UC Berkeley Choral Program

The UC Berkeley Choral Program consists of 3 ensembles: Chamber Chorus, University Chorus, and Golden Bear Voices. Chamber Chorus:
The Chamber Chorus of the University of California, Berkeley is the university's premiere concert choral ensemble. A select group of some thirty singers, it performs music from the 9th to 21st centuries and is particularly acclaimed for its readings of early music (pre-1750) and contemporary music (post 1950). In recent years, it performed Handel L’Allegro with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Mark Morris Dance Group, Morton Feldman Rothko Chapel with the Abel-Steinberg-Winant Trio; Lassus Missa 'Tous les regretz'; James MacMillan Seven Last Words with Berkeley Symphony, Purcell King Arthur, and Lou Harrison La Koro Sutro. Its singers view music as their primary vocation or a passionate, serious avocation. The Chamber Chorus’s concert engagements have included appearances throughout the Bay Area as well as concert tours to the East Coast, Canada, and Europe. Performances of the UC Chamber Chorus have been featured in broadcasts of Voice of America, Public Radio International, and Austrian Radio. Critics from the New York Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, and Opera News alike have praised the chorus as “excellent,” “splendid,” and “electric.” “The UC Chamber Chorus leaves no syllable unarticulated and no musical marvel unexplored” (San Francisco Examiner). Among Chamber Chorus recordings, its Handel Susannah on the harmonia mundi label won a Grammy award, and its Icons of Slavic Music is known in Eastern Europe as well as America. University Chorus:
The University Chorus is a select ensemble of approximately 80 singers open to all musicians in the campus community: undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff, community members. Sponsored by the Music Department, the chorus performs literature from the standard choral-orchestral repertoire to contemporary music. The goal of the University Chorus is to provide our singers and our audiences with a stimulating musical experience. In any four-year cycle, singers can expect to perform repertoire in several languages and from various centuries. Each rehearsal involves a combination of vocal instruction, ensemble training, and musical interpretation. Singers can expect to be challenged and enriched in many ways over the course of each year. Whether they see music as their vocation or passionate avocation, most University Chorus alumni continue to sing well beyond their years at Cal and many are accepted into the most prestigious choirs around the globe. Golden Bear Voices:
Launched in Spring 2020 (then Spring 2022 due to the pandemic), this is an advanced treble chorus of 20-25 singers that is in conjunction with University Chorus. All members participate in either University Chorus or Chamber Chorus as their main ensemble. Golden Bear Voices is featured in both the University Chorus and Chamber Chorus concerts during the semester.