With Songs in Their Hearts
Even the director of the Orange County Women’s Chorus is surprised the members find time to sing.
“This is truly one of the busiest groups of women I’ve ever met,” director Eliza Rubenstein said in a recent phone interview.
“Most have full-time jobs. Many have kids. Many are also involved with nonprofit causes. They are incredibly involved over and above their own jobs and lives.
“They’re all like this. It’s amazing they find two hours a week to rehearse.”
The chorus, which sings Saturday at the Newport Harbor Lutheran Church, has about 20 active members. One is a professor of French at UC Irvine. Another is pursuing a doctorate in medieval studies at USC. A third is an executive with Honda Motor Co.
Mary Langsdorf, the choir’s managing director, is interim chief financial officer of PacificCare Health Systems. She’s also senior vice president of finance and corporate controller of the company.
“One rehearsal a week is all I can manage,” Langsdorf said in a separate phone interview.
“Why do I do it? It’s a tremendous stress relief. It’s something I absolutely love to do. Why do we do it as a group? We really believe in it.”
In fact, the choir has a mission statement that says, in part, the chorus believes “learning about people through their music will lead us to a greater understanding of ourselves and a deeper appreciation for the diversity of the human family.”
Langsdorf says it simply: “We’re doing something, giving back to the community.”
The chorus, the only one of its kind in Orange County, was formed in early 1998 by women who wanted to continue singing with Raymond Egan, who was leaving his music post at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Tustin.
Egan led them for more than a year, during which they gave three public concerts. But he bowed out this year, citing his busy schedule and the long commute from his home in Pasadena.
Enter Rubenstein, who earned a master’s degree in conducting from UCI in 1997. She took over in January. Like many of the singers, she has other jobs. She’s program coordinator at the Irvine Animal Care Center and also director of music at Mesa Verde United Methodist Church in Costa Mesa.
“Music brings us together,” she said. “We are not a choir composed of professional musicians but of women who love to sing and who love to challenge themselves at at high level.
‘One of my favorite things about the group is their incredible enthusiasm for a very wide variety of repertory, from Hildegard, to Sweet Honey in the Rock, and everything between.
“They love singing in different languages.”
Still, it’s a challenge to find a suitable repertory that’s limited to voices in an upper range, Rubenstein says.
“There’s quite a bit of treble repertory available. But much of it is intended for children’s chorus. Some can cross over and work very well for women’s voices, but some ought not to. Children’s repertory is wonderful, but it’s a genre of its own and different from adults’.”
Saturday, the chorus will sing works by Schubert, Schumann, Dvorak, Poulenc and other composers.
“I really enjoy the music very much,” said Pat Morgan, director of publicity for the group, in a separate interview.
“The camaraderie is nice, too, but I find the music very interesting. It’s challenging and maybe that’s what makes it interesting.”
The response to the group has been positive, she said. “Our three concerts have had full houses. That’s really exciting. A lot of [the audience is] probably friends and family of the singers. But we’re not lacking an audience.”
The singers are not paid. On the contrary, they contribute a small monthly fee--about $25--to cover expenses. But if a member can’t afford even that, someone is sure to sponsor her.
“Money should never be a reason for someone not to sing,” Langsdorf said.
Monthly donations and ticket sales have kept the group going. They’re not making any money but they are breaking even. The chorus has applied for nonprofit status, which it hopes will come through by fall; then the group can apply for grants.
After Saturday, the next opportunity to hear the chorus will be in December, but no date has been set. The group also is looking for more members. Members hold informal auditions, after rehearsals, to which prospective singers are invited.
“We occupy a specific niche, offering music most people haven’t heard before,” Langsdorf said.
* The Orange County Women’s Chorus will sing works by Schubert, Schumann, Dvorak and other composers at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Newport Harbor Lutheran Church, 798 Dover Drive, Newport Beach. $10. (949) 499-5814.
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Chris Pasles can be reached at (714) 966-5602 or by e-mail at chris.pasles@latimes.com.