With support from the California Arts Council, the ORANGE COUNTY WOMEN’S CHORUS will further our artistic goals by returning the fees for services rendered by our artistic leadership to pre-pandemic levels; providing professional development for our leadership team; and absorbing a 50% increase in weekly rent for our rehearsal space.
We bring choral music to our community that is seldom heard elsewhere. We are the only major women’s chorus in the area that performs both classical and contemporary work, most often in the language in which it was originally written. We reach over 1,000 patrons annually with three programs in five or six concerts, in addition to free performances in the community. The pandemic required us to use technology and find new ways to connect with our singers, donors, and audience members alike. In the post-pandemic environment, we’ve returned to filled concert venues, including a Carnegie Hall debut in June 2022, and continue to offer online content on our YouTube channel. We regularly commission new works for women’s voices, frequently from women composers, and premiered our latest commission in June 2023. Our December 2020 program included a commissioned work from renowned choral composer Dale Trumbore written for virtual choir performance. We offer a conducting internship program to a promising young woman conductor annually, giving her an opportunity to practice her craft outside of the classroom and with an accomplished group of singers, under the tutelage of our outstanding Artistic Director, Eliza Rubenstein. The intern is selected by the Artistic Director from a pool of candidates, and holds her internship position for no more than two years. We have nurtured more than a dozen conducting interns since the program began in 2002. We mentor young women leaders, giving them opportunities to volunteer on task forces and in board positions, learning fundraising, grant writing, financial management, volunteer management, and project management skills.
