In the spring of 1979, at the instigation of Marilyn Lapp, members of the music community in the San Bernardino and Redlands area met to discuss the possibility of forming a community choral music group. Curtiss Allen, Jack Andriese, Roger Duffer, Loren Filbeck, Dr. Charles Gold, Marilyn Lapp, Prof. Erwin Ruff and others met regularly for several months, asking their friends and associates to contribute suggestions and expertise to this complicated project. Among those joining the planning group was Maggie Foss, who prevailed upon Dr. Gerald Smith, Director of the San Bernardino County Museum, to offer Fisk Auditorium at the Museum as a rehearsal facility.
On March 10, 1980, a meeting was held to begin the organizational process that was attended by about seventeen (17) people including those listed above. Letters of invitation were sent to church choirs and other established groups of singers in the area, advertisements were placed in local newspapers, and 125 enthusiastic singers responded. The first rehearsal was held, at the Museum, on September 15, 1980, with founding committee conductor members Roger Duffer and Loren Filbeck sharing the baton.
After several conductors auditioned for the Chorale, Roger Duffer was selected as Music Director, a position he continues to hold. Herb Iverson was the accompanist during the formation of the Chorale and for several seasons thereafter. Melva Morrison first joined the Chorale as a singer, but became its accompanist and has served as Associate Director since 1981.
Maggie Foss was elected as the Chorale's first president. Chuck Sweeney and his committee gave the Chorale its constitution and by-laws to provide a framework for operations, accommodate change, and insure financial stability for the future. A generous bequest from former member Cokke Riley will lay the initial foundation for an endowment fund.
The name, Inland Master Chorale, was chosen by the membership to be inclusive of the entire region. Although the Chorale is centered in Redlands, the group’s members include singers from all over the Inland Empire; ages range from the teens to the seventies. It has performed in San Bernardino, Hemet, Riverside, Palm Springs, Victorville, Upland, Claremont, Los Angeles, Modesto, San Diego and Seattle, Washington. It has performed for meetings of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the American Harp Association, several times with the Redlands Symphony, for the Redlands Fourth-of-July observance at the University of Redlands, and three times at the Redlands Bowl, most recently in celebration of the Bowl's 75th anniversary.
The Chorale has won awards and critical acclaim nationally and internationally. In the summer of 1989, the group took first place among twenty-eight competing countries at the Bournemouth Festival in England; a few days later at the Llongollen, North Wales Festival, the Chorale placed third overall in a competition attended by fifty countries. In 1994, the Chorale participated in the International Choral Kathaumixw at Powell River, British Columbia. A tour to Australia and New Zealand took place in 2001, when the Chorale was the featured chorus at the Pacific Rim Choral Festival and performed at the Sydney Opera House.
The Chorale's parent organization, Inland Choral Music Education, Inc., has granted small scholarships to choral music students in the area, and volunteer assistance. Complementary tickets and recordings are provided to local schools and charities, including the Redlands Area Chamber of Commerce, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Goodwill Industries, and the Alzheimer's Foundation. The Chorale hopes that by exposing the recipients to quality choral performances, they will be inspired to expand their individual singing talents and become either members or enthusiastic supporters of choral ensembles. The Chorale sponsored the Tea Concert Series at the Museum for many years, and for the last five years, has sponsored a Community Chorus Festival for local choirs, which is now sanctioned by the ACDA. Past festivals have featured such notable clinicians as Paul Salamunovich, Director of L. A. Master Chorale, William Hall, Director of the William Hall Chorale, and Dr. Lynn Bielefelt, Director of Chorale/Vocal Studies, California State University, Long Beach. The Chorale is also a member of Chorus America.
(Many thanks to Maggie Foss and other long-time members for their help with these notes. Like the Chorale, it would not have been possible without them. -- EM)
|
