Critically acclaimed for its brilliant sound, robust energy, and sensitive delivery of the text, the PHILHARMONIA CHORALE was formed in 1995 to provide a vocal complement whose fluency in the stylistic language of the Baroque period matched that of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. The 24 Chorale members are professional singers with distinguished solo and ensemble experience. Members of the Chorale appear regularly with organizations such as the San Francisco Symphony, the Carmel Bach Festival, and the American Bach Soloists, are guest soloists with most of the area’s symphonic and choral organizations, appear in roles with regional opera companies, and have been members and founders of some of the country’s premier vocal ensembles, including Chanticleer, the Dale Warland Singers, and Theatre of Voices.

Founded by John Butt, a Baroque keyboardist and one of the world’s leading Bach scholars, the Chorale has been led by conductor and musicologist Bruce Lamott since 1997. In its first decade, the Chorale’s repertoire has included nine Handel oratorios, Bach’s St. John Passion and Christmas Oratorio, Mozart’s C-minor Mass, and — in collaboration with other choral ensembles — Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The Chorale made its New York debut at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1990, and recently appeared with the Orchestra at the new Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Orange County. The Chorale appears on PBO’s recordings of Arne’s Alfred, Alessandro Scarlatti’s Cecilian Vespers, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.