Support Overview
“I had never heard choral music before, but when I heard these amazing sounds of harmony at the Hallelujah Project concert, a lightbulb went on inside of me. I thought – this is it! I MUST find a way to be a part of it.”
– Sese Ntem, member
The performing arts have long been dependent on the generosity of patrons, sponsors and business leaders to provide financial support that cannot be generated by concert ticket sales alone.
The Choral Society is no different. We are a registered 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, and ticket sales provide only a fraction of our expenses. Additional income generated by grants, planned giving, and donations, at every giving level, helps cover the costs for a season that usually includes several concerts. Won’t you join us?
We are deeply grateful to all of our donors for their generosity through annual gift giving, attending our concerts and Gala, or joining one of our sponsorship programs.
We believe you recognize the value of live performance and the ability of choral music to heal, uplift, and unite us in a shared experience. Such is the power of many voices lifted in song.
Thank you sincerely for keeping choral music alive.
Individual Giving
Individual donations make up more than 50% of our operating budget. We gratefully appreciate all our donors at every giving level for their support.
Corporate Giving
We are deeply grateful to our community leaders for your generous support of choral music. You make it possible for us to continue producing inspirational music to be shared by all.
Endowment and Legacy Circle
You can help guarantee the future of choral music in Santa Barbara so that future generations may also experience the gift of choral music in perpetuity.
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.
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.
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.