Washington, D.C. (August 20, 2021) — As the Choral Arts Society of Washington enters its 56th season, it announces the departure of Artistic Director Scott Tucker. Tucker will conduct the upcoming season, a robust and exciting 18-performance schedule that will include the East Coast premiere of An African American Requiem by composer Damien Geter, the annual  Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute with Washington Performing Arts, and Mahler’s “Resurrection Symphony” conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas with the National Symphony Orchestra.  

“It has been my great honor to serve as your Artistic Director,” stated Tucker.  “As I look forward to my tenth and final season with Choral Arts, I look back with a tremendous sense of pride on the improvements we have made musically, the collaborations we have established and the way we have awakened music in the hearts of so many.”

“We are sincerely grateful for Scott’s steadfast leadership and inspiration over this past decade,” remarked Executive Director Tad Czyzewski. “Scott has been an integral part of Choral Arts and has brought the organization to new heights. We wish him the very best as he embarks on his next chapter.” 

After taking the baton from Choral Arts founder, Norman Scribner, a decade ago, Tucker has contributed many notable accomplishments including the founding of two new ensembles, appearances on five recordings, led groundbreaking performances and an international tour. Highlights include:

• Grew Choral Arts from a single ensemble by founding the Chamber Singers to transport audiences in smaller venues with music written for up to 40 voices, and the Youth Chorus to awaken new worlds for young singers
• Launched Choral Arts on a path to immersive choral experiences with the critically acclaimed program, Into the Light at Dupont Underground
• Appeared on five recordings, most recently Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with conductor Yanick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra
• Received frequent invitations to conduct in the Washington, DC area including Ireland’s Poet-Patriots at the Washington National Cathedral, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, and the 2018 Serenade! Festival finale concert Mandela at 100: Songs of Hope, Justice and Unity at the Kennedy Center
• Prepared the Symphonic Chorus for “Two Countries, One Stage”, a five-city tour of China with the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Zhang Guoyong with over 100 choral members
• Prepared multiple premieres from composers such as Jake Runestad’s Ave Verum (2017 world premiere commission) and Dominick DiOrio’s Silent Moves the Symphony True (2019 World Premiere Co-Commission with The “President’s Own” United States Marine Band)
• Prepared the chorus for performances with more than five major orchestras such as the National Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic

“We have begun the search for the next Artistic Director and look forward to finding someone who will lead Choral Arts into the next decade of achieving our mission to reawaken human capacity for awe through the power of choral music, which we believe our society needs now more than ever,” stated Czyzewski.

To stay up to date with the latest news from the Choral Arts Society of Washington, follow @ChoralArtsDC on Instagram and Facebook or visit choralarts.org.

ABOUT CHORAL ARTS

At Choral Arts, we sing the music we love as a balm to frenzied days, an antidote to solitude, a union in an often-fractured world. We sing for a city with little time and high expectations, which compels us to transform a night out into a lifelong memory. Founded in 1965 by Norman Scribner (1936-2015), Choral Arts has a rich history of bringing the power of the human voice to audiences large and small, advancing the story of choral music by partnering with a myriad of musicians, composers, and ensembles. 

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