Robert Shafer Named Artistic Director of New Chorus

WASHINGTON, DC. (Top40 Charts/ City Choir Of Washington) - Robert Shafer has been named artistic director of The City Choir of Washington. The new 90-voice chorus will launch its inaugural season on Friday, November 16, 2007, with a performance of Handel's celebratory oratorioSolomon at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall in Alexandria, Va. Other performances of the2007-2008 season include A Baroque Christmas, Friday, December 21, also at the Schlesinger Concert Hall, and a co-production with the Music Center at Strathmore of the Vespers of 1610 by Claudio Monteverdi on April 17, 2008.

Music director of The Washington Chorus for 35 years, Shafer won a GRAMMY Award in 2000 for a live concert recording of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, performed in the Concert Hall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

"It is tremendously satisfying to work with the members of The City Choir of Washington. These men and women, from all walks of life, were chosen for their voices and extensive choral experience. But they also share a dedication to a single goal: to bring the very highest level of artistry to our performances of the great choral masterworks," said Shafer, who is also Artist in Residence and Professor of Music at the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester, Va.

"We feel privileged to be working with Robert Shafer, who is well known in music circles throughout the country and in Europe for the sublime music his choruses produce. All of us are looking forward to the challenge and thrill of singing under his direction," said Kathryn Tidyman, president of The City Choir of Washington's board of directors.

The City Choir of Washington is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, incorporated in the District of Columbia. To arrange an audition, call (202) 882-0476. For more information, contact Kathryn Tidyman (703) 622-7992 or visit https://www.thecitychoirofwashington.org.