A Tradition of Excellence

The FCS Organization

Board of Directors and Staff

"Music,

the greatest good

that mortals know,

and all of heaven

we have below"

- Joseph Addision

The FCS Family of Choruses

There are five choruses in the Fairfax Choral Society; the Adult Chorus, and four Youth ensembles, Da Capo Singers, Treble Singers, Concert Singers, and Master Singers. More information can be found on each of these groups on the "Ensembles" page of this website.

The Fairfax Choral Society – A Tradition of Excellence

Excerpt By Toni Breiter - FCS Advisory Committee Member

When several members of the Fairfax Music Guild decided in the fall of 1962 that it might be a good idea to form a chorus to perform Handel's Messiah, no one anticipated that the small ensemble would grow into one of the finest and most respected choral music organizations in the Washington, D.C., area.

The FCS is now a major choral association that offers a wide range of opportunities for singers to perform choral masterworks, provides music and voice education for youth choristers, presents premiere performances of choral works, and regularly performs in such venues as the George Mason University Center for the Performing Arts and the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall & Arts Center, Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus.

During the decade that Doug Mears has been at the head of FCS, he has raised the quality of performance ever higher, honing the membership into two tightly knit and musically versatile performing groups--the Chorus and Youth Choruses.

Mears also introduced the FCS to the joys of performance tours abroad. In 1998, a tour was made of France and included performances at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and at the Chartres Cathedral, as well as at festivals in Troyes and Reims. Singing in Notre Dame was one of the most exciting events he has ever experienced, says Mears.

"We performed at the High Mass on a Sunday," he says. "Fittingly, one of the selections was Ubi Caritas by the French composer Maurice Duruflé. At the end of that piece, the 'titular organist' at the back of this enormous church, who had not known in advance what we were going to sing, began to improvise on the theme of Ubi Caritas in an organ solo. It was magnificent."

At the end of the Mass, the priest announced to the congregation that they had been listening to the Fairfax Choral Society from the United States. "Slowly and majestically," Mears says, "the congregation, from the back of the church forward, began to quietly rise and then to applaud. The effect was overwhelming and there wasn't a dry eye among the chorus members. It was one of the most moving moments of my life."

The Future

Doug Mears has great visions for the future of FCS. "It's important that we not rest on our laurels," he says. "We have proved that we can perform even the most difficult choral works at the highest level of musical proficiency. We have proved that we can be a professionally managed organization. Now we must make sure that we continue growing and advancing our musical program. At 42, we are approaching middle age. That can be the best time of life for growth and development."

Mears includes among his goals for FCS introduction of guest conductors to provide more wide-ranging experiences for singers, initiation of a competition for composers of choral music, expansion of the size of the chorus, addition of more focused administrative positions, and inclusion of regular tours outside of the United States.

If, as Mears says, middle age can be the most fruitful time of life, then surely for FCS the best is yet to come.

_____

Toni Breiter was a member of the FCS Chorus and Chorale for 20 years. Currently, she is a member of the Advisory Committee Panel. Now living in Utah, she is the Executive Director of the Park City/Summit County Arts Council. Occasionally, she can be seen sitting in the alto section when her travels bring her into town during a rehearsal period.

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