Choral Arts

This article is about an American choir based in Seattle. For other uses, see Choral Arts (disambiguation).

Choral Arts is an American choir, based in Seattle, Washington, performing under the direction of conductor and artistic director Robert Bode. Choral Arts comprises volunteer singers drawn exclusively from the Seattle region who combine a deep sense of community with a degree of artistic excellence that has garnered national recognition and critical acclaim.

Choral Arts
Origin	Seattle, WA, United States
Genres	Choral, A cappella, Classical, Contemporary
Years active	1993–present
Members	Artistic Director Robert Bode
Past members	Founder Richard Sparks
Website	www.choral-arts.org

Composer in Residence

Each year, Choral Arts chooses a Composer-in-residence to help direct the artistic choices of the choir throughout the season. The composer also composes a new piece for the choir in the spring, putting to words the poetry of the choir's "Finding Your Voice" competition,^[1] which invites students between 6th-12th grade to submit poetry to be set to choral music. Following is a list of recent Composers in residence:

• 2009 - 2010 - Vijay Singh
• 2010 - 2011 - Giselle Wyers
• 2011 - 2012 - Karen P. Thomas
• 2012 - 2013 - Eric Barnum
• 2013 - 2014 - John David Earnest
• 2014 - 2015 - Melinda Bargreen
• 2015 - 2016 - Jake Runestad

Awards

• 2010 - Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for Choral Excellence^[2]
• 2010 - Awarded performance slot at the ACDA Regional Conference
• 2010 - The American Prize for choral performance (1st Place)
• 2013 - Awarded performance slot at the Chorus America National Conference
• 2013 - The American Prize for choral performance (2nd Place)
• 2015 - Awarded performance slot at the ACDA National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah

Premieres

• Vergine bella, John David Earnest, 2013
• Behold the Handmaid, Rick Asher, 2013
• Psallite, Rick Asher, 2013
• Returning, John David Earnest, 2014
• Night, Melinda Bargreen, 2015
• Making Peace, John Muehleisen, 2015

Discography

CDs

• The Light of Stars (1993)
• A Scandinavian Christmas (1997)
• Cathedral Anthems (2002)
• Mornings Like This (2009)
• Frank Ferko Stabat Mater (2010)
• Shall We Gather at the River (2012)
• Life Stories: The Choral Music of Eric Barnum (2014)