HISTORY

The Valley Concert Chorale, originally founded as the Valley Choral Society (VCS), began as an Adult Education Course in about 1964, meeting in school multi-purpose rooms. The Director was Ellen Cunningham and the first program was a performance of the Messiah. After Cunningham the directors were Elgin Hurst from Modesto, Nico Snell, a local musician, and Winona Govea, a college music teacher and harpist. Performances eventually moved to St. Bartholomew church with Ted Flath as director. The Chorale became involved in the Calvin Simmons Memorial Concert at Davies Hall along with the Bach Choral Society. The Chorale's first Pops concert was under Flath and was at the Amador Theater in Pleasanton. David Babbitt succeeded Flath and directed the chorus in its first Gilbert and Sullivan production, The Mikado. It was a concert version, without much staging or costuming and performed at the Livermore and Pleasanton Presbyterian churches to standing room only audiences. Later the chorus did Trial By Jury and all were in costume.

Philip Manwell was the next director and was with the Chorale for about ten years. He started a young artist competition and the winning singer or instrumentalist performed with the chorus at one of the concerts. He also started the Music in the Schools Program. He took 35 members of the chorus to England to participate in several music festivals and in eight different cities in June of 1997.

PRESENT

The current conductor is John Emory Bush.

The Chorale has a fund raiser each year. In the past a Pops concert was combined with a dinner cooked and served by the chorus. Currently the group is having silent auctions with dessert and a classical concert.

The Music in the Schools Program consists of a small staged musical which is taken to all the schools that request it, with sets and costumes. The dozen or so members of the chorus who participate in this effort take time off from jobs to perform. The musical is taken to 10-12 schools each year. The PTA's usually pay the fee. There are two Performances at each school before 400 to 600 students. Performances have been staged at schools in Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon, Tracy, and Sunol.

The Chorale receives grants from County and Arts agencies as well as from private and corporate donors.