For release: June 12, 2019

Contacts:
Molly Buzick Pontin
Vice-President, Education & Community Programs
MOLLY@PACIFICCHORALE.ORG

Ryan McSweeney
Director of Marketing & Box Office
RYAN@PACIFICCHORALE.ORG
714/662-2345

“Beer Choir” brings together lovers of music and libations

Orange County Women’s Chorus, Pacific Chorale, and Segerstrom Center for the Arts to host the first local gathering of the national Beer Choir movement.
(Sing responsibly.)

Costa Mesa, CA – On Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 5:00 p.m., the Orange County Women’s Chorus and Pacific Chorale will co-host Orange County’s inaugural “Beer Choir,” a sing-along performance on the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Representatives from both choirs will take turns leading the singing. Food and drink will be available for purchase from George’s Café on the Plaza. The official Beer Choir Hymnal may be downloaded in advance from the Beer Choir website, beerchoir.com. No singing experience is necessary, though beer-drinking experience is a plus.

Beer Choir was created in 2014, the brainchild of Missouri composer and conductor Michael Engelhardt. The concept is simple: People who love beer and choral singing gather in public spaces such as pubs and breweries to celebrate both those loves, fostering community involvement and investment in the local economy. Beer Choir is a national organization, with chapters ranging from Phoenix, Arizona to Appleton, Wisconsin. The mission of Beer Choir is “To make our world a little bit better by singing and drinking together.”

Orange County Beer Choir

Date & Time: Saturday, June 22, 5:00–7:00 p.m.
Location: Julianne & George Argyros Plaza at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
There is no charge to sing in Beer Choir. Alcoholic beverages may not be brought onto the Center’s campus. Beer, wine, and food will be available for purchase at George’s Café: www.patinagroup.com/georges-cafe

ABOUT ORANGE COUNTY WOMEN’S CHORUS
Under the artistic leadership of Eliza Rubenstein since 2000, the Orange County Women’s Chorus (OCWC) has grown from a small group of women brainstorming about singing together to one of the region’s leading choruses. The OCWC has performed at venues including Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Irvine Barclay Theatre, Walt Disney Concert Hall’s REDCAT Theater, the 2004 and 2012 western regional conferences of the American Choral Directors’ Association, and most recently, Carnegie Hall. The chorus was named a 2014 Outstanding Arts Organization by Arts Orange County and won a prize at the 2015 International Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales. They have collaborated with ensembles including Bel Canto, MenAlive, The Wooden Floor (formerly Saint Joseph Ballet), South Coast Symphony, Agape Voices of Praise, The All-American Boys’ Chorus, and Men in Blaque.

Their wide-ranging repertoire includes medieval chants, multicultural folk songs, classical masterworks, protest songs, gospel tunes, and more. Committed to new music and up-and-coming musicians, the OCWC regularly commissions new works for women’s voices, and their conducting internship program, designed to encourage young women entering the field of choral conducting, has been a model for other choruses around the nation.

ABOUT PACIFIC CHORALE
Pacific Chorale has delighted international audiences with great choral music performed at the highest musical standards since 1968. Under the artistic leadership of Robert Istad, the organization produces a series of concerts each year at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, where it serves as the resident choir. The mission of Pacific Chorale is to inspire our community through artistry and innovation in choral music performances and education programs.
Pacific Chorale is recognized for exceptional artistic expression, developing innovative new concepts in programming, and expanding the traditional concepts of choral repertoire and performance. The organization boasts over 30 world premieres and has released 14 self-produced recordings.

In addition to presenting a substantial performance season of its own, Pacific Chorale is sought regularly to perform with the nation’s leading symphonies. In addition to its long-standing partnership with Pacific Symphony, the Chorale has performed with such renowned American ensembles as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the National Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and Musica Angelica.
Pacific Chorale has also toured extensively throughout Europe, South America, and Asia, collaborating with the London Symphony, the Munich Symphony, L’Orchestre Lamoureux and L’Orchestre de St-Louis-en-l’Île of Paris, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the China National Symphony, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, the Estonian National Symphony, and the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Argentina.

Pacific Chorale places a significant emphasis on choral music education, offering after-school programs for grades 1-6, a high school student summer camp, and a community-wide singing event.

ABOUT SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an acclaimed arts institution as well as a beautiful multi-disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence, offering unsurpassed experiences and to engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring arts-based education and community engagement programs.

Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center is Orange County’s largest non-profit arts organization. In addition to its six performance venues, Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School.

The Center presents a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events.

Segerstrom Center is a leader among the nation’s performing arts centers for providing education programs designed to inspire young people through the arts. The Center’s programs reach hundreds of thousands of students each year in five Southern California counties. Community engagement programs developed through the Center for Dance and Innovation and Center Without Boundaries also connect the Center more comprehensively with Orange County’s many diverse communities. The CDI supports flagship artistic programming and a wide range of projects that celebrate innovation, nurture creativity and engage audiences of the future. It is home to the ABT Gillespie School and the School of Dance and Music for Children with Disabilities. The Center Without Boundaries develops partnerships with non-arts organizations to help them in their own efforts to respond to the ever-changing needs of the community.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region’s major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons performed at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.