The Orange County Women’s Chorus normally rehearses in Newport Beach and offers several concerts here and elsewhere several times every year, but due to the pandemic has – like most arts organization – transitioned to virtual concerts.
Last December, the group brought holiday cheer to patrons with a seasonal-themed concert called “Something New.”
Now, the Orange County Women’s Chorus is back with another virtual concert called, appropriately, “Zoom Out,” on Sunday, May 16.
After a year of computer screens and cancelled plans, the Chorus wants to remind everyone of the wide world that awaits us in the post-pandemic era, and that we’ve always been able to visit through our music.
The group’s spring performance is filled with songs about journeys and the places they take us. The program includes Johannes Brahms’ songs of wanderlust (featuring Men in Blaque); works from Japan, Argentina, Cuba, Croatia, and other countries; and a unique virtual collaboration with Zedashe, a musical ensemble from the Republic of Georgia, and the University of Chicago Women’s Ensemble.
This program is free of charge. Sign up for the Orange County Women’s Chorus email newsletter by May 15 to receive a program link, or visit their website at https://ocwomenschorus.org/contact.
The first 75 guests to donate $50 or more will be invited to join an exclusive behind-the-scenes Zoom session on May 16 at 4 p.m. featuring Artistic Director Eliza Rubenstein and Mollie Stone of Village Harmony and the University of Chicago, who coordinated the group’s experience with Zedashe. To donate, go to: https://ocwomenschorus.org/donate.
Founded in 1997, the Orange County Women’s Chorus is now in its 23rd season as one of the region’s top amateur ensembles. The chorus was named a 2014 Outstanding Arts Organization by Arts Orange County, was a prizewinner in July 2015 at the International Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales, and participated in the Carnegie Hall premiere of Kirke Mechem’s Songs of the Slave in New York City in June 2017 under the baton of Eliza Rubenstein. The OCWC has been invited to return to Carnegie Hall for a Spotlight Performance and to participate in a performance of Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass under the baton of Eliza Rubenstein on June 27, 2022.
Eliza Rubenstein, Artistic Director, is also the Director of Choral and Vocal Activities and Chair of the Music Department at Orange Coast College, and the Artistic Director of the Long Beach Chorale and Chamber Orchestra. She currently serves on the Board of the California Choral Directors’ Association as the editor of the award-winning Cantate magazine. She studied choral conducting at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music before moving to California to earn her master’s degree at UC-Irvine.
