A gala 40 years in the making A gala 40 years in the making (February 20, 2004)

Schola Cantorum hits a major milestone

By Dan Stapleton

It takes something special to make a good thing last. That says something about the Mountain View-based choral group Schola Cantorum, which celebrates its 40 year anniversary this year.

In honor of its birthday, the chorus is hosting a dinner and dance at the Crowne Plaza Cabana hotel in Palo Alto on Saturday. Proceeds from sales of the $125 tickets go towards the organization's general operating expenses.

Schola Cantorum, which is Latin for "school for singing," was founded in 1964 by renowned composer, conductor and teacher Royal Stanton, who directed the group until 1982. Made up of 130 volunteer men and women ages 24 to 78 from around the Bay Area, the group performs from San Francisco to San Jose. Over its history Schola Cantorum has performed with many groups including the San Francisco Symphony and the Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra.

Schola has been led for the past 15 seasons by director Gregory Wait, who is also director of Stanford's vocal studies program.

"We're a community-based volunteer group, and what we really do is try to set high musical standards and do our best to meet them. And I think that's essentially been the overall goal of the ensemble since it was founded," said Wait.

Wait said Schola's versatility sets it apart from other choir groups. "It's the ability as a large chorus to do many different kinds of music," he said. "We're not pigeonholed by doing just the kind of music a big chorus does. We can do jazzier things as well as secular and religious things. That's been pretty much my vision, and we're on track with that."

Colleen Watson, 73, of Santa Clara has been with the group since its first season in 1964. "Royal Stanton and my husband were both in an administrator's class at San Jose State. Royal was talking about a new symphonic chorus that he was working on, and my husband came home and said I should audition," she said. Watson, a former San Jose High School teacher, is both a singer and the group's historian.

Watson credits the group's longevity to the enthusiasm and pride they take in their singing. "Everybody in here loves music, loves good music, loves the sound of being in the center of music," she said. "We're there because we like being part of the best. There's a great quality of music and a great quality of people involved and we do great work, and you can't get better than that."

Schola Cantorum's next performance will be Bach's "Mass in B Minor" on March 20, followed by a newly commissioned work by Mountain View composer Alva Henderson entitled "Winter Requiem."

"That really shows Schola for what it is. We do the old works but we're also at the forefront of developing new music," said Wait.

For more information on Schola, call 254-1700 or visit www.scholacantorum.org.

E-mail Dan Stapleton at dstapleton@mv-voice.com

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