History of the Chorale
Observing the current shift among many churches to more contemporary music, our six founding members were concerned that the music they loved would be less and less accessible in the foreseeable future.
Thus, in the fall of 1999, they laid the groundwork for the Sacred Music Chorale, in order to provide singers the continuing opportunity to “share the great music of the Christian church,” especially the a cappella literature.
Brad Klostreich, a versatile musician with a passion for and understanding of this music, agreed to be the first director. Thelma Strand, a gifted pianist, became our accompanist.
Brad challenged the original six to double their number; they recruited even more, about two dozen singers, for the first rehearsal, January 9, 2000. The Chorale performed its first concert, with 28 members, in June 2000, in the Great Hall of Trinity Episcopal Church in Seattle, where we continue to hold our rehearsals and remain artists-in-residence.
Since then, we have presented concerts twice yearly, before Christmas and in the early spring. We ended our second season with 40 members. In the ensuing years our group has grown even larger, currently counting about 60 singers among our ranks.
In July of 2009, about 1/3 of the chorale toured Germany and Switzerland, presenting concerts in Berlin, Leipzig, and Zurich. The highlight of the tour was participating in the International Choral Festival at the Thomaskirche, which was Bach’s church in Leipzig.
At the end of the 2008-2009 season, Brad left to pursue other opportunities, and we were blessed with the choice of our assistant director Dr. Rachel Root to lead the group on its mission into its second decade. That same year, members of the Chorale created a new endowment fund, with the goal of ensuring the group will continue to perform the great music of the Christian church for many years to come.
After a successful first year as director, Dr. Root received a call to serve in a new ministry in faraway Florida, and so the Chorale’s 2010-2011 season will be helmed by an Interim Artistic Director, Mark Adrian, while a search committee is formed to locate permanent replacement.
