History of the Choral Society
Formed in 1979 by Dr. Marion A. Hall to sing with the Des Moines Symphony in its inaugural concert at the Des Moines Civic Center, the Society has collaborated at least 21 times with the orchestra. With a long tradition in the community, the Des Moines Choral Society is a major force for the promotion of quality choral music in Iowa. The Des Moines Choral Society was recognized in March 2000 as Best Artist/Performing Group by the Iowa Arts Council through their 2000 Arts Build Communities Awards Program.
In honor of its twentieth anniversary season, the chorus performed Faure's Requiem. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of Artistic Director Janet Davis, the Des Moines Choral Society, in May 2002, performed Stravinsky's Mass along with the Iowa premiere of Leonardo DaVinci Dreams, a new composition written by a rising young composer, Eric Whitacre.
Often appearing with the Des Moines Symphony, the Des Moines Choral Society has performed such major choral works as Orff's Carmina Burana, the Mozart Requiem, Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Mahler's Resurrection Symphony, Strauss' Die Fledermaus, Ravel's Daphnes and Chloe, and Handel's Messiah. In addition, the Des Moines Choral Society presented Orff's Catulli Carmina with the Des Moines Ballet, and provided ensemble members for numerous Des Moines Metro Opera productions, including the entire auxiliary chorus for Aida.
With funding from the Iowa Arts Council, the Choral Society commissioned Des Moines composer Milan Kaderavek to write Of Nature, Visions + Ironies for world premiere in 1988. As part of its fifteenth anniversary season, the Society commissioned Iowa composer Ben Allaway to write Tallgrass Canticles, a cantata focusing on the settling of the wilderness of Iowa. Under the direction of Robert Molison, Tallgrass was premiered in Des Moines April 8, 1995, and performed again in New York City at Carnegie Hall on June 11, 1995. It was also recorded for broadcast on Iowa Public Television for the Iowa Sesquicentennial. The choir returned to Carnegie Hall in June, 2001, to perform the Symphony of Psalms by Igor Stravinsky as part of director Janet Davis' conducting debut in the hall.
The Choral Society performed "Battle Cry of Freedom: Iowa in the Civil War," in May 2003, a performance of Civil War era music highlighting a script commissioned by the Des Moines Choral Society, written by nationally recognized Iowa playwright Cynthia Mercati, and performed by Hal Holbrook and two accomplished local actors. The performance was wholly envisioned, created, and performed due to the vision, stamina, and professional-level of creativity and artistic ability of the Choral Society. The performance, telling the true story of the large part that Iowans played in the Civil War, attracted an audience of over 1,300, earning attention statewide and nationally. The Choral Society expanded on this concept with its "Liberty & Justice For All" concert in February of 2005, which was a celebration of Iowa's role in the civil rights struggle. The Choral Society explored the legacy and far-reaching influence of Iowa's mothers in its May 2006 concert, "Mother Iowa."
In October 2006, Friends of Iowa Civil Rights, Inc., presented one of its annual Friends of Iowa Civil Rights awards to the Choral Society. The awards are given to individuals or organizations who have made a significant contribution in promoting civil rights in Iowa during the past one to two years.
The Friends of Iowa Civil Rights Award, from left to right, Dave Short,
David Meeks, Jon Duvick, Emily Chafa, Wayne Bauman, Brad Clark.