History of the Chorus and the Director

Founded in 1984, the Bellevue Chamber Chorus is a non-profit organization (501©3) 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 21^st 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, the 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", Verdi's "Requiem", and 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 20^th anniversary season called “Retrospective”.

The 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 11^th, performed locally with touring choirs from Europe and as one of the select regional choruses in the American Masterpieces Choral Festival in Seattle (part of the ProMusica NEA grant). 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’ 20^th 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 has also performed at the Annual Leavenworth International Choral Festival held in Leavenworth, Washington, and has hosted a sing – along at the inaugural Classical Courtyard at Seattle’s Folklife Festival. The Bellevue Chamber Chorus won first place in the adult mixed choir competition at the 2008 Kathaumixw International Choral Festival in Powell River, BC.

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 ninth season as music director and conductor of the 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 addition to his work with the Bellevue Chamber Chorus, he is currently Director of Choral Music and Vocal Instructor at Shoreline Community College.