About
The original Cape Fear Chorale was begun with Earl Jolls serving as its director, but at this juncture, it is unclear as to the dates of this group’s existence. The second Cape Fear Chorale commenced in the mid-1980s under the direction of Bob Alexander and accompanied by Elizabeth Alexander. After presenting numerous concerts for several years, that ensemble disbanded in the early 1990s.
In 1998, the name, Cape Fear Chorale, was used to start a new group of choristers under its current director. As with the original Cape Fear Chorale, this group is a completely volunteer group. Of the forty-five to sixty singers per semester, there are currently eleven charter members in the group who participated in the original 1998 Chorale. The members pay no membership dues as they are responsible for purchasing their music.
Though the group originally presented four concerts a year, the Chorale currently presents only two concerts annually, one in the fall and one in the spring. The repertoire has included major works, sacred music, secular music, patriotic music, humorous music, spirituals, holiday music, motets, madrigals, etc. Some of the composers and arrangers who have been programmed over the years are Bach, Beethoven, Berlin, Berlioz, Bernstein, Biebl, Brahms, Bruckner, Burt, Butler, Buxtehude, Chenoweth, Copland, Cousins, Dawson, Dennard, Diemer, di Lasso, Dowland, Fauré, Gawthrop, Gilpin, Greaves, Handel, Hasse, Haugland, Haydn, Hogan, Lauridsen, Leavitt, Luboff, Manz, Martini, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Nelson, Nygard, Pottle, Rachmaninoff, Robertson, Rutter, Schubert, Seagard, Shaw, Sjolund, Strauss, Sullivan, Swingle, Thomas, Thompson, Tschesnokoff, Tveit, Verdi, Victoria, Vivaldi, Wilberg, Wilhousky, Willcocks, R. V. Williams, and Zaninelli.
The group’s home for rehearsals is Grace United Methodist Church. The Chorale rehearses weekly for two hours August through November and January through April. To be considered for participation in the group, one must interview/audition.
Since the mission of the Chorale is to provide excellent choral music to the region at no cost to those who attend, the group (an incorporated non-profit 501[c][3] organization) is totally dependent upon donations.