Orange County Womens Chorus

We learned through our initial tour of the UK (2015), our anniversary tour of the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia (2018), our debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City (2022), and our tour to Croatia (2024) that a performance tour binds an organization in a way countless rehearsals cannot. The long-term success will be an improvement in our artistic performance and an increased commitment to our community of members. We are planning our next tour for 2027.

Choral works for women's choirs are available, but exist in far smaller numbers than works for mixed choirs. Work for treble voices is often written for children's choirs, not for mature women's voices. We seek an expanded repertoire for women's voices, and because we celebrate women in music, we frequently commission work from women composers.

The OCWC has offered a conducting internship since 2002. Conducting interns have come from UC Irvine, California State University Fullerton, and Chapman University. Past conducting interns have gone on to conduct choirs in local schools, in churches and synagogues, and in the community, as well as to continue their education in graduate school. They recognize that the internship gives them an opportunity to develop their conducting skills that isn't available elsewhere. This is particularly important to young women, because conducting continues to be a male-dominated field. In addition to conducting practice, we invite our interns to attend board meetings, to give them a greater understanding for all the work behind the scenes to run the organization and make our performances possible.

Throughout its 27-year history, the Orange County Women's Chorus has consistently demonstrated its commitment to artistic excellence and innovative programming. Under the direction of Eliza Rubenstein, the OCWC has recruited outstanding singers and continuously improved its artistry. After hearing a performance of his work, composer Kirke Mechem praised the group's "alert and flawless musicianship."