SFVMC is a 501(c)3 non-profit performance organization for choral singers representing the San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas. We are currently in partnership with two sister-organizations—the San Fernando Valley Symphony and LA Winds. By combining forces, we hope to bring iconic masterpieces to San Fernando Valley by unifying the trained musicians in the area. We also hope to bring new classical music by local composers to the concert stage.
History
The San Fernando Valley Master Chorale (SFVMC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit performance organization for choral singers representing the San Fernando Valley and surrounding communities.
SFVMC was founded in the spring of 1999. It was sponsored by the Premiere Chorale, a professional ensemble established by Terry Danne in 1977 under the auspices of the Bureau of Music, City of Los Angele.
SFVMC’s major performances have included Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah, Verdi’s Requiem, and John Rutter’s Gloria. The Master Chorale has appeared at venues including the Madrid Theatre, Los Angeles Pierce College, the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
In 2016, Charlie Kim became the Artistic Director of SFVMC, bringing renewed enthusiasm and a fresh artistic vision to the ensemble. Since then, his mission has been to honor Terry Danne’s original vision by creating opportunities for students, community volunteers, and professional musicians to collaborate in performances ranging from beloved classical masterworks to newly commissioned compositions.
In the spring of 2017, Kim began collaborating with composer-in-residence Sergio Barer to premiere several original works, including Moses, an Oratorio, performed with full orchestra at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in downtown Los Angeles, and The Nightmare and the Dream, presented in 2022 at Sinai Temple in Westwood.
Over the years, the SFVMC has had the honor of collaborating with numerous arts organizations throughout the San Fernando Valley and greater Los Angeles, including the San Fernando Valley Youth Chorus, LA Opera, LA Symphonic Winds, the LA Pierce College Choir, the Valley College Choir, Valley Opera Performing Arts, the Northridge United Methodist Chancel Choir, the Lark Musical Society Treble Choir “Tziatzan,” and the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, SFVMC remained active by creating a virtual choir program with online rehearsals, allowing singers from across America to join SFVMC by submitting individual audio tracks and video recordings that were combined into several full live-streamed concerts for audiences to enjoy from home. These virtual performances included “Celebrating Bernstein,” “Voices Rising,” “Choir-antine Christmas,” and “American Voices.”
In the spring of 2022, SFVMC welcomed John Bergquist as Associate Artistic Director. Since joining the organization, Bergquist has conducted several full concert programs, including “Holidays in the Valley: Celebrate the Mystery” in 2023 and “From Campfire to Concert Hall: A Legacy of American Folk Music” in 2025. SFVMC has also had the honor of premiering many of Bergquist’s original compositions, and in 2026, he was appointed Composer-in-Residence for the San Fernando Valley Master Chorale.
Looking ahead to the 2026 season, SFVMC is proud to be among the select organizations invited to perform as part of one of the San Fernando Valley’s most anticipated cultural events: the reopening of the historic Madrid Theatre in winter 2026.
Interested in singing with SFVMC?