About the Chorus
Mission
To create transformative musical experiences that bring people together through the joy of choral music.
Vision
The Washington Chorus envisions an inclusive community where choral music connects, reflects, and inspires everyone.
Values
Collaboration
We engage and work closely with our artistic partners, stakeholders, and donors to further our mutual appreciation and support for the musical arts.
Excellence
We perform choral music at the highest levels of excellence and artistry with our musical partners and for our audiences.
Community
We foster an environment of belonging, partnership, and respect — both within our organization and across the broader community.
Innovation
We explore and embrace new frontiers across choral music, leading our industry and ensuring sustained relevance in our art form. When challenges arise, we harness our collective strengths to overcome them with ingenuity and integrity.
Programmatic Priorities
The Washington Chorus, under the leadership of Artistic Director Eugene Rogers, is dedicated to the continued advancement of our art form. We achieve that through specific programing choices that inform our concert performances. They include:
Reimagining beloved masterworks in new and exciting ways.
Uncovering unknown and overlooked music and musicians from the past.
Commissioning innovative new music from living, American composers.
Biography
The Washington Chorus is one of the foremost symphonic choruses in the nation and a cultural leader in our nation’s capital, creating transformative choral music since 1961. TWC is noted for the superb artistry of its performances and recordings of the entire range of the choral repertoire
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A three-time nominated and two-time Grammy-award winner, the 220-voice Chorus presents performances annually at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Music Center at Strathmore, and National Presbyterian Church. These programs, including the Chorus’ beloved annual production of A Candlelight Christmas, are dedicated to reimagining beloved classics, commissioning new works, and uncovering lost or overlooked masterpieces. Since 2022, TWC has also partnered with National Philharmonic to present an annual collaboration at Strathmore to further those efforts.
TWC also regularly performs at the invitation of the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO), and appears frequently at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, both in standalone productions and at the invitation of other arts partners.
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TWC was the first major Washington area chorus to be founded independent of a church or college. In 1961 Hugh Hayward, a medical doctor and classically trained musician, founded the Oratorio Society of Montgomery County, which became known as the Oratorio Society of Washington, and is now celebrated under the name of The Washington Chorus. In 1971, Robert Shafer succeeded Hayward as music director, leading the chorus for more than three decades with great distinction, including two Grammy Awards. From 2008–2017 Julian Wachner led the organization with education and innovation at the forefront of his programs. Christopher Bell brought unparalleled attention to precision and clarity to the ensemble with his trademark flair during his tenure as Artistic Director from 2017 to 2020. The Chorus' fifth Artistic Director Eugene Rogers is widely regarded as one of the most acclaimed next-generation conductors and musical thought leaders today working at the intersection of classical music and social change.
Chorus America, the national association for choruses, has honored The Washington Chorus with the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence and the ASCAP Alice Parker Award, which recognizes a chorus programming significant, recently-composed music that expands the mission of the chorus and challenges audiences in new ways. Other awards include the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance for the live-performance recording of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem and a 1996 Grammy Award for John Corigliano’s Of Rage and Remembrance with the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leonard Slatkin.
TWC is proud to have sung with the NSO in more than 300 performances and to have performed under the direction of many of the world’s greatest conductors, including Gianandrea Noseda, Christoph Eschenbach, Leonard Slatkin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Neville Marriner, Kent Nagano, Marin Alsop, Gustavo Dudamel, Sir Andrew Davis, and now Jonathon Heyward.
TWC has sung for numerous prestigious events throughout its history—inaugurations, papal visits, with the Rolling Stones during their 50th anniversary tour, and at the White House in 2013 and 2014 for the President and First Lady.
Artistic Director Eugene Rogers
Lauded for leading performances of "pure magic" (Washington Post), conductor Eugene Rogers is at the vanguard of American musicians, recognized for his musical and educational leadership around the world. Rogers is a committed conductor, teacher, arranger, and industry thought leader, championing timely new works, bringing historically overlooked music to life, and supporting next-generation talents.
TWC’s Artistic Directors
Robert Shafer
1971 – 2008
Hugh Hayward
1961 – 1971
Christopher Bell
2017 – 2020
Julian Wachner
2008 – 2017
Eugene Rogers
2020 – Present