Madison Choral Project inspires, engages, and educates audiences by sharing innovative and informed choral music performances. It also strives to build community through a shared love of singing.
The group’s premiere of “The Stranger” explored major faiths’ traditions of welcoming the immigrant and refugee. It drew on texts from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim scriptures.
The mission of Choral Project is to enrich lives through musical excellence, meaningful collaboration and community connection.
Choral Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose primary outreach efforts include a choral mentorship program for high school students, and joint performances with local choirs. It has also been involved with illuminating emerging choral music and encouraging musical creativity. Its founder and artistic director, Daniel Hughes is in constant demand as a conductor, accompanist, teacher, and choral clinician. He has directed sessions in Vocal Pedagogy and Conducting Technique for the American Choral Directors Association and California Music Educators’ Association, as well as directing choral competitions and honor choirs. His work as a composer and arranger has included commissions and premieres of works by Stephen Schwartz, Nico Muhly, Joshua Shank, Eric William Barnum, Brent Heisinger, and others. He has recorded several albums, including The Cycle of Life, Of Christmastide, Water & Light, Winter, One is the All, Tell the World, and Yuletide.
In 2004, Choral Project won second place in the Mixed Choir division at the 58th International Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales. The ensemble has also performed at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC; for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA); for the California Music Educators’ Association; and for various public and private events.
The choir’s repertoire includes a wide range of music, from classical composers such as Bach, Debussy and Brahms, to contemporary music by Kirke Mechem, Rene Clausen, Michael Ostrzyga and others. A variety of spirituals and folk songs are also regularly performed.
As an integral part of the Cedarhurst arts community, Choral Project is committed to bringing quality concerts and educational outreach programs to the area. It has collaborated with LOON Opera and the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions, as well as the Twin Ports Chamber Players.
Like any group of performers, Choral Project relies on its volunteers. Whether helping with ushering at concerts or assisting with fundraisers, the group could not function without its generous volunteer corps. To learn how you can support the Choral Project by volunteering your time, click here.
Artistic beauty changes people, and it’s not just a subjective thing. It’s an objective fact. It’s one thing to hear a work of music on an iPod or computer, and quite another to stand in the presence of a live performance and be touched by its beauty.
When a group of humans come together cooperatively to recreate an artistic piece, that pursuit of beauty, that artistic magic changes the human participants in ways that are difficult to measure. The tough guy who finds a tear in his eye as he ponders the words of Byron set to music, the painfully shy student who discovers her power and strength through earning a solo—these are just two examples of the many ways that Choral Project has been instrumental in helping individuals find their place in our world and each other.
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, Choral Project is involved in community outreach programs, including a choral mentorship program for local high school students and joint performances with visiting choirs. In addition, the group is committed to promoting choral education through collaboration with Pacific University’s teacher training program and by providing advanced choral music experiences for college students studying to become teachers of young singers.
Founded in 1996, Choral Project has gained national and international recognition through its outstanding achievements at concerts, choral festivals and competitions, and recording projects. In the past, the ensemble has represented California at the annual American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conference and performed for prestigious audiences in venues such as Lincoln Center and Davies Symphony Hall.
In the realm of contemporary choral music, Choral Project is renowned for its commitment to innovative and dramatic presentations of new works in concert. The choir has also received acclaim for its work in presenting the great choral literature from a wide range of traditions that express the diversity of Silicon Valley.
The Choral Project is a professional chamber choir founded in 1996 and led by Artistic Director Daniel Hughes, who is in constant demand as a composer, conductor, accompanist and music educator. The ensemble is based in San Jose, California and is recognized for its dedication to excellence in performance and engaging educational collaborations.
The Choral Project is known for a deep repertoire of music, performing at major festivals and venues around the world. Their repertoire ranges from traditional choral works like Bach, Mendelssohn and Brahms to contemporary composers such as Michael Ostrzyga, Kirke Mechem and Stephen Paulus. They also perform percussion-accompanied pieces by women composers and singer/songwriters, as well as folk songs and musical theater.
Founded in 1996, Choral Project is led by Artistic Director and Conductor Daniel Hughes. In his words, “I’ve had the honor of leading this amazing ensemble since its inception and have been privileged to witness their amazing growth as singers and musicians.”
They were recently named a 2022 Sanctuary concert by The San Francisco Classical Voice, which describes them as a “Bay Area jewel” that “stands head and shoulders above other local choirs.” They have performed to standing room only audiences at Washington DC’s National Cathedral, San Jose’s Basilica of St. Joseph, and many other venues in the US and abroad, including at the International Choral Festival of Llangollen in Wales.
Their mission is to connect people to one another through choral theater, education and musical excellence. They do this by encouraging the creation of new works for choir, and connecting performers and composers through an annual choral composition contest that is named in memory of their beloved patron Rachel Moore.
It’s one thing to sit back and enjoy a piece of music in a quiet space alone, but it’s an entirely different experience to work cooperatively to create that same piece in real time with others for an audience. When this happens, humans are changed. They are touched by something beyond themselves and transformed into people who care more about each other, their communities and our planet.
Grace Oberhofer is an award-winning choral composer with particular expertise writing for women’s voices and non-traditional musical theater. She is a Tacoma native and Tufts graduate (B.A. Music, s.c.l). She is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and has worked extensively in the theater industry at places like Adirondack Theater Festival, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, and Corkscrew Festival.
Choral Project has made a big impression on its community since its inception. The ensemble has performed at events ranging from business retreats to children’s social skills development in schools, and the members are always looking for new ways to connect people through music. Their work has won them a host of accolades and awards, including a 2014 Silicon Valley Arts & Business Award, the 2013 Choral Artist of the Year by the ACDA National Student Conducting Competition, and 2nd place in the Mixed Choir category at the 58th annual International Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales. Their performance of Juris Karlsons’ Neslegtais Gredzens won the highest individual score by any performing group and was described as “tour de force” by an international panel of judges.
In October 2011, TPCP toured Northern Spain to standing-room-only crowds in Salamanca, Burgos, Polanco, and several surrounding towns in the Basque region. That same year, they placed in all three categories at the California International Choral Festival & Competition in San Luis Obispo, with first place in the Choir’s Choice category, second place in the Required Pieces category, and third place in the Folk Music category.
Currently, the group is preparing for its spring performances in support of a variety of causes. Its members are committed to innovative and dramatic presentations in concert, as well as promoting choral art through the premieres of new works.
Aside from a successful season ahead of them, the BMCC Choral Program has a unique opportunity this summer: The college is creating the City University of New York’s first user-generated virtual choir project. Participants can record and upload their audio performances to the CUNY Virtual Choir Project website through May 31. These recordings will be synchronized and blended with the live performances of the BMCC Concert Choir, the BMCC Downtown Chorus, and the BMCC College Chorus.
During the summer, it’s also an ideal time to set aside a few hours to clean out your chorus office. This is an opportunity to organize files for better contingency planning and make space in your storage area for next year’s materials. It is also a good opportunity to digitize important documents and files for easier access in the event of a disaster or emergency.