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The Davis Chorale is an auditioned choral ensemble of thirty to forty singers from Davis
and the surrounding areas. Regular rehearsals are held Monday nights from
7:15-9:30 p.m. at the Davis Community Church Choir Room,
September through December, and January through May/June.
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The Davis Chorale with Director Rachel Kessler and former Assistant Director
Tracia Barbieri.
Photograph by David Rocke, Photoshop technique by Tracia Barbieri
Click photograph
for high resolution version [1853x1374, 1.6MB].
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The Chorale was founded in 1978 as a community chorus to provide an opportunity
for adults to sing oratorio, sacred, and secular works. Since then, the Chorale
has performed in numerous special events, along with its regular performances
in the Fall, Winter and Spring under the direction of Rachel Kessler
and its assistant conductors. The Chorale has performed with other instrumental
and vocal groups, such as the Sacramento Youth Symphony and the UC Davis
Symphony and Chorus.
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The Davis Chorale accompanied by chamber orchestra players.
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Since 1994, the Chorale has also sung internationally in Vienna, in the Czech Republic
and Germany, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and throughout Italy.
Guest conductors have included Richard Brunelle, Robert Kusminiski,
Mel Olsen, Roger Wagner, John Rutter, Jean Berger, D. Kern Holloman,
Jeffrey Thomas, and Andrew Carter. Assistant conductors have included
Tracia Barbieri and (currently) Nathan Reinking. The Chorale's regular
accompanist is Ellen Schinnerer Deffner.
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Chorale members Susie Boyd and Don Kessler
scoop ice cream sundaes for patrons
at the Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Social.
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The Davis Chorale performs many themed concerts in a variety of venues. The
Chorale's varied repertoire ranges from a capella
works from the Renaissance through orchestral works with chorus by modern composers.
These can range from serious requiems in the Davis Community Church, to
concerts with orchestra at the Sacramento Community Center, to light and
festive ice cream socials featuring patriotic songs or the beloved music of Gilbert & Sullivan.
Each year in mid-December, the Chorale hosts a Weihnachtfest at the E Street Plaza in Davis.
Mugs of hot cider, holiday treats, and ornaments are available for sale while holiday
shoppers enjoy performances by the Davis Chorale and the Davis Children's Chorale.
The Chorale also performs selections from their Christmas repertoire in the State Capitol
Rotunda in Sacramento a few days before Christmas.
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If you are interested in singing in The Davis Chorale, please contact Rachel Kessler at
(530) 756-3807 or by e-mail to schedule
an audition. Auditions are by appointment, and singers are asked to come prepared to sing a
rehearsed piece and exhibit both range and sight-reading ability.
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Davis Chorale members
Pamela Cummings and Jeri Ohmart
rehearsing for a concert.
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Rachel Day Kessler, Founder and principal Director of the Davis
Chorale, received a Master's degree in Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting
at Indiana University. In 1983, she was selected as a guest conductor at the
Chorale Institute sponsored by the Association of Professional Vocal
Ensembles, held at Lake Placid, New York. She has participated on the
faculties of the CSUS summer Choral Workshop and the annual Zephyr Point
Summer Sing sponsored by the Sacramento Presbytery, and served on the
faculty of the 1994 Albuquerque Music and Workshop Conference sponsored
by the Presbyterian Association of Musicians. In Davis, Ms. Kessler retired
in 2001 after 31 years as the choral music teacher for Emerson and Holmes Junior
High Schools in Davis. She also retired after 30 years as the director
of the Chapel and Chancel Choirs at the Davis Community Church. She continues
as the director of the Davis Children's Chorale, and
maintains a private vocal studio in her home.
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Ellen Schinnerer Deffner, Accompanist, began specializing in piano
accompaniment in London, where she was a student of the Guildhall School
of Music. She subsequently became a professor at the Guildhall. While in Europe, she was
an accompanist and coach for master classes given by Pierre Bernac and
Gerard Suozay at the Academie Internationale de Musique de Maurice Ravel
in France. She now gives workshops in this country on French Art Song. Since
returning to the USA, she has been on the faculties of UC Santa Barbara,
and of Reed College and the University of Portland, both in Oregon. Her broadcast
performances have included appearances on British and French television,
as well as Minnesota Public Radio.
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Nathan Reinking, Assistant Conductor, is a native of Davis and
a 2000 graduate of Davis High School, where he sang in the Madrigal
Singers and Jazz Choir. He went on to study voice and conducting with
Lars Mellander and Dr. Zdravena Maldjieva at the University of San Diego,
earning his B.A. (Music) in 2004. While in San Diego, he had the excellent and
rare opportunity to conduct the San Diego Youth Symphony under the tutelage of
Jeff Edmons. Returning to Davis in 2004, he reconnected with Rachel Kessler
and joined the Davis Chorale. Mr. Reinking has sung several solo roles for
the Chorale, including Mendelssohn's Elijah (Elijah),
John Rutter's Mass of the Children and The Reluctant Dragon (St.
George), and Handel's Messiah. He has loved coming back to Davis
and making music with (and for) the Davis community. He is currently studying
at CSU Sacramento to obtain his teaching credential. He would love to become a
high school music teacher one day.
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