Album Notes

Anchorage Concert Chorus

In the spring of 1947, the frontier town of Anchorage, Alaska, experienced the birth of its first choral group. Drawn primarily from the town’s church choirs to perform Handel’s Messiah, the group was named A Choir of All Faiths. By 1950, the choir, with its broader membership, became a non-profit organization named the Anchorage Community Chorus. In 1992, with the arrival of its sixth director, Grant Cochran, the group changed its name to the Anchorage Concert Chorus.

The early years included national television broadcasts on the Bing Crosby and Ed Sullivan Shows as well as a performance on Garrison Keillor’s radio program “A Prairie Home Companion.” Chorus leadership also spearheaded the inception of the Alaska Festival of Music in 1956, beginning a longtime association with Robert Shaw.

A resident company at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, the Chorus continues to perform a wide variety of music, ranging from the classical masterworks to contemporary and popular pieces. The Chorus also frequently collaborates with other local organizations such as the Alaska Dance Theatre, Alaska Children’s Choir, Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, Alaska Chamber Singers, Anchorage Opera, Anchorage Youth Symphony and guest artists of the Anchorage Concert Association. It received the Governor’s Arts Award for “Outstanding Arts Organization” in 2001.

The Chorus has toured abroad to Great Britain, Canada, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Australia, New Zealand, and Russia. Memorable “Lower 48” tours included an appearance at the 1979 national convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Kansas City and concerts at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. In 1996, the Chorus took fifth place at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales.

The Christmas CD Sounds of the Season is the first album produced by the Chorus in its 62 year history and includes original arrangements by current conductor/artistic director Dr. Grant Cochran. It also includes an arrangement of Three Kings of Orient by former accompanist, Timothy Heavner.

To contact the Chorus look on our website: anchorageconcertchorus.org
email concertchorus@gci.net or call 907.274.7464.