February 07 2012
 
About About

About Santa Monica Chorus

 

Who We Are

Past Awards

 

2011: Region 11 Chorus Champions (1st Place Finalists)
2011: Region 11 Mid-Size Chorus Champions

2011: Audience Choice Award - Region 11

 

2010: Region 11 Mid-Size Chorus Champions

2010: Second Place Regional Finalists - Region 11

2009: Second Place Mid-Size Chorus Finalists
2009: Third Place Regional Finalists - Region 11
 
2008: Third Place International Finalists IES
2008: Region 11 - Audience Choice Award
2008: Second Place Mid-Size Chorus Finalists
2008: Third Place Regional Finalists

2007: Region 11 Mid-Size Chorus Champions
2007: Third Place Regional Finalists

 

2006: Second Place International Finalists IES
2006: Region 11 Mid-Size Chorus Champions
2006: Third Place Regional Finalists

 

2005: Region 11 Small Chorus Champions
2005: Third Place Regional Finalists

2004: Second Place Mid-Size Chorus Finalists
2004: Fourth Place Regional Finalists

2003: Second Place Mid-Size Chorus Finalists
2003: Fourth Place Regional Finalists

 

2001: Region 11 Small Chorus Champions
2001: Fourth Place Regional Finalists

The Santa Monica Chorus is a chapter of Sweet Adelines International. We are currently the Region 11 Chorus Champions of 2011. Our chorus has the proud distinction 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.

Our director of the past 23 years is Laura Pallas. Laura 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 International Faculty, and was awarded the title of "Master Director" in 2009 for scoring 620 points at the Region 11 Contest, as well as Director of the Year in 2011 for helping us win the Chorus Championship. In addition to directing the Santa Monica, Laura also directs the award-winning men's Valleyaires Chorus. She coaches quartets and choruses around the country. Laura also sang lead in the internationally competitive quartet, Naturally, Region 11 Quartet Champions in 2005.

What We Do
The Santa Monica Chorus loves to perform and entertain. That has been true through 62 years of singing and sharing our exciting barbershop sound. We can be heard throughout the year, singing for civic and charitable organizations, private groups, churches, community events, and fundraisers. We love to entertain by putting on our own musical events each year for the community, our friends, and families. We send “singing telegrams” on Mother’s Day. And being true to our commitment to sing and perform at the highest level possible, we compete each year in the Sweet Adelines International Regional Competition.

In addition to singing in the chorus, our members love to perform in quartets. We currently have five registered quartets in our chorus. This is a testament to the strong commitment to musical excellence of our members. Quarteting is fun but it requires real dedication to perfecting the craft of barbershop singing in order to perform competitively. Check out the Quartet page on our website.

Since our chapter was formed in 1949, we have maintained our goals of teaching and training our members in musical harmony and appreciation. We invest in training for our director, our musical leaders, and administrative staff. We continually strive to be better musicians and improve the quality of our musical product by hiring outside coaches and attending educational seminars sponsored by Sweet Adelines International. Our hard work has been rewarded many times over at regional competitions.