ORPHEUS MALE CHORUS OF PHOENIX

Founded in November of 1929, The Orpheus Male Chorus of Phoenix is Arizona's longest continually performing choral organization, its debut performance occurring on Christmas morning, 1929 on Phoenix radio station KTAR. Since its inception, Orpheus has performed in venues large and small throughout the Valley and the nation as well as in Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and on the European continent. Orpheus has created numerous recordings both on vinyl and on digital media.

Orpheus has partnered with other choral organizations in the Valley on numerous occasions and is currently a co-sponsor with the Phoenix Chorale for this year's Boys to Men event. Orpheus partners with St. Matthew's School in Phoenix to support their school band program.

Orpheus's membership is made up exclusively of volunteer singers, most of whom are non-professional musicians. Orpheus's current roster includes students, business professionals, teachers, attorneys, health professionals, chefs, retail designers and real estate professionals among its ranks; its membership representative of the wide variety of people who love men's choral singing. Its non-singing volunteers are spouses and partners of singers as well as friends of the Chorus, all supporters of male choral music.

The current Artistic Director, Dr. Brook Larson, is the fourteenth person in Orpheus's history to wield the conductor's baton and is a well-know conductor and music educator. Our current accompanist, Mr. Ron Rhode, is a world-renowned theater organist and pianist.

 

WE SING...

Since 1929, the men of Orpheus have been entertaining Valley residents with a mixture of classical and popular flare, ranging from sacred works to barroom ditties. We have sung music from every period, from Gregorian chant and polyphony through impressionists and minimalist. We have over 90 members from college students to seniors, including contractors, teachers, police officers, doctors and realtors. We perform 8-10 concerts each year in the Valley, and in past years have sung abroad, in Canada and elsewhere in the U.S. We are honored to have had contemporary composers prepare commissioned works for us. There is nothing quite like the rich sound of the male voice in ensemble and our audiences agree!

 

WE REHEARSE...

Each Tuesday night from August through May, the men of Orpheus drive from all parts of the Valley to meet and rehearse in at Central United Methodist Church in downtown Phoenix for two and one-half hours of practice. We are always glad to have new people join us, if only to come see what we're all about.

 

WE CONTRIBUTE...

Orpheus has established a fund to help promising high school seniors interested in music to continue their education at the college level. In the past we have contributed to young musicians studying music at various colleges, including the renowned Cincinnati Music Conservatory. 

We also sponsor Boys to Men, an annual gathering of several Valley men's choral groups to which we invite young singers from high school in the area. The aim of Boys to Men is to show young singers that choral singing is not only fun (which they already know), but also a manly endeavor that they can continue to enjoy as adults.

The men of Orpheus have picked up hammer and saw to help Habitat for Humanity with its community building projects, and have loaded and unloaded trucks and waited on customers at Habitat's retail locations. We have also donated musical instruments to St Matthews School and have given food, shoes and other articles of clothing to various organizations serving the needy.

 

AND WE THRILL OUR AUDIENCES...

We exist primarily to entertain audiences with music that reaches out to them in deeply emotional ways that stir their emotions. Some music bring forth tears of joy, and others cause people to reflect in different ways. Our programs try to touch all their senses, but most importantly, we insist on performing every piece with the highest standard of musicianship that we can.