Bellevue Chamber Chorus

BellevueChamberChorus@yahoo.com

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(425) 881-0445

P.O. Box 1714
Bellevue, WA 98009-1714

History of the Chorus and the Director

Founded in 1984, Bellevue Chamber Chorus is a non-profit organization(501c3) consisting of 32 - 40 professional and avocational musicians of diverse backgrounds, performing music of various styles from all musical periods. Membership is by audition. Each December the Chorus presents its Holiday Master Composer Series, which features the great works of many of the familiar and also lesser-known composers from early music periods through the 21st century. Other performances have included December performances of Handel’s Messiah. A very popular "POPS" concert is offered in March showcasing everything from Swing to Jazz to Broadway hits. In late May/early June the Chorus performs historical and contemporary music from different countries as part of its annual Music From Around the World Series. These concerts showcase music performed in their native languages.

In addition to its regular concert series, Bellevue Chamber Chorus has joined other ensembles in performances of major choral/orchestral works, including Handel's complete "Messiah" with the Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as Mozart's "Vespers", Faure's "Requiem", and Verdi's "Requiem". To celebrate its 15th-anniversary season in 1999, the Chorus collaborated with Ballet Bellevue to present Purcell’s rarely performed “Fairy Queen”. The ensemble has performed several works by regional composers, including a commissioned work by Alan Hovhaness, entitled "Out of Silence", which the Chorus premiered for the Washington State Centennial Celebration. In 1993 the Chorus had the honor of premiering the new Theater at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. Also, two specially commissioned works by Alan Hovhaness were premiered, celebrating Song and Dance. The group is also active in community activities, including new building and organ inaugurations, holiday tree-lightings, arts fairs and fine-arts series concerts, "Messiah" sing-alongs to benefit local food banks, and as the Christmas Chorus aboard Argosy holiday cruises. The Chorus has also released an enhanced educational CD called “Timeframes” and recently a second CD in celebration of the 20th anniversary season called “Retrospective”.

Bellevue Chamber Chorus has performed in several national and international venues in recent years. In 1993, the Chorus performed Mozart's "Requiem" (the Maunder edition) in Carnegie Hall with a select group of choruses from around the country. A European tour in 1996 included performances in Prague and at the Salzburg Church Music Festival. The group appeared again in Carnegie Hall in May 2000 for a performance of Poulenc’s “Gloria”, and traveled to Sydney, Australia, in July 2000 where they performed Fanshawe’s “African Sanctus” at the International Music Festival. They have also performed in the inaugural Everett International Music Festival, participated in the “Rolling Requiem” in Memory of September 11th and performed locally with touring choirs from Europe. The Chorus is also one of the founders of the annual Eastside Summer Sings fundraiser for Eastside choral arts groups and Standing Ovation. In honor of the Chorus’ 20th anniversary season, a collaboration with Total Experience Gospel Choir was featured, and a special commissioned piece, “ That Music Always Round Me”, by Seattle composer, John Muehleisen, was premiered by the Chorus. A second European tour summer 2005 included concerts in several famous venues in Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Czech Republic. The Chorus also performs at the Annual Leavenworth International Choral Festival held in Leavenworth, Washington, each April.

Dr. Fredrick Lokken: Conductor of collegiate, community, and church choirs in Minnesota, California, and the Seattle area for over twenty years, Dr. Fredrick Lokken is in his seventh season as music director and conductor of Bellevue Chamber Chorus. Under his direction the Chorus has gained a growing reputation for exciting performances of diverse and innovative programs from the traditional classics to contemporary music from around the world. Dr. Lokken received the DMA degree in choral conducting from the University of Washington, where he studied with Abraham Kaplan and Joan Conlon, and has studied further with such eminent conductors as Helmuth Rilling, Joseph Flummerfelt, and Jon Washburn. He also holds a degree in vocal performance from the University of Wisconsin, and sang with the professional Dale Warland Singers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area for several years. In the Seattle area, Dr. Lokken also has served as director of the early music ensemble The Polyphonic Singers, and guest conducted the Northwest Chamber Chorus. In addition to his work with Bellevue Chamber Chorus, he is currently Director of Choral Music at Shoreline Community College, where he also teaches private and class voice, and last year conducted the SCC Opera Workshop performances, including an abridged version of Strauss’ Die Fledermaus.