About Choralis
The Choralis Foundation, founded by Artistic Director Gretchen Kuhrmann in 2000, is dedicated to nurturing a passion for choral music in the greater Washington metropolitan area through offering excellence in choral performance and providing educational outreach. Choralis provides opportunities for area singers to participate in, and audiences to enjoy, professional-level concerts and musical experiences. The ensemble is already one of the fastest-growing choral groups in the greater Washington, DC area and has quickly built a loyal following with its high-quality sound and style.
The Choralis Foundation is comprised of five auditioned choirs:
Choralis - a 100-person mixed-voice chorus with a paid professional core. Lauded by The Washington Post as “fully professional in the power of its singing...the variety of its emotional flavors,” the ensemble has performed such choral masterworks as the Brahms Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, Haydn’s Creation, Verdi’s Requiem, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. In 2004, Choralis performed the Washington-area premiere of John Rutter’s Mass of the Children. Choralis is open to adult and talented high school singers.
Ēchos (ee-kos) - a select vocal ensemble drawn from the ranks of Choralis for educational outreach and special appearances. The singers are well-versed in all choral repertoire and styles, performing everything from Renaissance motets to Bernstein in a single season. Their exceptional musicality and artistry have afforded them recognition in the Washington metropolitan area as one of the leading amateur vocal chamber ensembles.
High School Scholarship Singers - Choralis makes available 12 singing scholarships (3 per voice part) for students with exceptional musical ability. Scholarship students rehearse and perform alongside Choralis throughout the entire season. Audition for a high school singing scholarship.
The Choralis Youth Choirs (Cantus Choirs) - Cantus Liberi (grades 2-6), Cantus Medius (grades 7-10, including both changed and unchanged voices), and the select treble choir, Cantus Primo (grades 5+) are the most recent fulfillment of Choralis’ mission to instill a love of choral music through excellence in choral performance and educational outreach to youth. These choirs and other Choralis youth programs offer young singers opportunities to learn and hone musical skills while experiencing choral music beyond the usual school curriculum. Find out more!
Artistic Staff
Gretchen Kuhrmann
Artistic Director
Bill Podolski
Assistant Director
Kate Campbell Deglans
Assistant Director, Cantus Choirs
Director, Cantus Medius
Cynthia Young
Director, Cantus Liberi
Management
Currently Vacant
Managing Director
Board of Directors
Gretchen Kuhrmann
Founder & Artistic Director
Marcy Owens Test
Chair
Lori Wicks
Vice Chair
Jennifer Taylor
Treasurer
Susan Frieswyck
Secretary
Claudia Dulmage, Esq.
Andrew Hendricks
Julie Jernigan
David McGuire
Advisory Board
Gisele Becker
Cantate Chamber Singers,
Music Director
William Carroll
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Associate Dean of the School of Music &
Hinshaw Music, Educational Consultant
Bob Chilcott
Composer
Dennis Edelbrock
The National Trumpet Competition,
Founder/Director
Stan Engebretson
National Philharmonic Chorale,
Artistic Director
Anne Hodges
Florida State University,
Director for the Graduate Arts Admissions Program
Jean Fritter Jawdat
Cathedral Choral Society,
Associate Director
J. Reilly Lewis
Cathedral Choral Society,
Washington Bach Consort,
Music Director
Donald McCullough
Composer
Mark Ohnmacht
Performing Arts Consultant
Robert Shafer
City Choir of Washington,
Artistic Director
André Thomas
Florida State University,
Director of Choral Studies
