The Roger Wagner Chorale, An American Choral Legacy

<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <p><a href="left.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>home</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> | </strong></font><a href="history.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>history</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> | </strong></font><a href="founder.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>the founder</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> |</strong></font><a href="director.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> the director</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> | </strong></font><a href="guestbook/guestbook.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>guestbook</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> | </strong></font><a href="recordings.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>recordings</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> | </strong></font><a href="upcomingevents.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>upcoming events</strong></font></a></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">The Chorale was founded in 1947 under the name of the Los Angeles Concert Chorale. Its first major appearance was in the Los Angeles Philharmonic Auditorium under the direction of its founder, Roger Wagner. Thereafter, the Chorale was engaged for regular performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra until 1964 when the Los Angeles Master Chorale was founded by Roger Wagner to perform as a resident company in the newly built Music Center. He served as its director until 1995 when he was named Music Director Laureate.<br> <br> In 1949, the Roger Wagner Chorale was signed under contract to Capitol Records and has recorded over twenty long-playing records for this company. The Chorale was awarded the "Grammy" for its album <i>Virtuoso!</i> by the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and named Best Performance in the field of Operatic and Choral Music on all labels for the year 1958.<br> <br> In 1953 the group was invited to sing in London by the County Council of London as part of the Coronation Festivities program. A 24-voice group sang in London's Royal Festival Hall, at Paris' Salle Gaveau, and in both Amsterdam and The Hague. The Chorale broadcast on BBC, Radio Paris, and Dutch radio. The <i>London Musical</i> <i>Times</i> quoted, "There can be few if any small choirs in this country which can come anywhere near to this choir's quality in matters of balance, dynamic range, rhythmic precision and accurate intonation."<br> <br> In 1959 the Roger Wagner Chorale completed a tour of nineteen countries in South and Central America and Mexico under the President's Special Program. Since 1955 it has toured every state in the Union and Canada. The Chorale continues to concertize, tour and record. Foreign tours include: South and Central America, Mexico, the Middle East, the former Soviet Union, and countries of the Far East. To date the group has performed on 19 tours to Japan and in 1997 the Chorale joined a celebratory concert in Los Angeles for the 50th anniversary of Radio Korea.<br> <br> On disc, the Chorale can be heard on more than 80 albums under the Capitol, Seraphim, Delos and Toshiba labels, and currently records on its own label, Chariot Records. Since 1992, the Chorale has been directed by Roger Wagner's daughter, Jeannine Wagner.</font> </p> <p><a href="left.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>home</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> | </strong></font><a href="history.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>history</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> | </strong></font><a href="founder.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>the founder</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> |</strong></font><a href="director.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> the director</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> | </strong></font><a href="guestbook/guestbook.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>guestbook</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> | </strong></font><a href="recordings.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>recordings</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> | </strong></font><a href="upcomingevents.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>upcoming events</strong></font></a></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>email the </strong></font><a href="mailto:webmaster@therogerwagnerchorale.com"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>webmaster</strong></font></a></p> <p> </p> </body>