SACRAMENTO CHORAL SOCIETY AND ORCHESTRA

The SCSO performs 1-2 choral concerts accompanied by organ at churches such as the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Fremont Presbyterian Church, and Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church.

This series presents choral music composed for the world's cathedrals, celebrating the music's reverence in the setting for which it was intended. Nature's lighting through the stained glass windows enhances the beauty of the music. We have opportunities for singing in the round, with the chorus surrounding the audience. Since 2009, nine Stained Glass concerts have been presented, offering opportunities for talented local soloists.

Budget is for church rental, soloists, organist, conductor, occasional instrumental musicians, rental of scores, and marketing.

This series enhanced our marketing opportunities because of the historical role of the churches in the growth of the city.

We invested in our own ticket office for Stained Glass. 50% of our tickets are sold online.

The SCSO has an outreach program to help build arts supporters one by one. As it strives to develop relevance in musicianship among its chorus members, the SCSO promotes music education and creativity through workshops, mentoring, and scholarships.

We also regularly provide free or reduced price tickets to disadvantaged adults, children, students, groups, and veterans. Students receive a 50% discount and group sales a 10% discount. We regularly offer $10 "rush seats" for students one hour before most performances. We receive some corporate sponsorship for these free tickets. When possible the SCSO matches complimentary tickets on a regular basis. We also provide transportation for disadvantaged groups if necessary.

The pre-concert talks before our choral orchestral classical performances given by Conductor Donald Kendrick really guide and inspire people on what to listen for during the concert. Likewise the free post-concert receptions in the lobby are very popular.

The chorus members are cultural ambassadors on a national and international scale. We have toured and performed at Carnegie Hall in New York, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Canada, Europe (Munich, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Italy), and China. Several of these venues included orchestra. In 2015 the Chorus performed in Paris, Normandy, and London. In 2017 the Chorus performed in Latvia, Estonia and Finland. In 2019 the Chorus performed in Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. Each singer volunteers to fund their own tour - approximately $5,000 per person

Trips are self-funded: no SCSO funds are used and no fundraising is done. Each trip now costs each chorus member about $5000 of their own money. About 80 chorus members and 40 guests go on each tour.

These trips are not only a way to connect with people outside Sacramento or in other countries, but is a way of building community among the chorus members.

The SCSO is frequently recognized at home as well through proclamations, resolutions, and certificates from government officials (e.g., Governor Brown, City of Sacramento, California Legislature, and Senator Barbara Boxer).

The SCSO has recorded 10 professionally mastered CDs of live performances. The most recent recording was released in March 2019. These recordings are eagerly awaited by our audiences, chorus members, and professional orchestra members. Recordings are an important aspect of preserving our legacy.

Each CD project costs about $15,000. The majority of that cost is an honorarium, overhead and pension for each orchestra member. Chorus members and corporate sponsors have provided most of the funds to make each CD, so the impact on the SCSO's budget is minimal. The CDs are sold at $10 each and a small profit is made on CDs.

In 2011 the SCSO was featured in a 30-minute KVIE Public Television documentary that has been shown nationally on PBS stations more than 80 times. The documentary illustrates the slogan of the SCSO, Bringing Music and Community to Life, and was financed in conjunction with SCSO. KVIE also uploaded the video to You-Tube for exposure to audiences worldwide.