About Mountainside Master Chorale

Our Story

The Mountainside Master Chorale was founded in 1994 by Bruce Rogers. Since its inception, the Chorale has grown steadily in both membership and acclaim, drawing members from Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties to rehearse and perform in our foothill venues. Besides offering a regular concert series each year (December, spring and early summer), the Chorale is invited each year to perform at the Forest Lawn winter Candle Lighting Ceremony and Easter Sunrise Service.

The Mountainside Master Chorale has sung at various festivals throughout Southern California:

• Orange County Symphony (Handel’s Messiah)

• Pacific Symphony at Orange County Performing Arts Center

• Orange County’s Crystal Cathedral

• Segerstrom Hall (with Doc Severinsen)

• San Bernardino Symphony (Mendelssohn’s Lobegesang)

• San Bernardino Symphony (Beethoven’s Ode to Joy)

• Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (Arts Commission’s Holiday Extravaganza, broadcast by KCET)

and internationally in:

• The British Isles (including the prestigious Eisteddfod Music Competition in Wales)

• Italy (Tuscany, Lucca, Montecasino, Rome) performing the Verdi Requiem with the Rome Symphony at St. Paul’s Outside the Walls

• Spain (Toledo, Seville and Madrid Cathedrals)

• Canada (Quebec, Montreal)

• Poland/Czech Republic (Warsaw, Tarnov, Krakow, Prague)

• Austria/Germany (Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Frankfurt)

• Greece (Athens, Greek Islands)

Since 2022, Matthew Miles has led the Chorale as Artistic Director. The continuing excellence and vitality of the group has attracted extraordinary artistic directors throughout its 29 years, including founding director Bruce Rogers (1994-2006), Andrew Crane (2006-2010), David Rentz (2010-2011), Sebastian Vallee (2011-2017), and Irene Messoloras (2018-2022). Each director provided the Chorale with unique and high-level musical qualities, expanding repertoire, musicality, and audience appeal with a wide variety of choral offerings each season, including major works with orchestra, a cappella motets, folk songs, spirituals, jazz, Broadway show tunes, and also featuring contemporary composers with new works. A professionally-recorded CD with works by California composers is available, as well as a recording of the 2016 Eclectic, Unexpected Christmas concert.

Since 2014, the Chorale has been the recipient of generous grants from the L.A. County Arts Commission, and most recently from the California Relief Grant Program and the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program for Nonprofit Cultural Institutions.

The Chorale welcomes new members throughout the year with a mentoring program to quickly acclimate to the Chorale’s routines. New singers are welcome to join at the first two rehearsals of each concert, with auditions at that time.