About The Lyric Chorale
The Lyric Chorale is a member of the Greater Rochester Choral Consortium.
Founded in September 2003, the Lyric Chorale is a 40-voice SATB community chorus dedicated to the highest standards of choral singing.
Directed by Chrisanne Gates, the Lyric Chorale rehearses Monday evenings in Penfield, NY. Our singers enjoy a wide variety of challenging repertoire, from classical to jazz, traditional to Broadway, and many other styles.
Concerts have featured G. F. Handel, J.S. Bach, Randall Thompson, R. Vaughan Williams, Morten Lauridsen, Bob Chilcott, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Stephen Sondheim, Eriks Esenvalds, and Eric Whitacre.
Our Mission
The Lyric Chorale is an incorporated, not-for-profit organization whose purpose is:
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To promote the art of choral and ensemble singing
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To be committed to musical excellence with the highest performance standards in order to inspire, enlighten, and enrich our listeners
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To attract listeners of all ages in and around the greater Rochester, New York area
MEET
THE
TEAM
Chrisanne Gates
Director
Chrisanne Gates founded the Lyric Chorale in 2003, and has been its director all nineteen years of its existence. Passionate about choral music since high school, she received her Bachelor of Music in Choral Music Education in Wisconsin. She then went on to earn her M.M. in Organ Performance at the University of Michigan, and a Certificate in Harpsichord and Early Music in post graduate work at Florida State University. Gates continued her studies of choral conducting throughout her schooling and beyond. She directed church music programs until her retirement in 2017, and continues to fill in when needed. Besides music, Chrisanne’s passions are the Bills, Packers, Mets and Sabres, golf, gardening, her four dogs and horse Prince.
Nancy Price
Assistant Director
holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Music Education from Ithaca College. She has taught high school choral music and served on the creative team for sacred music at Shawnee Press, Inc. As a lyricist, she has written over four hundred songs for school and church choirs in collaboration with composer Don Besig. A well known choral clinician, she has conducted choirs throughout the United States and Canada. She has recorded two successful and critically acclaimed solo CDs.
From the Directors
The impetus for the formation of a new community chorus in Rochester 20 years ago was to assemble a mixed-voice ensemble of primarily amateur skilled singers who were interested in learning and performing challenging choral repertoire of many varied styles.
The Lyric Chorale became a reality, and has met all of my expectations over this past decade. I am honored to have been the founding director of a choral group of this caliber. Our choir has become equally comfortable performing classical, pop, and jazz music, and continues to gain more understanding of each of these styles. It has been a gratifying experience working with this fun-loving, enthusiastic group of talented singers who truly enjoy a challenge and share the desire to take choral artistry to the next level.
It is our constant goal to expand our repertoire, improve our performances, and become the best choral ensemble we can possibly be. I am excited to continue searching for new and interesting repertoire for both singers and audiences to enjoy.
We hope you will plan to attend one of our concerts. We’re confident that if you hear us once, you will become a “regular” at our concerts!
