Recognized for its inspiring and exhilarating performances, the San Diego Master Chorale has served as the premiere choral ensemble of San Diego County since 1961. Featuring over 100 of the region’s finest singers, the SD Master Chorale performs classical masterworks, new music by contemporary composers, and diverse works of many styles under the direction of Music Director John K. Russell.

The mission of SD Master Chorale is to connect all people to the joy of professional-caliber live choral music and enrich lives by sharing what we have in common — our voice. Each year, the Chorale reaches tens of thousands of listeners both on stage and off through live performances and broadcasts on KPBS, San Diego’s NPR station. The SD Master Chorale can frequently be heard in collaboration with the San Diego Symphony, La Jolla Music Society & Chorus, and Mainly Mozart Festival.

The Chorale’s community programs include an annual High School Honor Choir Festival for more than 100 outstanding young singers featuring an all-day choral workshop culminating in a side-by-side concert with the Chorale for the community.

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The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is a choral symphony, the final complete symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, composed between 1822 and 1824. It was first performed in Vienna on 7 May 1824. The symphony is regarded by many critics and musicologists as Beethoven's greatest work and one of the supreme achievements in the history of music. One of the best-known works in common practice music, it stands as one of the most frequently performed symphonies in the world.

The Ninth was the first example of a major composer using voices in a symphony. The final (4th) movement of the symphony features four vocal soloists and a chorus in the parallel modulated key D major. The text was adapted from the "Ode to Joy", a poem written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785 and revised in 1803, with additional text written by Beethoven.

In 2001, Beethoven's original, hand-written manuscript of the score, held by the Berlin State Library, was added to the Memory of the World Programme Heritage list established by the United Nations, becoming the first musical score so designated.

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