Saint Louis Chamber Chorus

Saint Louis Chamber Chorus is a unique 50-voice cultural and arts organization with a mission "to entertain, educate and inspire" our audiences. Each year, we present six concerts of a capella choral music in six of the region's most distinctive buildings. We are known for innovative concert programming, thoughtfully organized around a unifying annual theme.

"Artistic director Philip Barnes puts together his programs as if he were building a three-dimensional puzzle. Everything fits together, from texts to music to venues." (Sarah Bryan Miller, the late music critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 24, 2017).

A distinguishing feature of the Chamber Chorus is our commitment to current choral writers. We commission new music each year, and also retain a "composer-in-residence" to write new music for a three- year appointment. These new compositions provide composers with exposure, provide singers with new artistic and vocal challenges, and highlight St. Louis and its rich music tradition. We also fiercely advocate for the work of women composers. This includes uncovering underperformed pieces by women from decades and centuries past, as well as modern-day women composers. Nearly every concert features work(s) written specifically for the Chamber Chorus, and nearly every concert features music from women composers. This is, sadly, not the case for many music organizations in St. Louis and around the country.

To hear a sample of our singing, and to learn how commissioned pieces draw attention to St. Louis' rich cultural life, listen to this 3-minute Youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_jIpKmv428

Rotating venues for every concert is another key and unique feature of the Chorus. To date we have performed in over 65 locations including churches, synagogues, performance halls, a tap room and even a wrestling ring. This model keeps concerts fresh and allows us to bring music to a diverse range of neighborhoods and communities. It further gives us an opportunity to showcase and educate our regular audiences about the city's history and architectural diversity.