SACRAMENTO CHORAL SOCIETY AND ORCHESTRA

Founded in 1996, the Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra (SCSO) is a unique arts organization as it is the only large Community Chorus in the United States (among 12,000 Community Choruses) to have a collective bargaining agreement with its own full professional orchestra. All Chorus Members are auditioned regularly and they hail from 6 different counties in the Sacramento, California region.

Established by Conductor Donald Kendrick, the SCSO has a Board that oversees the growth of the organization. The weekly operations are taken care of by a large "Chorus Operations" Team that leaps into action before and after every Monday evening rehearsal at Sacramento State University.

The professional office staff is committed to ensuring the smoother operation of the organization.

The dedicated 170 Chorus members rehearse every Monday evening from late August until late May at Sacramento State University. Each SCSO Member pays annual dues, buys their own music scores and takes care of the parking fee at Sacramento State University for rehearsals. In addition, they provide a Chorus generated fundraiser that surpasses $60,000 annually to help defray production expenses.

Annually the SCSO reaches out to at least 60 other nonprofits in the region by offering them complimentary tickets for their fundraising efforts. In addition, the SCSO reaches out to Veterans in a huge way by offering tickets to them and their families. When possible, the SCSO offers complimentary tickets to students and the underprivileged.

The SCSO takes great pride in being a very accountable arts organization, professionally run and maintained. Their business model is well respected in California and beyond.

In addition, SCSO Members take great pride in serving as "Cultural Ambassadors" locally, nationally and internationally with their self-funded national and international tours to Carnegie Hall (NY) and Disney Hall (LA), with performances in China, Canada, France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Austria, England and Germany. They are proud that they have performed at the Vatican in Rome and recently made their debut in Notre Dame in Paris as well as St. Paul's in London.

The SCSO is proud of the "civic engagement" in the arts by involving so many local singers and professional players in the arts. They, in turn, invite their network of friends and families to their performances. The organization is known for its education components or providing quality program books with great information to education the attendees. Furthermore, Conductor Donald Kendrick provides electric pre-concert talks before each concert. Projected supertitle translations serve to engage the listener and involve him/her in the event itself. Finally, the post-concert receptions in the lobby following each concert help break down barriers to classical music.

The SCSO offers Scholarships for needy singers and the organization takes full advantage of Social Media to help get the word out about the passion and dedication of its members as they drive the growth of their mission of providing inspiring music and - in some ways - therapy in this busy world.