CONCERT
Messiah | El Mesías
Presenting a fresh perspective on a beloved oratorio, our audiences will experience the work in selections sung in either English or Spanish, with full orchestra. This dual language collaboration combines the classic Messiah with a new arrangement, El Mesías, commissioned by Bach Collegium San Diego and conducted by JoAnne Wasserman.
GALLERY
Unlike recorded music, a live performance is a fleeting, one-of-a-kind shared emotional experience among listeners. Live choral music transcends mere auditory sensation, offering a profound journey into the realms of human emotion and artistic synergy. Here we invite you to listen to some of the Choral Society’s impressive interpretations that illuminate the composers’ visions. Join us for our very next concert and the experience of live performance.
GALLERY
Click below to view the photo gallery from the Red, White, and Blues Concert.
DISCOVER CHORAL MUSIC
Whether you are new to choral music, or a seasoned audience member, the experience is equally moving and inspiring. Choral music, sung by multiple voice parts, combines the vocal qualities of many singers seamlessly coming together as one voice and becomes transcendental when a chorus gives everything it can in each precise moment.
MEET THE CONDUCTOR
The 2024-2025 Season marks JoAnne Wasserman’s 32nd year as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Santa Barbara Choral Society. We thought we’d share a few things about her that you might not be aware of.
MEET THE CHORUS
The oldest of Santa Barbara’s community performing arts organizations, the Santa Barbara Choral Society is a semi-professional chorus comprised of about 80 auditioned singers from the Santa Barbara area.
“Something magical happens when some 80 voices come together in song. Socially and emotionally…it’s a fullfilling experience like no other. In a word: uplifting!”
IH, Santa Barbara
SING WITH US!
Auditions are held in late August for the coming season, but we are always open to welcoming new members. Season highlights for 2024-25 find us onstage at The Lobero in December and performing Brahms Requiem with Santa Barbara Symphony at The Granada next April.
We celebrate the joy of choral music, performing classical masterpieces and exciting modern works. There’s something for everyone.
NEWS & REVIEWS
NEWS | AUG. 22, 2021
The Neuroscience of Group Singing: It’s good for you!
NEWS | APR. 11, 2019
$20,000 in Anniversary Grants Handed Out by Montecito Bank & Trust
REVIEWS | Oct. 12, 2019
Performing Arts Review
State Street Ballet: American Masters
REVIEWS | Oct. 12, 2019
American baritone, Ralph Cato has travelled the world extensively, telling stories in song with his warm, clarion baritone voice.
Tenor, Benjamin Brecher has performed over fifty operatic roles with many of the world’s most prestigious opera companies, specializing in the high lying lyric tenor repertoire. He has performed 16 roles with New York City Opera alone. Career highlights include performances with Opera Orchestra of New York, L’Opera de Nice, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, L’Opera de Montreal, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, among many others. His orchestral solo repertoire includes Mozart, Handel, Orff, Bach, Haydn, as well as many performances of Britten. In 2000 he began performing the great Irish Tenor songs in a concert produced for him entitled A Celtic Celebration, Twenty years later, the show has become a North American hit with performances with 45 Symphonies in North America. Ben continues his discography having added his twelfth recording in 2016 Forgotten Liszt, with pianist Robert Koenig, and will record a new release in 2022 entitled “Three Centuries of Thomas Moore” including the music of Britten, Berlioz, and Sarah Gibson on MSR Classics. He is a Professor of Voice at University of California Santa Barbara, where he has served as the Head of Voice.
Born and raised in Southern California, April Amante is a versatile soprano with expertise and facility in repertoire spanning from early music to contemporary musical theater.
Tracy Van Fleet is pleased to return to the Santa Barbara Choral Society. As a soloist, she has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lüneburg Symphony in Germany, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río in Mexico, Pasadena Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Bach Festival, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Philharmonic, USC Symphony and Chorus, and others. She has had many appearances with the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Opera Pacific, San Diego Opera and Opera Colorado.