Coro de Camara Photo
Coro de Camara History
Coro de Cámara traces its beginnings to a small group of singers originally formed by Jacob Evans. When Mr. Evans was substitute director for the Los Alamos Choral Society for the 1981-82 season, he formed a group to perform madrigals for the spring concert. The newly formed Los Alamos Madrigal Singers performed at a variety of local venues in the succeeding years until the Christmas 1984 concert. By that time Mr. Evans was commuting from Albuquerque, and he reluctantly retired from the group.
Steve Coggeshall became the director of the group under its new name, Los Alamos Chamber Ensemble, in 1985. The repertoire of the ensemble was broadened to include chamber choral works from the Renaissance to contemporary music, a tradition that continues today. The group performed several major works by American composers including Mass in D by the early composer John Knowles Paine and In the Beginning by Aaron Copland.
Coro de Camara Rehearsal Photo 1
 
In the fall of 1988 Rebecca Rollett became the director and a year later the name Coro de Cámara (Spanish for chamber chorus) was adopted. With Ms. Rollett's residence and musical presence in Santa Fe, the group began performing each concert in Los Alamos and Santa Fe. Under her direction a major work was performed each season, and concerts often included small chamber orchestras. Two major highlights were the performances of Orff's Carmina Burana in 1994 at the Santuario de Guadalupe in Santa Fe, and Mozart's Requiem the following year in Santa Fe and Los Alamos.
Coro de Camara Rehearsal Photo 2
In 1995 the Rollett family moved and Douglas "Dusty" Fisher became the next director of Coro de Cámara. Mr. Fisher had just arrived by way of Athens, Greece, to direct the choirs at Los Alamos High School. In his second year he initiated the tradition of a midwinter madrigal dinner, which has continued in subsequent years. In 1997 the group performed the Polychoral Mass in D by Ignacio de Jerusalem. This 17th century work was resurrected in a California mission by Los Alamos native Craig Russell, who edited and published the mass for its first recording by Chanticleer. Mr. Fisher served as Music Director through spring 1998.
Coro de Cámara spent the next five seasons, 1998-2003, under the able direction of Ms. Cora Harms. An educator and musician in Santa Fe for many years, Ms. Harms continued the Coro de Cámara traditions of chamber choral music and madrigal dinners. The group also worked to encourage new choral musicians by inviting high school students from Santa Fe and Los Alamos to join them. Highlights of the five seasons under Ms. Harms include a combined Christmas concert with the St. John's College Chamber Choir, Haydn's Mass in Time of War, and Messe de Minuit pour Nöel by Charpentier.
Between musical directors in fall 2003, Coro de Cámara presented a madrigal Christmas program at Fuller Lodge in Los Alamos, with music chosen and prepared by group members Joe Fasel and Joe Cox.

We are very excited to begin a new chapter in our musical journey with Music Director Catherine Robinson.

Coro de Camara Rehearsal Photo 3

Learn more about Catherine Robinson on the Musical Director page!

© 2006 - 2008 Coro de Cámara
Chamber Chorus of Los Alamos and Santa Fe

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