THE SANTA MONICA CHORUS

The Santa Monica Chorus is a chapter of Sweet Adelines International. Our chorus has the distinct honor of being the oldest Sweet Adelines chapter west of the Rocky Mountains. We received our charter on July 25, 1949, only four years after the founding of Sweet Adelines International. However, we don't feel old! We are proud to have earned 18th place in the 2022 International Competition in Phoenix, Arizona.

Laura Pallas has been our Director for 30 years. She is an accomplished musician, performer, and regional and international competitor who specializes in vocal production and technique. She holds an M.F.A. in Vocal Pedagogy, is a member of the Sweet Adelines Regional Faculty, and was awarded the title of "Master Director" in 2009 for scoring 620 points at the Region 11 Contest. She coaches quartets and choruses around the country. Laura also sang lead in the internationally competitive quartet, Naturally, Region 11 Quartet Champions in 2005

EDUCATION

In addition to sharing our music with others, another great passion of ours is learning more about the art of a cappella singing. Vocal instruction is a regular part of chorus rehearsals, and a very important component of the chorus experience. A couple of times a year, we will get coaching from a visiting master in the art of barbershop, where we learn many fabulous tricks of the trade.

COMPETITION

In the spring of every year, The Santa Monica Chorus participates in the Region11 chorus competition in Bakersfield, CA. Competitions are a special time for quartets and choruses from our region to come together to sing for each other, and get some constructive feedback from a panel of judges. The winners of the regional competition in both quartet and chorus categories get to travel to International Competition, which is held in the fall in a city selected each year.

QUARTETS

Most choruses have a number of members who form their own vocal quartets in addition to singing with the chorus. Santa Monica Chorus currently is home to a number of wonderful quartets, and we are very proud of them! Go to our Quartets area to learn more about them.

AFFILIATION

Santa Monica Chorus is a chapter of Sweet Adelines, International, a non-profit organization of approximately 30,000 members in choruses and quartets, worldwide. The Headquarters is in Tulsa, Oklahoma.