About Us
Founded in 1964, Cascadian Chorale is a Bellevue-based, mixed-voice chamber choir dedicated to the performance and promotion of fine choral music. The Chorale’s membership comprises approximately forty of the greater Seattle area’s most skilled choral singers. Since 2008, Cascadian Chorale has been conducted by its Artistic Director, Gary D. Cannon.
The Chorale regularly performs the most engaging works for chamber choir, ranging from Renaissance madrigals to Bach motets to new premieres, including special challenges such as Tallis’s Spem in alium, Distler’s A Christmas Story, and Rachmaninov’s complete All-Night Vigil. Recent repertoire includes motets by Bach and Brahms, masses by Byrd and Victoria, and historically important works by twentieth-century composers such as Barber, Britten, Ginastera, Ligeti, and Vaughan Williams.
The Chorale takes special pride in its connection to living composers. It has presented world premieres by major American composers like William Averitt and William Hawley. Through its Composer in Residence program, it has highlighted music of many Pacific Northwest composers, including Joy DeCoursey Porter, Karen P. Thomas, Reginald Unterseher, Giselle Wyers. The late Bern H. Herbolsheimer was a special friend of the Chorale.
Though its base is in Bellevue, a suburb east of Seattle, Cascadian Chorale has performed in venues throughout the region, including Benaroya Hall and St. Mark’s Cathedral. Among the Chorale’s recent collaborators are Bellevue Chamber Chorus, Kirkland Choral Society, Master Chorus Eastside, Redmond Chorale, Sacramento Master Singers, Sine Nomine, and many of the region’s leading freelance instrumentalists.
Members of the Cascadian Chorale are a diverse cross-section of our community. Membership spans a wide age range, from recent graduates to retirees. Rehearsals are enjoyable as well as challenging and growth-oriented. The new singer or audience member will find the Chorale to be a warm and supportive association, with concerts that are informal and engaging, aiming to enlighten and educate. It is a primary goal of the Chorale to develop the artistic passion of singers and audience members alike.