Raincross Master Chorale seeks a new director
The Raincross Master Chorale, Riverside’s community chorus, is searching for a new director to conduct the choir of approximately 40 voices.
Raincross Master Chorale’s previous director, William Brakemeyer, conducted the group for eight years before health concerns prompted him to resign in February, just before the group’s Feb. 26 evensong concert, according to a news release.
Linda Burkhart, a soprano in the group, stepped in to direct at the last minute in February. For the spring concert, Jonathan Osbrink, choir director at Riverside’s Calvary Presbyterian Church, will act as the interim director.
“For fall, we want to do a wide search,” Mary Ellen Gruendyke, president of chorale’s board of directors, said in the news release. “We want to say thanks to Bill Brakemeyer for all he has done to offer our singers a choral music experience that provides for ongoing education and enrichment of musical skills and techniques.”
The Raincross Master Chorale typically sings three concerts a year, with proceeds paying for college scholarships for students majoring in music. The scholarship winners sing at the spring concert each May.
The chorus includes singers of all ages and is always recruiting new members. The first rehearsal for the spring concert is 7 p.m. Tuesday at Victoria Presbyterian Church, 6091 Victoria Ave., Riverside.
The Raincross Master Chorale’s roots go back to the founding of the Riverside Civic Chorus in 1945. The Riverside Master Chorale and Raincross Chorale merged in 2016 to become the Raincross Master Chorale.
For information about joining the chorale or applying for the paid director position, go to Raincrossmasterchorale.org. April 10 is the deadline for applications for the director position.