History

of

The United States Army Chorus

 

For fifty years, The United States Army Chorus has been America’s vocal ambassador to the world, but the roots of the elite 28-man vocal ensemble go back ten years earlier. In 1946 the Army Band’s new Commander, Hugh Curry, expressed his wish to “field a Band with plenty of showmanship that not only plays well but also sings well.” His colleague in this effort was Samuel Loboda, a multi-talented instrumentalist with a love of male choral music, who established The U.S. Army Band Chorus in December, 1946 using instrumentalists from the Band.

After ten years the popularity of the Band Chorus, but also its limitations, were apparent. On August 14, 1956, Secretary of the Army Wilbur Brucker established The United States Army Chorus as a separate unit of forty singers plus pianists. Although the authorized size of the Chorus is now twenty-eight singers and two pianists, its performing schedule has never been busier. Its singers and pianists are selected by rigorous audition, and represent many of our nation’s finest music schools. Most hold graduate degrees in music. Four of the men, including both pianists, have doctorates. Many members of the Chorus have had distinguished careers on Broadway and on the stages of opera houses and concert halls worldwide.

The U.S. Army Chorus is among the few professional male choruses in the world, and the only remaining one in the military service bands of the United States. In addition to appearances at the White House for every president since Eisenhower, this unique group has also performed at the library dedications of Presidents Ford, Reagan, and Bush, and at the funerals of Presidents Johnson and Reagan. Entertaining frequently at military ceremonies and events of state at the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, and in the quarters of senior military leaders—notably for overseas counterpart visits—the U.S. Army Chorus is capable of singing in many foreign languages on short notice, and has been called by former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers “a strategic asset” in building international understanding. Soloists from the Chorus have entertained troops overseas alongside USO performers during Operation Desert Shield/Storm and during current operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In addition to its numerous community concerts and school outreach programs each year, the U.S. Army Chorus has appeared in notable concert halls across the country, such as New York’s Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Hollywood Bowl, Disney World, and the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. The National Symphony, Annapolis Symphony, Grant Park (Chicago) Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony orchestras have all featured the Chorus as guest performers. Periodically the U.S. Army Chorus is invited to give special performances at regional and national choral conventions of organizations such as the American Choral Directors Association and Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses, where they have profoundly inspired and influenced developing singers. Holiday television specials, national network morning shows, and evening variety and talk shows have all hosted the U.S. Army Chorus, as have major league baseball and NASCAR events. They have been featured performers on Army Television specials and Internet broadcasts seen and heard by our military service members around the world.