Master Chorale Plans for Its 40th Season

The Master Chorale of Orange County will mark its 40th season with the county premiere of Mahler’s sprawling Eighth Symphony, according to director William Hall.

The so-called “Symphony of a Thousand” (so named for the gargantuan forces required) will conclude the season on April 26, 1996. Along with the 160 voices of the Master Chorale, the concert will feature the 125-voice Chapman University Choir, the Master Chorale Children’s Chorus, a guest children’s chorus, brass choirs, an augmented Master Chorale Orchestra, and eight vocal soloists.

The season is to open Oct. 21 with Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and is to continue with programs entitled “Chant Noel” Dec. 11 and “A Valentine’s Gift II--Encore L’Amour” Feb. 11. All the concerts will be presented at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa except for the Valentine’s concert at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach.

The chorale also announced performances in Budapest, Vienna, Brno and Prague and recording sessions with the Krakow and Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestras for early summer, 1996. In a separate project, the chorale’s recording of Rachmaninoff’s Vespers is slated for release on the Klavier label Aug. 1, 1996.