About Us
Celebrated as central Ohio’s premier all-professional chamber choir, LancasterChorale has established its role as a vital force in choral music by performing challenging repertoire drawn from the rich treasury of the past, commissioning new works to inspire the American public to more fully understand its present, and supporting educational programming with young singers to promote the future of the choral arts.
Engaging the region’s leading professional vocal artists, LancasterChorale garners high praise for its beauty of tone, musical integrity, remarkable blend, and exceptional commitment to elegant text phrasing. Under the direction of nationally recognized composer Stephen Caracciolo, the ensemble performs an astonishingly wide range of choral literature including plainchant, Renaissance and Baroque motets, German-Romantic part songs, French chansons, the sacred literature of the English and Russian churches, opera choruses, carols of every variety, American folk songs and spirituals, and works by living composers. LancasterChorale performs in cities throughout Ohio and appears periodically with ProMusica Chamber Orchestra and the Lancaster Festival Orchestra.
Artistic Director: Dr. Stephen Caracciolo
Dr. Caracciolo is a conductor recognized for his passionate artistry and creative leadership in interpreting an expansive range of the choral repertoire, including Renaissance and Baroque motets, German-Romantic part songs, French chansons, the sacred literature of the English and Russian churches, opera choruses, American folk songs and spirituals, carols of every variety,choral-orchestral works, and works by living composers. Under his leadership, LancasterChorale consistently garners high praise for its beauty of tone, remarkable blend, and exceptional commitment to elegant text phrasing. For twelve years he was a professional choral bass at Washington National Cathedral where he also served as the cover conductor for masses, choral evenings, and special services. He has had the privilege to perform choral masterworks with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Juilliard Orchestra, the American Symphony, and the orchestra of Washington National Cathedral with such renowned conductors as Robert Shaw, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Kurt Masur, Erich Kunzel, Michael McCarthy, and James Levine.
Known nationally as a composer and arranger, Caracciolo’s choral works are performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe. He is a composer with MorningStar Music Publishers, E.C. Schirmer, Kjos Music, and Roger Dean Publishing, and is active as a consultant for various educational, ecclesiastical, and professional organizations. His publications—including commissions for the acclaimed professional vocal ensemble, Cantus—appear on numerous professional, collegiate, and cathedral repertoire lists, and may be heard on nationally distributed recordings as well as syndicated radio broadcasts including the well-known Sunday program, With Heart and Voice.
Dr. Caracciolo concurrently serves as Chorus Director for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, preparing the CSO Chorus for appearances in the Masterworks concert series and conducting community performances of the CSO Chamber Choir. Previous conducting posts include the Maryland Choral Society and choral ensembles at the University of Maryland-Baltimore, Roberts Wesleyan College, the Ohio University School of Music, and Denison University. Caracciolo holds a doctoral degree in conducting from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, a master’s degree in conducting from Westminster Choir College, and a bachelor’s degree in music education from the Capital University Conservatory of Music.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: CRITICAL REVIEWS
Daniel Knaggs - Celebrated American Composer
I’m still feeling the impact of your amazing performance with LancasterChorale this past Sunday. I was truly blown away by the performance – by your interpretations, your musical selections, and your own compositions. Your interpretation of my ‘Ego sum panis vivus’ took my breath away — your artists brought out things that I never even imagined. I was transported during the whole performance, and I’m just so delighted with the work you are doing! What a special thing you have in LancasterChorale. Keep up the phenomenal work!
Jennifer Hambrick - The Columbus Dispatch
Two of Columbus’ finest classical music ensembles joined forces in one of the world’s best-loved musical works last night at the Southern Theatre. ProMusica Artistic Director David Danzmayr led the orchestra, LancasterChorale, and four vocal soloists in the orchestra’s first-ever performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Throughout the famous “Ode to Joy” finale of Beethoven’s symphony, LancasterChorale sang with impressive nuance of sound and with impressively clear and sonorous diction of Schiller’s German text.
Peter Tonguette - The Columbus Dispatch
Conducted with sensitivity and subtlety by artistic director Stephen Caracciolo, the ensemble opened with Johannes Brahms’ song cycle ‘Zigeunerlieder’. Following an intermission, LancasterChorale shifted to a cappella singing — and stirringly so. Highlights included Hugo Alfven’s ‘Aftonen,’ a piece evoking the stillness of dusk in its haunting sotto voce passages. Also lovely was John Clements’ ‘Flower of Beauty’. The singers enunciated such ecstatic verses as “She is my slender small love, my flow’r of beauty, she” in dulcet tones. The ensemble sang each with terrific skill and intense feeling — qualities also apparent in a heavenly encore performance of ‘Danny Boy’.
• Artists For The 2023-24 Season •
Deborah Brennan
Soprano
Deborah Brennan is a Columbus-based lyric soprano. She received her Bachelor’s of Music in Music Education from Capital University where she was a member of the Chapel Choir and chamber ensemble, Philomel. During her time at Capital, she received first prize in her category at the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition and second prize in another category that same year. Additionally, Mrs. Brennan won the concerto competition and performed Roshanne Etezady’s soprano concerto, Points of Departure, with the Symphonic Winds concert band. Her passion for performance is matched with her passion for teaching general music at Columbus School for Girls in Bexley, Ohio. Mrs. Brennan has performed in the Columbus area with several community theater companies, Opera Columbus, and LancasterChorale.
Karen Cook
Soprano
Karen Cook, a Tennessee native, is active as a choral artist with multiple ensembles across the country. Karen has been featured as a soloist in Bach's Magnificat, Schubert's Mass in G, and McGlynn’s Celtic Mass. She is principal soprano at the Baroque on Beaver Festival where she has performed as soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, Fauré’s Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music.
Karen has appeared in Toledo Opera performances of Lehár’s The Merry Widow, Verdi’s La Traviata, Puccini’s La Bohème, Verdi’s Macbeth, and Barber’s Vanessa; and with Knoxville Opera in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, Verdi's Otello and Il Trovatore, Boito's Mefistofele, and Puccini's Tosca. She also performed at the Spoleto Festival USA. Karen has performed multiple concerts with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli in both the US and Europe. Karen earned her Master of Music in Voice Performance from Eastern Michigan University.
Elizabeth Festi
Soprano
Elizabeth Festi is from Sugarcreek, Ohio. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Music and Business Management at Capital University in 2020. Ms. Festi has participated in a wide variety of ensembles, vocal and instrumental, including the Capital University Chapel Choir, the Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses chorus, and the Tuscarawas Philharmonic, where she is a soloist in the December 2022 production of Handel’s Messiah. She has participated in productions such as Parade at Capital University, acting in the chorus and as the production historian, as well as in The Actors Playground production of Mary Poppins in the role of Mary. As a scholar in musicology, her writing has been published by OSU.
Michaela Huffman
Soprano
Michaela Huffman is a Northeast Ohio native where she attended Kent State University studying Political Science - Prelaw. Her passion for music and a myriad of genres has been exemplified in her involvement with the Carnation City Players in Alliance, Ohio, the Kent State University Gospel Choir, and the Capital University Choral Union.
Abby Jenkins
Soprano
Abby Jenkins is a music educator, conductor, and vocalist from Columbus, OH. She currently teaches 6th grade choir and high school choir at Delaware City Schools. Abby graduated from The Ohio State University (BME in Choral Music) in 2017. She has sung with Sacred Music Institute of America, Converging Arts Columbus, Square One (a professional, pop a cappella group), and was a soprano section lead at Linworth United Methodist Church. Abby has also been involved in local community musical theater productions.
Melissa Lawson
Soprano
Melissa Lawson received her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, having enjoyed the privilege of being a featured soloist with the Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra, UNO European Tour and Opera Workshops, and guest artist for the local premiere of George Crumb's "Madrigals, Book II." Since her relocation to Ohio, she has taught and coached studio voice and piano, performed with the Columbus Symphony Chorus, and has served as section leader and accompanist at various churches throughout Central Ohio and the Miami Valley. Ms. Lawson is a current artist with LancasterChorale and accompanist for the Champaign County Youth Choir.
Elizabeth McConnaughey
Soprano
Elizabeth McConnaughey hails from Columbus, Ohio and has a passion for Baroque and early music literature. She has performed the roles of BELINDA in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, SECOND MIDWIFE in Play of Herod, the title role of THISBE in Lampe's Pyramus and Thisbe, and the role of DAMON in Handel’s Acis and Galatea.
Elizabeth has maintained a strong interest in new music. She has had the pleasure of premiering three characters from Chappell Kingsland’s commissioned opera for young audiences, The Firebringers, while completing her Master’s degree at Indiana University. Ms. McConnaughey maintains an active performance schedule in central Ohio working with Opera Project Columbus, The Early Interval, LancasterChorale, and First Congregational Church.
Kylie Ogg
Soprano
Kylie Ogg is from Lancaster, Ohio. She holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Music Education from Otterbein College and Capital University, respectively, and is a music educator with Fairfield Union Local Schools.
Kylie has performed throughout Central Ohio with Opera Project Columbus, and has also been a featured soprano soloist with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra’s production of Handel’s Messiah and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. She is currently the Artistic Director of the Lancaster-Fairfield Youth Choir.
Juliana Rauch
Soprano
Juliana Rauch is delighted to continue singing with LancasterChorale this season. While at Wittenberg University, Ms. Rauch sang and toured with the Wittenberg Choir. Since then, she has sung with various community and church choirs, including the Marietta Oratorio Chorus, the Denison Concert Choir and the Capital Choral Union. In addition, Ms. Rauch directs a children’s choir at her church. She is a French teacher in the Newark City Schools.
Rhonda Rom
Soprano
Rhonda Rom thoroughly enjoys performing as a soloist, choral and recording artist. Known for her “ethereal voice”, Ms. Rom has numerous solo and professional chorus credits with roles including SERPINA in Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, PAPAGENA in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, LAETITIA in Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief, as well as FLORA in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. She has also been requested as a recitalist and oratorio soloist, including Bach’s Magnificat and Handel’s Messiah. She has sung and recorded with The Santa Fe Desert Chorale, The Lone Spring Arts Ensemble and Orpheus Chamber Singers. Ms. Rom completed a Master of Music in vocal performance at The Lamont School of Music in Denver, Colorado and Bachelor of Music from Arizona State University. She currently serves on voice faculty at Kenyon College, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, and Dallas Baptist University.
Stephen Barker
Alto / Countertenor
Stephen Barker is a writer and researcher in the field of decentralized finance. He is the tenor section leader at St. Mark's Episcopal in Columbus, Ohio and a member of the early music group, Fior Angelico.
Heather Chute
Alto
Heather Chute is a graduate of Capital University where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in vocal music education. She has taught her entire career with Hamilton Local Schools, leading the choirs in grades 7-12. She is the alto section leader at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and also sings with Fior Angelico.
Anna Murcko
Mezzo-soprano
Originally from Northwest Ohio, Anna has been featured as a soloist in a variety of operatic and oratorio repertoire. Most recently she has performed with ensembles at Bowling Green State University, including a performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah as an alto soloist with the BGSU Philharmonia, the award-winning Bowling Green Men's Chorus as a touring soloist, and as PLUTO, KING OF HADES in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld. She is also a former young artist with Opera Western Reserve and choral singer with the Toledo Symphony. After completing her Master's degree in Choral Conducting in 2023, she accepted a teaching position at the new Olentangy Berlin Middle School as its first choir director. Anna also holds an Artist Diploma in Vocal Performance from Bowling Green State Univesrity and Bachelor's degree in music education from Youngstown State University.
Elizabeth Pittman
Alto
Elizabeth Pittman is originally from Lancaster, Ohio and earned her Bachelor of Music Education, Master of Arts in Vocal Pedagogy and Master of Music in Choral Conducting degrees from Ohio State University. Beth has served as assistant conductor at St. Joseph Cathedral and St. Martin Episcopal Church, and conductor for the Piping Rock Singers and Advent Evangelical Lutheran Church. She has performed as soloist and chorister with many professional groups around the country, including LancasterChorale, Robert Shaw Festival Singers, Cantari Singers, BelCanto Singers, the Bach Society of Houston, the Houston Chamber Choir, and many church and temple groups.
Gretchen Rutz Leist
Alto
Gretchen Rutz Leist is an Ohio-born musician and attorney. She received her Bachelors in Music Education from Capital University, and her Juris Doctorate from Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Gretchen has performed locally with Opera Columbus, Early Music in Columbus, the Sacred Music Institute of America, and the Converging Arts Columbus.
Emily Winegard
Alto
Emily Winegard’s passion for music, and sharing said commitment to the art through live performance, has never wavered. Born and raised in Columbus, Ms. Winegard earned her Bachelor's Degree in Music Industry from Capital University, and found herself working equal parts onstage and off, and continues to do so post-grad. Since then, Ms. Winegard has performed with LancasterChorale, and has worked in assistant stage management with Opera Columbus.
Brady Brennan
Tenor
Brady Brennan is an accomplished musician and educator with a background in music and athletic administration. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Capital University, Mr. Brennan honed his passion for teaching and ensemble performance while singing with the Chapel Choir and Chordsmen (now Consort), laying the foundation for a career as an educator and performer. Mr. Brennan pursued a Master's degree in Athletic Administration, from Ohio University, demonstrating his versatility and commitment to enriching the lives of students beyond the realm of music. Mr. Brennan has the opportunity to teach and mentor the young and talented students in Canal Winchester Local Schools, and foster and nurture their musical abilities and love for the arts. Not only is Mr. Brennan an experienced educator, he is also accomplished as a performer and Director of Worship and Music, where he has experience leading and coordinating traditional and contemporary worship. Mr. Brennan continues to be an active performer, lending his resonant tenor voice to professional and community organizations as a soloist and ensemble member.
Dustin Hill
Tenor
Dustin Hill resides in Granville, Ohio, and prides himself as both a powerful professional tenor vocalist, and budding Director of Music. He is currently the Director of Music at St. Paul’s Lutheran church in Newark, Ohio. Dustin earned his Master’s in conducting from Bowling Green State University, and has taught different ensembles at BGSU and Owens Community College. Prior to earning his Master’s, Dustin earned a Bachelor’s in vocal performance as a tenor. He served as the principal tenor of the Toledo Opera company for several seasons. His other music/performance endeavors include LancasterChorale, Sacred Music Institute of America, the Alliance barbershop chorus, Licking County Players, and countless others.
Dustin Jarred
Tenor
Dustin Jarred, a native of Seattle, Washington, holds a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Washington, where he studied under Thomas Harper. He is a member of the Columbus Symphony Chorus, has performed with Opera Project Columbus, and has held section leader/soloist positions at First Community Church in Upper Arlington and First Congregational Church in downtown Columbus. Several favorite opera roles performed include: GHERRARDO in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, FIRST SAILOR in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, KING KASPAR in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, MONSIEUR TRIQUET in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and PRINCE DIMMLY in Arlan’s Meanwhile, Back at Cinderella’s.
Ryan Jenkins
Tenor
Ryan Jenkins is a high school choral director, an active choral conductor, and vocalist from Columbus, Ohio. He has been teaching choral music since 2017 and is currently the Choral Director at Columbus Academy where he teaches middle school and high school choir. Along with his teaching, Ryan is the Director of Traditional Music at Trinity United Methodist Church. Prior to his current appointments, Ryan has experience working with a wide variety of groups including chamber ensemble, children’s choir, competitive a cappella and show choir, community choir, sacred music, and high school/collegiate groups. Ryan holds degrees from The Ohio State University (B.M. in Vocal Performance) and University of Toronto (M.M. in choral conducting) where he studied with Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt.
Andrew LeVan
Tenor
Andrew LeVan is a tenor from Dublin, Ohio. He attended The College of Wooster and received his Master’s Degree in vocal performance from Indiana University, where he studied with Dr. Brian Horne. Andrew premiered the role of Nô in P. Q. Phan's opera The Tale of Lady Thi Kính and has performed as MR UPFOLD in Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring, a Priest in Philip Glass' Akhnaten. Mr. LeVan has performed with the Indiana University Opera Theater, the Indiana Festival Theatre and the Ohio Light Opera. He was most recently seen as a soloist in Gallery Player's production of Sondheim on Sondheim, GRIMSBY in the Butterfly Guild production of The Little Mermaid, and as NJEGUS in Opera Project Columbus' production of Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow.
Dr. Justin Meyer
Tenor
Dr. Justin Reeves Meyer has pursued a freelance professional choral singing career for over a decade. Justin started his choral training as a tenor in the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, singing under the direction of Richard Marlow and Stephen Layton. Justin has performed and recorded with other award winning groups, such as the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, Conspirare, Resonance Ensemble, and LancasterChorale. Justin is a published social scientist and urban planning scholar. He leads research as a co-principal investigator on two National Science Foundation grants, and has the position of Senior Lecturer in City and Regional Planning at Ohio State University. Justin holds degrees from the University of Cambridge (MPhil), Stanford University (BSE), and received his PhD and Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan.
Nathan Ogg
Tenor
Nathan Ogg is from Lancaster, Ohio, and specializes in Jazz, Folk, and the American Songbook as well as a variety of a cappella vocal styles. Since his studies at Capital University Conservatory of Music and The Ohio State University, Mr. Ogg has worked throughout the country as a singing judge, clinician, and vocal coach particularly for the Barbershop Harmony Society and Harmony, Incorporated. He has been singing with LancasterChorale since 2002 and is the Artistic Director of the Greater Cleveland Chorus (Sweet Adelines International).
Matthew Pittman
Tenor
Matthew Pittman’s concert appearances include Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, and B Minor Mass; Mozart’s Requiem and Coronation Mass; Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s The Creation, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Mr. Pittman has appeared with ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, Rackham Symphony Choir, Columbus Bach Ensemble, the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra, the Southeastern Ohio Symphony, the Woodlands Symphony Orchestra, and the Bach Society of Houston, as well as LancasterChorale. He received his bachelor’s degree in music education from Ohio State University and his master’s degree in Performance from Rice University. He is the Adult Choir, Bell Choir, and Director of Youth and Family Ministries at Advent Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Jacob Conrad
Bass
Jacob Conrad is a bass-baritone from Columbus, Ohio. During (and following) his music education studies at The Ohio State University, he has arranged and composed pieces for multiple a cappella choruses under his baton. Mr. Conrad currently serves as bass section leader for St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Upper Arlington, but also regularly sings with the Columbus Symphony Chorus, St. Joseph Cathedral schola, Our Lady of Victory parish, and Fior Angelico.
Joshua Cook
Bass
Joshua Cook has directed and performed opera, music theatre, and staged choral works throughout the United States. He has worked with organizations such as Cincinnati Opera, the University of Cincinnati, the Seagle Festival, Collegium Cincinnati, Opera Columbus, Opera Project Columbus, Ohio State University, and Short North Stage. Joshua holds voice performance & directing degrees from the University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University. At both institutions, Joshua performed leading stage roles while receiving awards from the MONCA and Opera Columbus. In the fall of 2021, Joshua joined the University of Cincinnati as an Adjunct Instructor of Opera. Joshua currently serves as Managing Director of Capriccio Youth Choir in Columbus, Ohio, while maintaining an active voice and dramatic studio.
Billy Edwards
Bass
Billy Edwards is from Newark, Ohio. He studied music at Alderson-Broaddus College in West Virginia. Billy is currently Director of Newark's Land of Legend Barbershop Chorus, and is a member of Singing Buckeye Barbershop Chorus. He has served as music director at several churches, including Bremen United Methodist Church in Bremen, Ohio and Maple Street United Methodist in Lancaster, Ohio. He also has been in several productions on stage and in the orchestra with Weathervane Playhouse and Licking County Players, both in Newark. Billy has occasionally performed with opera choruses, most recently in La Cenerentola with Opera Columbus.
Eric Gibson
Baritone
Eric Gibson hails from Detroit, Michigan, and is a stage director of operas, musicals, and other lyric theatre genres. Trained as a singer and pianist, Mr. Gibson enjoyed roles in operetta and musical theatre before turning his energies toward stage directing. Mr. Gibson served as Artistic Director of LOOK Musical Theatre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, producing musicals and operettas, and Director of Education for Tulsa Opera. Mr. Gibson holds a Master’s degree in Opera Stage Direction from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and has served as a Professor and Director of Opera at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He presently serves on the faculty at The Ohio State University School of Music as the Opera Stage Director in addition to serving as the Executive Director of Opera Project Columbus.
John Schlabach
Bass
John Schlabach studied music at The Ohio State University where he received his Vocal Music Education degree. He performs all around the state doing chorus, opera, musical theatre, church and solo work. John can regularly be seen singing with LancasterChorale, Opera Columbus, and Fior Angelico.
William Schott
Bass
William Schott earned his Bachelors in Music from The Ohio State University. He has performed with Opera Columbus, Opera Project Columbus, and the OSU Opera and Lyric Theater in numerous shows including Rigoletto, La Rondine, and featured as the Giant in Opera Columbus’ outreach program of Jack and the Beanstalk. In addition to William’s operatic repertoire, he has been the soloist in many choral works including the Schubert Mass in G, Faure’s Requiem, Gounod’s St. Cecilia Mass, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Mozart’s Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah. As a Central Ohio resident, William currently sings as the soloist and section leader for First Community Church in Columbus.
2024-2025 | Season 39
Auditions for LancasterChorale are held throughout the year by invitation or as artists make their interest known. The majority of the artists in LancasterChorale have earned degrees in Music; all have extensive experience in choral performance in a variety of styles and languages.
What kind of singer-artist does LancasterChorale engage?
LancasterChorale has a long tradition of cultivating a gentler, non-operatic choral sound. Sopranos and altos often perform with little or no vibrato. Tenors and basses are resonant, lyric, and colorful but not heavy. Countertenors are encouraged to audition. Artists seated in the ensemble are required to prepare the entire program before the downbeat of the first rehearsal. Scores are sent out a month in advance.
What is the rate per call?
The artist rate is $75 per call.
When are rehearsals?
The pattern below is similar for most concert cycles:
(Call 1) Saturday, the weekend before the performances (Columbus)
(Call 2) Sunday, the weekend before the performances (Columbus)
(Call 3) Tuesday, the week of the performances (Columbus)
(Call 4) Friday, the week of the performances (Columbus)
(Call 5) Saturday Dress 1 (Lancaster)
(Call 6) Sunday afternoon performance (Lancaster)
(Call 7) Saturday Dress 2 (Columbus)
(Call 8) Sunday afternoon performance (Columbus)
What are the Performance Dates for the 2024-2025 Season?
Glories of Rome-Splendors of Venice
Palestrina and Gabrieli
Sunday, October 20, 2024. 4:00
Sunday, October 27, 2024. 4:00
O Great Mystery
Motets, Carols, and Spirituals for Christmas
Sunday, December 1, 2024. 4:00
Sunday, December 15, 2024. 4:00
Come Away!
Partsongs, Folksongs, and French Chanson
Sunday, May 4, 2025. 4:00
Sunday, May 11, 2025. 4:00
Artists may be called for one or more of the three projects, and they need not be available for all three concert cycles to be hired during the season.
What may I expect at the audition?
At the audition your instrument will be checked for range, beauty, clarity of tone, and the ability to perform clean melismas and legato leaps. In addition, the skill of singing softly, musically, and with rolled and stroked Rs will be accessed. Those who audition prepare to sing choral excerpts from the season selected to highlight different languages and aspects of the vocal instrument. Auditioners may choose any part division they like for the audition. Sight reading is not required at the audition. Rather, it is expressive singing and the skill to meticulously prepare scores ahead of time for rehearsals (as if one needed to perform the day of the audition) that will be evaluated. Auditioneers will sing along with the recordings provided below for a variety of valuable reasons.
What is the literature to prepare for the audition?
Download the Prepared Audition Choral Excerpts & Singer Audition Form
(1) Gloria from Missa Papae Marcelli – G.P. da Palestrina
Recording: Evaluation Tips: Sing with a clear, relaxed, molto-legato tone.
(2) O Jesulein Süss– J.S. Bach
Recording: Evaluation Tips: Beautiful, molto-legato singing, and with an undulating dynamic according to syllabic stress. Demonstrate schooled singer’s diction for German.
(3) Here is the Little Door – Herbert Howells
Recording: Evaluation Tips: Sing with a clear, non-vibrato tone and with shapes that follow the syllabic stress of the poetry.
Where are auditions?
Conductor’s home office in Worthington, or otherwise as arranged.
How do I schedule an audition?
Contact Artistic Director Dr. Stephen Caracciolo at:
Audition Information
LancasterChorale was organized in 1985 as a volunteer choir to serve the growing desire of the community to support high quality choral performances in the city of Lancaster, Ohio, the charming and historic county seat of Fairfield County located just 30 miles southeast of Columbus. In the spring of 1986 Robert Trocchia, the much-lauded Fairfield Union High School music educator with an intense passion for excellence in choral music, was hired as the conductor of the ensemble, and under his expert direction LancasterChorale quickly grew in skill and reputation and was recognized as an organization that served all of central Ohio with engaging performances of choral standards.
Mr. Trocchia’s dedicated leadership and fine taste in programming, including new works commissioned yearly by the organization, led LancasterChorale to begin receiving support from the Don Wendel Family Fund of the Fairfield County Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council, Arts Midwest, the Presser Foundation, and SBC Ameritech. In 1989 The Lancaster Chorale realized the aspirations of its Artistic Director and Board of Directors to become a professional ensemble with its ‘pure sound’, excellent tuning, and choral blend attracting attention from national leaders in choral music.
Recorded performances, including the 2007 performance of Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere mei, Deus, have been featured on WOSU-FM ‘Music in Mid-Ohio’ with Christopher Purdy in Columbus. LancasterChorale performances of Herbert Howell’s Requiem, Barber’s Agnus Dei, and Martin’s Mass for Double Choir have been featured on ‘The First Art’, the nationally syndicated series broadcast over National Public Radio that showcases excellence in American choral music.
LancasterChorale entered its tenth season as Choral Ensemble-in-Residence at Columbus’ historic St. Joseph Cathedral. Performances in subsequent seasons have included those with ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, notably the fully-staged version of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass under the baton of Timothy Russell, and Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor, with David Danzmayr conducting. After twenty-eight years of dedicated and visionary leadership, Robert Trocchia retired as Artistic Director and has been named Director Emeritus of LancasterChorale.
At the conclusion of a one-year search process, Stephen Caracciolo, a passionate conductor and composer whose publications have been widely performed, recorded, and broadcast nationally, was invited in June of 2015 to accept the post of Artistic Director. At Dr. Caracciolo’s inaugural performance as Artistic Director, the ensemble’s warm tone, splendid balance and blend, and remarkable dynamic range was on call once again for the world premiere of Patrick Hawes’ Psalm 91, a new commission dedicated to Director Emeritus Robert Trocchia. Programming in the 2015-2016 season included an introduction of challenging works from the choral canon into the ensemble’s expanding repertoire, including Poulenc’s Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël and Chansons françaises. LancasterChorale was invited to perform at the Ohio Choral Director’s Association Summer Conference as well as a program of opera choruses with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra under the baton of Gary Sheldon.
A History of the Ensemble
Associate Conductor: Dr. Matthew Bester
Matthew has sung with LancasterChorale since 2013 and serves as Associate Conductor of the ensemble. He is the Director of Music at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in Columbus and the Artistic Director of Fior Angelico, a Columbus-based early music chorus. He serves on the Board of Trustees of The Friends of Early Music in Columbus. He holds a PhD and MA in Musicology from The Ohio State University and a BA cum laude in Music from Harvard University.
Director Emeritus: Robert Trocchia
Recognized as one of the more efficacious choral conductors, Robert Trocchia guided the critically-acclaimed Lancaster Chorale from 1986 to 2015, creating a unique ‘pure sound’ which is the hallmark of his approach to the choral art. His work exhibited a high level of artistic sensitivity, frequently involved imaginative collaborations, and he brought a wealth of experience to the endeavor. While serving as artistic director of Chorale, Trocchia served simultaneously as director of music for the Fairfield Union schools and director of choral activities for Ohio University Lancaster; his forty-nine year career in education was highlighted by his designation as one of America’s top educators (1980), induction in the Ohio University Gifted Education Hall of Fame (2006) and becoming the second recipient of Fairfield Union’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2009). A graduate of Ohio University, Trocchia was a student of Norman Luboff, and his preparation has included study sessions with some of the world’s finest choral musicians, including Michael Korn, Robert Page, Elmer Iseler, Sir David Willcocks and Dale Warland, the latter an honorary member of the Chorale Board.
As part of Chorale’s mission to create new choral music, Trocchia has conducted twenty-four world premiere performances, by composers such as Luboff, Page, Kirke Mechem, Jackson Berkey, Jeffrey Van, Stephen Caracciolo and Sheena Phillips; his Chorale recordings of Barber’s ADAGIO, Martin’s MASS, Howells’ REQUIEM, and Allegri’s MISERERE MEI, DEUS are frequently heard on National Public Radio. He has prepared choirs for Gary Sheldon, artistic director of the Lancaster Festival; several collaborations with Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra include the epic, fully-staged version of Bernstein’s MASS, and more recently MESSIAH and traditional Christmas programs at both the Southern Theatre and Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus.
Groups under his direction have performed at cathedrals and performance venues world-wide, including Notre Dame Cathedral, Cologne Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, St. John the Divine, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, St. Louis Cathedral, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and historic Biltmore Estate. A past member of both the Music Advisory Panel of the Ohio Arts Council and National Advisory Board of Creative Arts Workshops, Trocchia remains active as a clinician-consultant throughout Eastern North America. He and wife, Carol, live in Bremen, Ohio, and have three grown children, all involved professionally in the arts.
Board of Directors
Suzy Biehl
Board President
Dublin, OH
David Rodenbaugh
Treasurer & Concert Manager
Baltimore, OH
Jerry Wade
Print Media and Email Concert Promotion
Upper Arlington, OH
Wanita Burton
Front of House, Hospitality
Lancaster, OH
Ivan Smith
Education Outreach
Lancaster, OH
Bill Wittman
Education Outreach
Logan, OH
Tony Barbuto
Sound Engineer & Lights
Newark, OH
Ronald Kenreich
Community Engagement & Education Outreach
Westerville, OH
Sharon Silleck
Community Engagement
Columbus, OH
Director of Music, The Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption, Lancaster, OH
Jason Crabill
Community Engagement
Bexley, OH
Executive Director, Decorative Arts Center of Ohio. Lancaster, OH
Kyle Barger
Corporate Funding
Bexley, OH
Mark Voris
Marketing & Corporate Funding
Columbus, OH