‘First community choir’ in city, Vancouver Master Chorale turns 75Subscriber Exclusive

A 75th birthday is a milestone worth celebrating for anyone, but it might be an even greater accomplishment for performing arts groups, which are subject to the public’s tastes and vulnerable to economic downturns.

However, Vancouver Master Chorale has amply demonstrated its staying power. Founded in 1948 by Bill and Irma Slocum, the group is even older than the Los Angeles Master Chorale (founded in 1964) or the Chicago Master Singers (founded in 1979). Many of Vancouver Master Chorale’s members are also accomplished musicians in their own right. Audiences can hear the choir’s mighty sound first-hand at its 75th anniversary concert, 7 p.m. May 18 and 3 p.m. May 19 at Skyview High School.

“It was the first community choir in Vancouver,” said Jana Hart, who has directed the choir since 2010. “Now we’re at 110 singers and we have our own orchestra. We’ve sung three times at Carnegie Hall and this summer we’re traveling to Costa Rica to sing at The Costa Rica International Festival for Peace.”

A modest beginning

The Slocums, both graduates of The Julliard School, moved to Vancouver in 1948, when Bill was hired to direct the choir at St. Paul Lutheran Church. In 1949, Bill formed a vocal group called The Madrigals, the earliest incarnation of today’s Master Chorale, which became the Choraleers in 1953. Bill directed the choir while Irma accompanied on piano. The group sang everything from classical choral music to musical theater numbers by Gilbert and Sullivan and performed with the Vancouver Civic Theater and the fledgling Vancouver Symphony.

By 1963, the Choraleers had evolved into the Brahms Singers and the group performed under that name until Bill Slocum retired in 1985. The choir didn’t fade away without its founder, however, but just kept on singing, adding new members. The choir became the Vancouver USA Singers in 1993 in part to avoid confusion with Vancouver, B.C., Hart said. In 2018, the group changed its name again to Vancouver Master Chorale. No matter what the name, Hart said, the singers have maintained a culture of close-knit camaraderie.

“They’re very sweet with each other,” Hart said. “They care about each other. If something happens, they take care of each other. They show up.”

Like a family

Chorale member Brenda Hall, 88, should know. The British native has been singing with various choirs since she was 11. She married an American airman and the couple moved to the Northwest in 1960. Hall joined the Brahms Singers in 1974 after she learned they were going to perform the Gilbert and Sullivan songs she’d enjoyed as a child.

This year mark’s Hall’s 50th anniversary with the chorale. She said the “choir has been family,” offering each other support beyond the rehearsal room.

It’s not just the sense of connection that’s such a draw for Hall. The chorale’s broad and sometimes difficult repertoire has also kept her engaged, she said. The group sings everything from classic choral works to Phantom of the Opera and rock anthems. Hall said she’s especially proud of the choir’s 1984 performance of Brahm’s “Requiem.”

“Being part of a group that enjoys music, it brings so much joy to the soul,” Hall said. “There’s a certain feeling to be with people who really love what they do.”

Hall said she’s thrilled to see “how many young people we’ve had join the choir with absolutely gorgeous voices.” Perhaps it’s this youthful energy that allows the choir to master great choral works without losing its common touch. Hall described Hart’s encouragement before performing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

“Jana told us, ‘Put the music down,’ ” said Hall. “ ‘This is not high choral music. This is rock and roll.’ ”

Strength in diversity

Vancouver Master Chorale has singers in Hall’s generation as well as singers in their late teens, including Morgan Greco, 17, from Washougal, first place winner of the choir’s $1,500 youth vocal scholarship. Greco, who has been awarded a scholarship to study music at the University of Alabama next year, will sing Doretta’s Aria from Puccini’s “La Rondine” at the May 18-19 concert.

Vancouver Master Chorale has members from an array of professions and life stages, including college students, teachers, doctors, nurses and retirees, Hart said. The group’s singers have come to Vancouver from all over the country and around the world, including a dozen different states and Brazil, Portugal, Israel and Canada. Hart partially attributes the choir’s broad geographic background to an unlikely culprit: the pandemic.

“During COVID, so many people moved to Vancouver who were working remotely. All of a sudden, we had all these incredible musicians and people with music degrees,” Hart said. “In a very strange way, COVID elevated our choir.”

Rising talent

One newcomer is 24-year-old composer Daniel Trushov, son of Kazakhstani immigrants from State College, Penn. He joined the chorale last August and brought a wellspring of talent and experience with him. He began playing piano at age 6 and studied with Moscow’s Institute of Sacred Music from 2013 to 2017. In the past three years, he’s composed seven choral works in English and Russian, inspired by sacred texts and Russian composers like Dmitri Shostakovich, he said.

Last year, Trushov traveled to Moldova, which shares a border with Ukraine, to direct the country’s national chamber choir in performing his music. After seeing images of Mariupol’s devastation, Trushov was moved to compose the mournfully dissonant string quartet, “Ruins of Mariupol,” which audiences will hear at the May 18-19 concert. He’ll also sing a tenor solo in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 during the upcoming performance.

Trushov said he’s impressed with the group’s musical muscle.

“Especially now, there is a strong array of voices. It’s made us capable of a big, powerful sound,” said Trushov, who’s a choir director at Vancouver’s Grace Baptist Church. “It’s rare that there are so many accomplished voices in a choir, with people that are capable of being soloists in every section.”

Hart said there’s hard science behind why people love singing in choirs and hearing choirs sing. When people sing together, their heart rates synchronize, Hart said. When voices are added, the sound doubles and doubles again.

“At a certain point, the voices don’t become louder, they become more resonant,” Hart said. “People will tell you there’s just such an emotional connection to each other when they’re singing. A choir is different than any other musical entity. During COVID, we really missed it. … People just wept after that first rehearsal. A choir is greater than the sum of its parts.”