With the encouragement of the Alexandria City Council, Alexandria Choral Society (ACS) was formed in 1970 as a component of the Performing Arts Association of Alexandria. ACS was independently incorporated in 1978. Beginning with the vision of founding director Francisco de Araujo, ACS has delighted audiences year in and year out, and the baton has passed from one illustrious hand to the next. 

 

The mission of the Alexandria Choral Society (ACS) is to enhance the cultural life of Alexandria by presenting diverse and engaging vocal music programs at the highest artistic level.  For more than half a century, ACS has striven to enrich the community with a broad spectrum of choral works, from the Renaissance to modern

American composers, from small chamber pieces to major works for chorus and orchestra, and from a

great variety of musical languages and cultures. In 2020, ACS was honored with an official letter of

commendation from the Senate of the Commonwealth of Virginia in recognition of our 50th season and

for outstanding community engagement and dedicated service to the citizens of Alexandria. ACS looks

forward to many more years of bringing great choral performances to the city of Alexandria and the

greater DMV.

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Since its founding in 1970, the Alexandria Choral Society (ACS) has delighted audiences year in and year

out. ACS’s long history includes the commissioning and premiering of Russell Woollen’s Alexandria Suite

in 1987, which it presented numerous times during 1999, the city’s 250th anniversary year. Another

significant commission and premiere was the initial composition and subsequent orchestration of Dirge for

Two Veterans by Richard Bales, based on a text by Walt Whitman, and premiered at the composer's final concert as music director of the National Gallery of Art. In the past five years, ACS has both performed

classic works such as Faure’s Requiem and premiered new works by Christopher Hoh, Jonathan Kolm,

Lori Laitman, and Tawnie Olson. With thoughtful programming, and a longstanding practice of

commissioning new works, ACS is expanding the choral repertoire in the city of Alexandria, the greater

Washington region, and the larger choral world.

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Along with promoting choral music, ACS’s educational activities have included a longstanding program of

awards to school groups for musical excellence, which include joint appearances with ACS. In addition,

ACS is very active in collaborating with instrumental and other choral groups, both professional and

community-based, and participating in Alexandria community events. Also begun in the 1990's was a

program of European concert tours, which ACS plans to resume in 2025. For many years, a smaller

chamber chorus, made up of ACS members selected by audition, has performed under the name "Pro

Coro Alexandria" in special appearances around the Metropolitan Area and as part of the ACS regular

concert season.

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In 1992, ACS was an initial recipient of the Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous

Programming, and ACS was twice selected for the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce’s ALEX Award,

recognizing artistic excellence in service to the arts in Alexandria. ACS’s roster of distinguished music

directors includes Francisco de Araujo, Martin Piecuch, Robert Shafer, Douglas Major, Kerry Krebill, Keith

Reas, Philip Cave, Brian Gendron, Brian Fontaine-Isaac, and currently, Kathryn Harsha.