The Peninsula Women's Chorus is an award-winning female choir based at Palo Alto, California.
History
In 1966, after a decade of involvement with local musical ensembles, Marjorie Rawlins of Palo Alto founded the American Association of University Women Midpeninsula Chorus, with 17 members. She soon recognised the limitations of working within the AAUW graduates' organisation, and abandoned the affiliation; the choir was subsequently renamed the University Women’s Chorus. The principles established from the outset were that, although the choir was informal, its aims would be ambitious. In particular, members were expected to sing all pieces from memory, and the repertoire was to be ambitious, with many pieces sung in foreign languages. When Mrs Rawlins left in 1975, the members, by then increased to over 50, appointed 25-year-old Patricia Hennings as their new director. Under her leadership the choir, soon rechristened the Peninsula Women's Chorus to emphasize its inclusive recruiting policy, continued to increase its standards, and in 1982 was selected by Stanford University for a project to record vocal scores written from memory in a Second World Warprison camp on Sumatra by Margaret Dryburgh and Norah Chambers, as recorded in the TV documentary Song of Survival. This was such a success that the Chorus performed in Europe in 1984. Patricia Hennings, after suffering for several years from cancer, died in December 2001; for a short time her place was taken by Karen Robinson, until the current director, Argentinian-born Martín Benvenuto, was appointed in fall 2003.
Unusual Repertoire
The Peninsula Women's Chorus adopted a policy of commissioning new works to suit the Chorus, in addition to scouring the musical histories of cultures throughout the world. In both 1999 and 2003, the Chorus received ASCAP awards for adventurous programming- the first group to receive the award twice, and between 1987 and 2001, they performed three times for the national convention of the American Choral Directors' Association. In 1996, the Chorus released a CD, and several others have followed since.
Grants, honors and awards
In 2011, the PWC won second place in the American Prize for Choral Performance for its 2010 CD.
In 2011, the PWC was selected to participate in the Seghizzi International Competition of Choral Singing in Gorizia, Italy.
PWC was awarded a grant in 2009 from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, which recognizes performing organizations "whose artistic excellence encourages and improves public knowledge and appreciation of serious contemporary American music."
In 2006, the PWC was awarded third place in the Béla Bartók 22nd International Choir Competition and Folklore Festival, women's division. * Twice the PWC has received the prestigious ASCAP award for adventurous programming, most recently in June 2003, reflecting the excitement of performing challenging contemporary music from around the world.
