Our History
The Vero Beach Choral Society began in 1984 under the direction of Dr. Ray Adams. No one anticipated its rapid growth and development. The dedicated members, their willingness to work hard along with the cooperative spirit helped the VBCS to gain the support of the community and achieve many wonderful presentations. Invitations to participate in choral venues around the United States and in Europe were an added bonus.
In July 1991 the VBCS was selected to participate in the Bridges of Song Festival for Peace held in Tallin, Estonia. The Cultural Affairs Offices of the United States Department of State recognized this festival. A grant for $5000 was awarded by the Florida Department of Cultural Affairs to help defray some of the expenses. 20,000 singing voices comprised the chorus and the multinational audience numbered 200,000.
In 1994, at the invitation of Sir David Willcocks, we participated in the 10th International Church Music Festival in Coventry, England. As Vero Beach choral ambassadors we were able to sing in Coventry Cathedral followed by a two-week tour of England and Scotland with concerts in two other cathedrals (St. Giles’, Edinburgh and Worcester).
After a rigorous audition process, the VBCS was accepted to sing in the Haydn Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt and Vienna, Austria, held in the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt. Singers and musicians from around the world compete for the honor of participating in this annual event. The VBCS had 40 of the 165 voices in the chorus, which gave us the honor of being the Choir in Residence. As Choir in Residence we were able to give individual performances at the Pfarrkirche in Grossgmain, Salzburg, the Stadtfarrkirche in Mattersburg and the Bergkirche in Eisenstadt.
Performances at Carnegie Hall in New York City occurred in May of 2001 and April 2005.
In 2001 the VBCS split into two units. The larger of the two groups took on a new name; Treasure Coast Chorale while the smaller auditioned select choral group retained the name of the Vero Beach Choral Society. The two groups continued working together until the summer of 2005 when the groups became independent of each other. In August, 2011, the name Vero Beach Choral Society was formally adopted as the 501(c)(3) and performing group name.