Our Crowdfunding Groups
Chamber Chorus takes a bow after a successful fall concert.
In Summer 2023, UC Chamber Chorus is going abroad for a 8-day tour to Portugal and we’re counting on your support to ensure all of our students can embark on this once-in-a-lifetime performance experience!
The idea for this tour was born in summer 2019, when Chamber Chorus director Dr. Wei Cheng sat down with our members to discuss ways to increase the chorus’s visibility. We realized that despite our successful concerts and artistic excellence, our choir hasn’t traveled in years and many of our current musicians have never performed outside of Hertz Hall. Originally planned for summer 2021, all efforts for the tour were paused due to the pandemic. Two years later, we are finally bringing this back for our chorus!
We aim to make international touring and cultural exchange an integral part of our curriculum and envision our Summer 2023 tour as the first of many. We know the first step lies in creating a financially-inclusive experience for our entire tour group, regardless of circumstance or background, and we plan to provide partial and full scholarships for our students based on financial need. This tour is not included with ensemble membership and the university does not financially support the trip. Members who participate pay expenses on their own and thus, scholarships are needed. Our journey to grow the chorus and develop our students as musicians and as leaders starts with this crowdfunding campaign. Consider making a gift today!
Who We Are
The UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus is the university's premier concert choir, consisting of 45 singer-musicians competitively selected from the greater Berkeley community, including undergraduate and graduate students and community members. Directed by Wei Cheng, the Chamber Chorus is acclaimed for its readings of early and contemporary music and has performed in venues like Grace Cathedral, Walt Disney Hall, and Carnegie Hall. In 2022, Chamber Chorus won The American Prize in Choral Performance - college/univeristy division (small program) and Dr Cheng won The American Prize in Choral Conducting - the Dale Warland Award (college/university division). In spring 2019, the Chamber Chorus partnered with Volti and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London under Esa-Pekka Salonen to premiere Dreamers, an oratorio about the stories of undocumented immigrants written by Berkeley alum and award-winning composer Jimmy Lopez.
A group of our students mix and mingle at our retreat!
The strength of our choir comes from the diversity of our musicians. Our members include underrepresented minorities, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community, spanning from graduate students pursuing PhDs in Physics to undergraduates studying Environmental Design to Music majors who plan to turn singing into their career. Our choir is a family, coming together outside of rehearsal at potlucks, retreats, hiking trips, and more.
How Your Support Helps
Performing on this tour will allow our students to develop their leadership skills, to work diligently on complex repertoire, and to collaborate with international musicians, helping to create unity through cultural exchange.
Every dollar from this campaign will go towards funding need-based scholarships for our Summer 2023 tour.
Every $1000 supports one member's financial aid scholarship to participate on the tour. With a goal of $8000, we hope to sponsor at least 8 students to be able to embark on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Support scholarships for our students by making a gift today!
Chamber Chorus performs Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" along with University Chorus, UC Alumni Chorus, and Pacific Boychoir.
Follow Us on Social Media:
UCB Choral Program Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UCBerkeleyChoralProgram/
UC Berkeley Music Department Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ucbmusicdept/
You’ll be given a digital shout out in one of our written campaign updates!
You’ll be given a shout out in one of our video campaign updates!
You’ll be recognized in print as a Blue Level donor in our printed concert programs through Fall 2023 and be a guest at our post-concert reception on April 29, 2023 + lower level perks!
You’ll be recognized in print as a Gold Level donor in our printed concert programs through Fall 2023 and be given an exclusive recording of one of the season's concerts + lower level perks!
You’ll be given preferred seating at one of our choir concerts in Spring 2023 or Fall 2023 in Hertz Hall + lower level perks!
You’ll get to sit in and watch a Chamber Chorus rehearsal and meet our students + lower level perks!
You'll be invited as a special guest to have dinner with our music director + lower level perks!
