Chora Nova, directed by Paul Flight, is an auditioned chorus based in Berkeley, California, that draws experienced singers from around the Bay Area. The group presents three programs each year, with performances in November, March, and May. Rehearsals are Tuesday evenings in north Berkeley.
Repertoire for the winter quarter, which begins on January 3, is Frostiana by Randall Thompson and the U.S. Premiere of the chamber orchestra version of Holst's The Cloud Messenger. A ravishing outpouring of late romanticism, it sets words by the Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa: an exiled yaksa, or nature spirit, persuades a passing cloud to send a love message to his wife in the distant Himalayas.
Repertoire for the spring quarter is all-Brahms: A German Requiem and Begräbnisgesang.
We welcome potential new members to audition for the chorus at the beginning of weekly rehearsals for each concert set (in September, January, and late March). There are openings in all sections.