Indianapolis Symphonic Choir

The Indianapolis Symphonic Choir is proud to be one of the nation's most established and dynamic musical institutions. Among the most active Symphonic choruses in the united states, the Choir reaches more than 2,000 persons each season through performances and education & community engagement programs. The Indianapolis Symphonic Choir was founded in 1937 at the request of the Indianapolis symphony orchestra (iso) to perform the great choral-orchestral repertoire. This continued partnership exhibits the best of collaborative ideals two independent arts organizations combining their strengths to create beautifully lasting musical results.following the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir's acclaimed performance at carnegie hall during the 2016-17 season, the group traveled to Washington dc's kennedy center as a guest of the Indianapolis symphony orchestra during the shift festival in april 2018. The Choir's latest recording, festival of carols, was released by naxos in 2019 and features two-time grammy award-winning artist sylvia mcnair. In 2024, the Choir will tour brazil and perform in sister city, campinas, brazil.in addition to collaborative performances with the iso, the Symphonic Choir presents its own performances, educational initiatives, and special events each season. The sacred masterworks concert series focuses on large-scale choral-orchestral repertoire and are complemented by an array of educational experiences. The annual holiday concert, festival of carols, has become a family tradition and features the Choir in performance with orchestra and special guest artists. National television broadcasts, regional radio broadcasts, and recordings of festival of carols are available.the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir believes that the arts play an integral role in cultivating a well-rounded education. Through our spotlight Choir initiative, we invite local high school choirs to perform side by side with our 150-voice volunteer Choir at our annual festival of carols, one of the season's most popular concert series. This partnership provides an experience for a young person to hone their musicianship, study skills, communication, problem-solving, time management, and more through side-by-side rehearsals, professional instruction, and performance hall presentations.the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir's conducting fellowship provides one-of-a-kind professional mentorship opportunities for the next generation of choral conductors. Especially focusing on large-scale choral-orchestral masterworks, the conducting fellowship is a collaborative initiative between the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir andbutler university, a 4,600-student liberal arts institution located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The two-year fellowship provides full-tuition and stipend. Upon successful completion of the program, the student will have earned a master of music in choral conducting from butler university and gained practical and applied experience addressing the artistic and administrative needs of leading Symphonic choirs. The conducting fellowship provides a 360-degree experience in the guidance of a premier Symphonic chorus, including artist programming, development, communications, governance, and outreach initiatives.additional educational initiatives include in-choir-ing minds, a lecture-performance featuring a choral masterwork, and words on music, a brief lecture before performances. Roundtables are also held throughout each season for Choir directors from area schools, universities, congregations, and community ensembles. Commissioning new works is critical to the Choir's mission, and recent years have seen numerous commissioned works added to the body of choral repertoire. The christmas carol commission competition, launched in 2009, encourages young composers (35 and younger) to submit their work for a premiere public performance by the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir at the annual festival of carols and includes a $2,500 cash prize.the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir implemented a 5-year strategic plan that focuses on artistic product, education and engagement, operational effectiveness, and financial security. Our leadership and board are in constant conversation regarding the best strategies for increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Choir, its audiences, and governing body. This new strategic plan is an exciting opportunity to address these goals and push forward initiatives to make them a reality. We will continue these efforts with a revised plan in our 2023-2025 season focusing on strengthening our audience engagement.as believers in the restorative beauty and joy of choral music, the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir strives to make its performances open and accessible to all. The Indianapolis Symphonic Choir is focusing our actions on enabling those not traditionally represented in the world of choral music by creating space on stage forblack, indigenous, and people of color (bipoc) artists and composers and hiring minority-owned and women owned businesses as vendors whenever possible.the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir will present the highly anticipated world premiere of "toward a secret sky," by american composer augusta read thomas in 2023. This is the third major commission for the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir in 20 years, following kyle gann's "transcendental sonnets" in 2002, and mohammed fairouz's "zabur" in 2014, which the Choir subsequently performed at new york's famed carnegie hall and recorded via naxos records.the world premiere of thomas' "toward a secret sky" with text by the 13th-century persian poet rumi will be paired with francis poulenc's "gloria". This new choral-orchestral masterwork was commissioned by the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir in 2020 as part of the organization's mission to create and perform new choral masterworks and features the Indianapolis symphony orchestra.at the heart of the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir is a roster of approximately 150 volunteer singers who represent the diversity of the greater Indianapolis community: gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity, disability status, and citizenship. Our singers volunteer nearly 300 hours individually each year to producing choral music for our community during a 10-month season.throughout its history spanning more than three quarters of a century, the Symphonic Choir has been served by leaders in the choral arts, including music directors elmer steffen, don neuen, charles webb, john w williams, and robert porco, and has given performances around the world. The Indianapolis Symphonic Choir is under the artistic direction of dr eric stark and is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.