Orange County Women's Chorus

Description

The Orange County Women's Chorus is stronger than ever! What started with eight enterprising women in a living room has blossomed into one of the top amateur choruses in the region: a 50+ voice ensemble performing diverse, challenging, and (above all) enjoyable music from all eras and cultures. Directed by Eliza Rubenstein since 2000, the OCWC has performed in some of our best local venues and with some of our finest local artists. Recent performances have taken us to the Rene and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Disney Hall's REDCAT Theater, the Irvine Barclay Theatre, and the 2020, 2012, and 2004 western region conventions of the American Choral Directors' Association.

Our wide-ranging repertoire includes medieval chants, multicultural folk songs, classical masterworks, protest songs, gospel tunes, and more. We're especially proud of our commitment to new music and up-and-coming musicians; we regularly commission new works for women's voices, and our conducting internship program, designed to encourage young women entering the field of choral conducting, has been a model for other choruses around the nation.

We were named 2014 Outstanding Arts Organization by Arts Orange County, and were a prizewinner in the International Musical Eisteddfod (festival) in Llangollen, Wales in July 2015. We made our Carnegie Hall debut in June 2022 with a spotlight performance, followed by a mass choir performance of Haydn's "Lord Nelson Mass" under the baton of our own Eliza Rubenstein.