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:

Choralis - an auditioned, 100-person mixed voice chorus with a paid professional core. Lauded by The Washington Post as “fully professional in the power of its singing [and] 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.

Ä’chos (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.

Sing with Choralis.





Artistic Staff

Gretchen Kuhrmann
Artistic Director

Matt Scheeser
Assistant Conductor

Katelyn Aungst
Conducting Fellow

Grace Cho
Keyboard Artist

Board of Directors
Gretchen Kuhrmann
Founder & Artistic Director

Margaret O'Reilly, Esq.
Chair

Lauren Knausenberger
Vice Chair

Pat Shinko
Treasurer

Nancy McSlarrow
Secretary

John Bohman

Claudia Dulmage

Nicholas Horner

Kimberly Jackson

R. Toby Torla 

Advisory Board
Gisele Becker
Cantate Chamber Singers,
Music Director

William Carroll
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Associate Dean of the School of Music and Educational Consultant,
Hinshaw Music

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
Master Chorale of Washington,
Music Director

Mark Ohnmacht
Performing Arts Consultant

André Thomas
Florida State University,
Director of Choral Studies