History of The Contemporary Chorale

The Contemporary Chorale has brought quality entertainment to the Dallas metroplex for over 60 years. The organization was formed in 1956 as a women’s lecture group, The Richardson Harmonettes. Over the years, the group morphed and changed to reflect changes in culture and to stay relevant. The name was changed in 1974 to The Contemporary Chorale, as it remains today. The Chorale has had nine directors through its history and each one has brought their own mark to the group.

The Contemporary Chorale is a unique group of individuals from all over the North Texas area dedicated to entertaining our audiences, educating our members, and making a positive impact on our community. Our members represent Richardson, Garland, Sachse, Dallas, Murphy, Wylie, McKinney, Allen, Frisco, Melissa, and Commerce.

To meet the changing needs of current members and to attract additional members, we have made a concerted effort to embrace change. We have relocated our rehearsal venue, we changed our daytime rehearsals to evening, and changed our previously all-female membership to include men in 2012. As a result, our membership has increased dramatically, rising from an average of 35 members in 2013 to an average of 60 at present. As a result, our audiences have grown significantly.

Based in Richardson, a city influential in the technical industry, the Chorale has made considerable efforts to bring technology into our productions. Multimedia techniques are an integral part of our concerts and shows. The most complex demonstration of this can be seen in our “Virtual Contemporary Chorale”, the first of which premiered in 2014 and the most recent being in May 2016. Having recently celebrated 60 years, we are more excited than ever about our future.