In This Issue
A Note from Eliza
Will You Help Us Meet the Challenge?
Meet Our Newest Board Members!

Tickets on Sale Now

for our

  March concerts!
Our Mission
The Orange County Women's Chorus creates and performs outstanding choral literature, engages and enriches our audiences, and celebrates women in music.
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Our Board Members
 
Chief Financial Officer

Fundraising and Development

Operations

Legal and Administration

Chorus Connections

Marketing and Public Relations

Board President

Volunteer Management
Fundraising and Marketing

Fundraising and 
Development
 
Eliza Rubenstein, Artistic Director  
  
Has American music ever had a greater and more passionate advocate than Leonard Bernstein? No conductor has ever done more to offer people of all ages and backgrounds a pathway to understanding and appreciating the great works of Western music, and no composer has ever done a better job of erasing the arbitrary lines between "serious" and "popular" music. In his greatest choral work, the Chichester Psalms, we find Bernstein both at his jazziest and at his most poignant, blending the worldliness of West Side Story with the pure devotion of faith. It's a stunning work that we know you'll love, from the bold, crashing opening to the breathtakingly beautiful final bars.

We're especially pleased to be joined by some favorite collaborators: organist David York, harpist Brian Noël, percussionist John Magnussen, and Bob Gunn and the men of Bel Canto, the chamber ensemble of MenAlive: The Orange County Gay Men's Chorus. The sound and the experience will resonate in your soul for days, and you'll hear some additional gems from each chorus, including Broadway and pop hits from the guys, works by Alice Parker and Norman Dello Joio from the women, and a special Bernstein election-year tune from the combined choruses.

We think it's a concert Leonard Bernstein would appreciate, and we're confident you will, too! We expect robust crowds, so don't delay---reserve your seats today, and in the spirit of outreach and bridge-building, why not bring a friend as well? We're excited to see you there!

Saturday, March 5, 2016 * 7:00 p.m.
St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church
18631 Chapel Lane, Huntington Beach - map   
 
 
Sunday, March 6, 2016 * 3:00 p.m.
Newport Harbor Lutheran Church
798 Dover Drive, Newport Beach - map   
 
 
Adults: $30      Seniors (65+):  $25      Students (with ID): $15
 
Group discounts of 10% available for groups of six or more!  
Order online today!

Will You Help Us Meet the Challenge?

You were incredibly generous last year, both in meeting our UK Tour goals and our challenge grant goals. Thank you! Will you help us meet the challenge again this year?

We are in the second year of our three-year challenge grant, and our anonymous donor is offering a two-for-one deal! Every dollar you donate to our challenge grant fund will be matched twice over, up to $2,500. We are at $775 right now--will you help us close the gap? There are two ways to donate:

By mail: send your check to the Orange County Women's Chorus, 23802 Avenida de la Carlota, Laguna Hills, CA  92653; note "challenge grant" in the memo section.

Online: just click the image below, and select "challenge grant" from the drop down menu.


Our challenge grant funds are dedicated to artistic excellence--you'll be investing in the great things we have planned for you this season and next year, including outstanding instrumentalists and a new commission from Joan Szymko (premiering in 2017)! Thank you for your generosity.
Introducing our New Board Members!

Chardette Jameson
We are so excited to welcome four new Board members to our team this year. You'll meet two of them in this edition, and two more before our final season concert. Please join us in welcoming the new members of our Board!

Chardette Jameson has been singing with OCWC since 2014. She has worked in the healthcare industry for over 20 years for such companies as GSK and Merck, and is currently working in marketing for Metagenics. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Illinois State University and a Master's in Business Administration from Pepperdine University. Chardette has a passion for the arts and vocal performance and previously sang with the Irvine Valley College Master Chorale. We're delighted to have her share her many talents with the OCWC. She is assisting with our marketing and public relations efforts on the Board.
 
Team OCWC ready to run at Regent's Park, July 2015
In addition to the OCWC, Chardette is involved with a local women's triathlon training team called Tri La Vie. This group of amazing women has inspired Chardette to swim, bike, and run since 2012. Starting with a challenge by a friend to run a 10k trail race, Chardette has since gone on to participate in several Sprint Distance triathlons, run several half marathons, and also run the Los Angeles Full Marathon in 2015...all 26.2 miles from Dodger Stadium to the Santa Monica Pier. During our trip to England last summer, she even convinced several of our chorus members to join a race in London the morning after we arrived!
 
Chardette's Bear
When she's not working, singing, or running, Chardette can usually be found somewhere near our beautiful beaches playing with her 11-year-old, blind, yellow Labrador retriever, Bear. 

You've no doubt met another of our new Board members, Heather Spickard, at one of our concerts. Heather's energy and enthusiasm are boundless, and she is a passionate advocate and ambassador for the OCWC. Heather learned Japanese during her early school years, lived in Japan during high school, and went on to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese at the University of Oregon. She is currently working for Apple as an educational technologist, and she is pursuing her master's degree in educational technology at California State University--Long Beach. Heather is a life-long volunteer, with more than a decade of experience as a Rotarian. We're thrilled to welcome her to the Board, where she's employing her skills in fundraising and development as well as in marketing.

Heather Spickard and Alexander Demestrescu
Heather is planning an August 2016 wedding to Alexander Demetrescu, whom you may also have met! Alexander has been volunteering for the OCWC almost since the moment Heather joined us in 2013, and he can most often be seen at the box office selling tickets at the door and greeting our patrons. He and Heather often work together at our silent auctions, facilitating our checkout process. We are grateful to both of them for their devoted volunteer service, and we wish them a lifetime of happiness as they embark on their new adventure!
The Orange County Women's Chorus
Eliza Rubenstein, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Sarah Hughes, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
23802 Avenida de la Carlota
Laguna Hills, CA  92653
(949) 451-8590
www.ocwomenschorus.org