton of Chorale Music Director Robert Shoup • Introduces its first regular performance series on the Peninsula, with concerts in Newport News and Williamsburg • Creates the Virginia Chorale Peninsula Guild, with a volunteer team led by Martha Elton that generated enthusiasm and support for the Chorale in Peninsula communities |
| 2005 | • Introduction of a new multimedia component in three of the season’s four concerts, with large screen projections integrated into the musical performance. The initial presentation included images of stained glass and other artwork from Trinity Episcopal Church in Portsmouth as well as images from the printed scores and translations of the text. |
| 2006 | • Received collaborative grant with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Chorale’s first major NEA grant award and one of only seven given to choruses across the United States.
• Achieved a major administrative milestone with the hiring of Betsy Fitzgerald, the Chorale’s first Executive Director. • Commissioned Wake Forest University’s Composer in Residence Dan Locklair to compose "Stirring the Silence", celebrating Music Director Robert Shoup’s tenth anniversary season with the Virginia Chorale. |