A frommessage our Board President
Our 26th season took the OCWC to new heights, both at home and abroad. We are so grateful to our patrons, donors, friends, and family for helping us spread our wings. This season, I took on the mantle of President of the Board of Directors from Mary Langsdorf, Founding and Past President, without whom the OCWC would not be as successful as it is today. We are eternally grateful for her 25 years of service as Board President and her continued service as a Board member, singer, and friend.
The 2023—2024 season was an incredible year of exploration and adventure for the OCWC. These are some of the things the OCWC accomplished with your support:
We began our 2023—2024 season with a lively celebration of the holidays, featuring our wonderful pianist, Janelle Kim, in John Rutter’s beloved Dancing Day. In March 2024, we presented what may have been our most impactful concert to date: “Arms.” Audiences and singers alike were moved to tears as we explored the country’s fraught history of gun violence with musical meditations on fear, anger, healing, and love.
A few short weeks later, we hosted a magical iteration of our annual “Glass of Cabaret” fundraiser, during which solos and small groups cast an auditory spell as the audience enjoyed delicious treats, wine graciously provided by Vinos Unidos, and an incredible silent auction. With your help, we raised more than twice our fundraising goal!
You made our annual i��OCWC online fundraiser a rousing success, helping us raise nearly twice our goal.
We opened our arms for our June 2024 concert, “Wings,” an adventure through songs of flight, travel, and creatures of the sky.
Nearly two-thirds of OCWC singers traveled to Croatia in June 2024 for our third international tour. We opened the Večeri na Griču summer music festival in Zagreb, in collaboration with the Vladimir Prelog Choir. We traveled to the nearby medieval town of Samobor, where we performed and broke bread with Volkani Ansambl Samoborke.
We then toured the coast of the Istrian Peninsula and closed our tour with a concert overlooking the Adriatic Sea in Opatija. Your support provided over $20,000 in tour scholarships to singers who would otherwise not have been able to make the trip.
We appreciate your ongoing support. Our success would not be possible without your gifts. Thank you for continuing to believe in our mission, encouraging us to keep singing about tough subjects, and buoying us as we spread our wings in the hopes of achieving even bigger goals in the future!
Katrina Veldkamp President, Board of Directors
About us
Mission
The Orange County Women’s Chorus creates and performs outstanding choral literature, engages and enriches our audiences, and celebrates women in music.
Vision
The Orange County Women’s Chorus is nationally regarded as an artistic and organizational leader in women’s choral music.
Values
We, the singers and Board members of the Orange County Women’s Chorus, value:
Excellence: The Orange County Women’s Chorus pursues artistic excellence by recruiting talented and dedicated musicians, preparing and performing choral music with the highest level of artistic integrity, and commissioning new works for women’s voices.
Community: The Orange County Women’s Chorus fosters a deeply felt sense of community among its members. We support each other, have fun, and work together to achieve artistic excellence. The OCWC strives to extend this sense of community to our audiences, collaborators, and donors.
Diversity: The Orange County Women’s Chorus embraces different perspectives and abilities. We are women who come from a variety of backgrounds, life experiences, and professions, ranging in age from young adult to retirees. We are committed to performing music from different cultures and eras, in original languages.
Leadership: The Orange County Women’s Chorus is an advocate for women’s choral music and for women in music. We commission and perform new work for women’s voices and we offer opportunities for women to develop expertise and gain recognition as singers and conductors. Our board is actively engaged in organizational development, and is committed to adopting best practices for nonprofits and lifelong learning.
OCWC by the numbers:
Member tenure
Geographical distribution of singers
Our singers represent 23 communities in Orange County, 26 across southern CA.
of our singers live in Orange County.
Social media engagement is on the rise
FY24 vs. FY23 our Facebook & Instagram increased:
• 49% in reach
• 130% in followers
Percentage of current singers who were not yet born when the OCWC offered its first concert in December 1998: 12%
Tickets sold
1,214 tickets sold
vs. previous year of 1,124, an 8% increase
Donor growth
increase vs. last year. There were 336 individual (excluding singers and board members) donors. 21%
Number of conducting interns since 2002
Our commitment to access, diversity, equity, and inclusion
We are committed to creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable environment where board members, staff, volunteers, chorus members and audience members feel respected and valued regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation or identity, disability status or educational level.
We are committed to being nondiscriminatory and providing equal opportunities for employment, volunteering and advancement in all areas of our work.
We recognize that pervasive cultural biases and historic and institutional racism—whether conscious or unconscious, past or present—have benefited some communities while limiting opportunities and outcomes for communities of color. As artists, we seek to communicate with our audiences—and with each other—in ways that will shape a more positive and equitable future for everyone.
We respect the value that diverse life experiences bring to our board and leadership, and we strive to listen to and value the views and perspectives of our members and our audience.
A message from our Artistic Director
Sometimes a song becomes an anthem. Sometimes lyrics become a rallying cry. In our 26th season, we carried May Erlewine’s “Never One Thing,” in its brilliant arrangement by Corie Brown, with us both in California and in Croatia, bringing its message of the multitudes in each of us to audiences on both sides of the ocean. “I’m the underbelly, I am the claw—never one thing, no, not one thing at all!....I am a mother, I am a child, I am the meek, I am the wild! I am a witch, I am a saint, I am alive—never one thing!” That’s the kind of season we had: One full of witches and angels, mothers and children, wilderness and wonder, exploration and introspection.
We opened the year wearing our literal witch hats for a scary-awesome Halloween collaboration with Men Alive: The Orange County Gay Men’s Chorus, then followed that with a concert of holiday cheer centered around John Rutter’s beloved Dancing Day. In March we gave one of our most daring programs yet: “Arms,” a concert of music about America’s gun crisis, its victims, its survivors, and our vision of a better future, with special guests from the local chapter of Moms Demand Action. No performance we’ve ever presented has garnered the level of media attention that “Arms” did, but more importantly, none has evoked more emotion from our audience or our singers. Were you there? If so, we’re grateful to you for trusting us enough to go on that difficult but beautiful journey with us.
We closed the season with a concert about “Wings” of all sorts—the ones found on bees and birds and angels, the ones that buoy our ambition and imagination, and the ones that took 36 of us (plus a handful of traveling companions) to Croatia for nine marvelous days in late June and early July! Thanks in large part to the support of our generous donors, we sang in beautiful churches, shared concerts and meals with amazing local choruses, climbed a modest mountain to see a ruined castle, plunged off a boat alongside a happy dolphin in the Adriatic Sea, and even went truffle-hunting in the woods with two bouncy curly dogs. From its most elegant and perfectly-planned moments to its most spontaneous and unexpected joys, it was a trip we’ll never forget....and not just because our suitcases still smell like truffles!
It was a busy and dizzy season, with more laughs and more tears than perhaps any in the quarter-century of OCWC seasons before it. But that’s how we like it. “I am a woman, I am the ring, I am my own—never one thing!” Thanks, as always, for supporting us as we give voice to all the things that make us who we are.
Artistic highlights
Artistic highlights of our 2023—2024 season included...
Our friends at Men Alive: The Orange County Gay Men’s Chorus invited us to be their guests for a Halloween spectacular called “Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun”—and boy, did we ever have fun singing songs about witches and zombies for packed houses at the Irvine Barclay Theater!
Spirituals, carols, and original holiday tunes made for a holiday program that had all of us humming for days afterward. Our “Dancing Day” concert also featured the OCWC debut of our 2023-24 Conducting Intern, Abigail Sorber!
What can we say about “Arms”? We’ve never sung a concert of such raw emotion on such a difficult topic. As Eliza said in her introduction, music can’t change the gun violence crisis....but maybe it can help change us into people with the will to try.
Photo by Leonard Ortiz
Our trip to Croatia was full of artistic highlights, but one of our favorites was singing in the 14th— century Church of Saint Anastazija in the idyllic town of Samobor alongside our new friends from the Samoborke Vocal Ensemble.
In Zagreb, we got to meet Tihomir Petrović, one of the composers whose works we’ve performed. Not only did he come to meet us in our rehearsal, but he and his regal dog, Maks, attended our outdoor concert at Park Zrinjevac on a beautiful warm evening!
What did our singers think of our Croatia tour?
• Touring with this group is always extraordinary, because it’s not just about going places, it’s about going places with a sense of purpose with such lovely people. We are bound together by our joy in making music, but also by our delight in experiencing new and wonderful things.
• It was an amazing time to share our music with other people in other countries. At the same time, we learned and gained so much more than we gave, by being immersed in a different culture and different environment together.
• This tour was truly a once—in—a—lifetime experience. I don’t believe I’ll have another opportunity to visit Croatia, and I so enjoyed learning about Croatian history, culture, and music. Everyone we met was warm and welcoming, and we quickly learned that language barriers need not get in the way of understanding one another.
• Our Croatia tour was an amazing opportunity to strengthen our connection as an ensemble as we shared our music in new and exciting places! We learned about different music traditions and built relationships with people who share our passion for singing. Along the way, we experienced incredible scenery, food, and historical sights!
John Rutter “Coventry Carol” and “Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day”
Alysia Lee: Say Her Name (2020)
May Erlewine, arr. Corie Brown: Never One Thing (2019)
Artistic leaders
Janelle Kim, Pianist
Eliza Rubenstein, Artistic Director
Sarah Hughes, Assistant Director
Financial highlights
Our 2023—2024 season brought us the largest number of season ticket holders in our history, total ticket sales that approximated our pre—pandemic levels, and an incredible performance tour to Croatia. Tour revenue and expenses are excluded from our performance graphs, as the tour is largely self—funded by singers. Scholarships are available to those who could not otherwise participate, and we are extremely grateful to our generous donors who made it possible for us to grant more than $20,000 in scholarships for this tour. This fiscal year included no government grants, as COVID funding came to an end. Every gift you make, makes a difference!
How we’re funded
Excluding the tour, 62% of our contributed revenue came from individuals and corporations, including singers and board members. This is a larger percentage of the total pie than in prior years largely because recent years included grant funding designed to support organizations emerging from the pandemic. Ticket sales provided 18% of our total operating revenue, and we’re thrilled to see that number on an upward trajectory as patrons return to live performances. Our investment income provided a larger percentage of our total operating revenue, as we invested cash in certificates of deposit and high—yield savings accounts earning approximately 5%.
How we use our money
Excluding tour costs, 66% of our funding was spent on programming: artistic compensation and expenses, production costs, and marketing. Management and administrative expenses increased as a percentage of the whole because our Chorus Administrator supported us for the full year, compared to a partial year in 2023. Fundraising expenses remained consistent at 6% of total operating costs.
Unaudited Statement of Financial Position
as of June 30, 2024 and 2023
Unaudited Statement of Activities
Administrative leaders 2023-2024
BOARD PRESIDENT
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
FINANCE AND STRATEGY
LAUREL CHOWDHURY CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
MARGUERITE DUPRIEU
LAURA RAYNES
DATA ANALYTICS FOR AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT AND FUNDRAISING
ALEC WATERS OPERATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY
FINANCE AND STRATEGY
MARY C. LANGSDORF FOUNDING AND IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
KIM JENSEN
CHORUS ADMINISTRATOR
OPERATIONS
JASMINE NICHOLSON AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
KATRINA VELDKAMP
MARJORIE A. BEALE
JANET A. BRATTON
KATHRYN J. BALDASARI
Contributors
Dame Ethel Smyth’s Suffragist Army (Gifts of $2,500 and above)
Archarios Foundation
Janet Bratton and Tom Nichols
The Horowitz Group
Cynthia and David Knell
Mary and Bill Langsdorf
Leslie and Robert Mulford
Ellen Quandahl and Larry Wheeler
Laurie Soderberg, Kristen Soderberg, and Luke Goebel
Mary Watson
Clara Schumann’s Musical Family (Gifts of $1,500 - $2,499)
Anonymous
Kathryn and Nick Baldasari
Marjorie Beale and William Meyerhoff
Laurel and Debashis Chowdhury
Tracy and Barry Kogen
Kent Rhodes and Bob Gunn
Hildegard von Bingen’s Community of Vision (Gifts of $500 to $1,500)
AYCO Charitable Foundation, Jeffrey A. and Susan L. Berkel Fund
Benevity, Inc.
Boeing Corporation
Sherry Caldwell
Elizabeth Cowan and Rebecca Chadwick
John Feeney
Patricia and Richard George
John Holcombe and Jeff Whittaker
Steven and Faith James
Kimberly Jensen
Jill Johnson-Tucker and Larry Tucker
Chiara and Vincent Ko
Karen and James McBride
Katherine McKalip
Patricia Morgan
Lindsey Philpott
PwC
Laura Raynes and Mark Dizon
Lisa Roetzel and Alan Terricciano
Calvin and Caroline Roetzel
Eliza Rubenstein
Martha Selby
Val Simson
Sherri Sobel
Dr. Sharon Stevenson
Claire and David Stoneman
Truist Financial Corportion
Barbara and James van Gaasbeek
Harry and Sara Veldkamp
Katrina Veldkamp and Michael Fischer
Claudia Villamizar
Petrina Walker
Megan and Alec Waters
Karen Zfaty
Fanny Mendelssohn’s Musical Salon (Gifts of $150 to $499)
Anonymous
Blessing Agunwamba
Erin and Jon Allen
Mike Auchter
Jayne and David Baldwin
Linda Barnhurst
Linda and George Bauer
Elizabeth Bjornsti and Christopher Persichilli
Carolyn and John Breihan
Nancy Burke and Dominic Holzhaus
Jessica Cosley
Braddie and David Dooley
Ernest Duarte
Marguerite and Jean Baptiste Duprieu
Boska and Joseph Dzida
Bill and Beth Eldon
Julie Fischer
Janelle Forney
Shannon Fowler
Kendal Frear
Merrilee Gardner
Jessica Garibay
Allison Gibbons
Adriana Gomez
Janice and Paul Goodwin
Samantha and Tom Gossage
Michael Guscott
Ako Harada
Lindsie Hardy
Lela and Scott Hardy
Marie Hayes
Emily Horowitz and Chatom Arkin
Alexander Iles
Susan Jarratt
Bethany Justice
Jasmine Khorsandi
Genie Kirchner
Cheryl Knudsen
Jeff Kogen
Jaquelyn Kothari
Felicia Lee
Kathleen Lyttle
Kate Manders
Cheryl Maxson
Shauna McFadden and Shanna George
Theresa and Mark McManigal
Karina Melgar
Logan Mintz-Hernandez
Carole and Alex Mintzer
Darlene Moen
Michael and Joan Neuscheler
Brian Noel
Shannon Ord
Fiona Parker
Josefina Parungao
MaCall Potter
Francie Quaas-Berryman
Andrea Romero
Elyse and Brad Rosborough
Margie and Gary Sacks
Mai Saito
Paul Sammon and Tom Hall
Paul Sandorff
Rachel and Joe Sosta
Heather Spickard and Alexander Demetrescu
Cathryn Starr and Ronald Banks
Sara Stearns and Brad Hammond
Judy Tanasse
Brittany Traufler
Anne Walthall
Frank Washington
Yvonne Waters
Mikita Weaver
Stephanie and Keith Wright
Jennifer Yalamanchi
Marion and Steve Yerxa
Chiara Margarita Cozzolani’s Chorus
(Gifts up to $149)
Anonymous
Lorna Adkins
Ladan Akbarnia
Kathy Alberti
Rick Anderson
Susan Anguiano
Franklin Anvia
Kelly and Philip Arnold
Carole Arvidson
Linda Axel
Maria Bach
Catherine Bailey
Harold and Marianna Baker
Sue Ballew
Helen Bauer
Christopher Beach
Patricia Beck
Adam Belhouchat
Diana Bellafiore
Sarah Benson
Kieran and Marilyn Bergin
Pamela Bertin
Gillian Bidgood
Carol and Larry Black
Christopher Blank and Josie Badeaux
Kira Blumberg
Carol Boldt
Rosemary Boyd
Tina Bradley
Lianne Bremer
Judy Bronson
Peter and Melissa Browning
Emily Bruce
Sandi Buzzell
Cristina Calderone
Deborah and Don Calkins
JoJo and Mike Caprini
Leslie Carr
Julie Carroll
Kathryn Cartelli
Donna Catalano
Galen Centeno
Julie Chay
Fidelity Charitable
Denise Chilcote
Jinshik Chung
Rachel Cleary
Chuck and Janet Coe
Danielle Cohen
Patti Melvin Collen
Christine Cook
Christopher and Marika Cook
Richard and Libby Cook
Karen Cook and Roy Nichols
Carolyn Cooper
Gretchen Cranor
Christine Cwiertny
John Dablow III
Timothy Deutschman
Clyde Dodge
Cindy Donaldson
Emily Done
Cynthia Downing
Gail Dufour
Troy Eades
Dolores Ealy-O’Neal
Stephanie Eckerman
Linda Edey
Carolyn Estrada
Christine Evans
Sharon Everley
Janielle Fagent
Donald Fike
Debbie Fleming
Steve Forney
Aviva Forster
Dave Frear
Sandy Galin
Susan Garrett
Wendy Gary
Nancy Gehlbach
Diane Gillean
Oliver Glenn
Bruce and Sharon Goldstein
Rick Golson
Guillermo Gomez, Jr.
Marissa Gonzalez
Christina and Mike Grant
Michael Burton and Ellen Greenberger
Aaron Griffith
John and Stella Hacker
Cricket Handler
Justine Hansen
Judy Hante
Valerie Hardman
Jonathan Haviv
KJ (Kim) Heidebrecht
Paul Heng and Bunthy Kuooch
Bob Higginbotham
Coty Hitchcock
Cheri Clark Hodgson
Caran Holland
Laurie Hoops
Margaret Houck
Joshua Hummel
Karen Ann Hurst iGive.com Holdings, LLC
Melanie Inskeep
Rick Isaacs
Janet Cooper Jackson
Betty Jackson
Chardette Jameson
Joyce Jenson
David Jimenez
Tommi Johnson
Lynne Kabaczy
Masahito Kagawa
Kathleen and Mark Karnowski
Wyatt Kiedrowski
Suzanne Klein
Abhay Kothari
Ashleigh Kovach
Randi Kraemer
Kroger
Saeko Kujiraoka
Deborah Kuryan
Arlie Langager
Emily Larson
Teresa LePage
Susan and Rich Liechty
CJ Lucke
Carie Lynn
Nina Macdonald and Ted Wright
Elizabeth Maciag
Gigi Maki
Elizabeth Manji
Hazel Mann
Frank Manning
Jeremy Manweller
Timothy and Diana Martin
Mary Martin
Richard Martin
Matthew Martinez
Lourdes and Timothy Mason
Joanna Maxwell
Linda Mayer
Donna McCune and Tim Walker
James McCurdy
Jamie S. McDonald
Danny Mckee
Carol McLaughlin
Kirke and Donata Mechem
Howard Meharg
Thomas Meisenhelder
Jeanette Melgar
Diane Menninger
Sally Menzel
Stephanie Meyer
William Meyerhoff
Steven Michel
John Middlebrooks
Steve Milloy
Penelope Milne
Rohde and Alejandro Morales
Maria Moretti
Lynn Morgan
Midori Morimoto
Masako Morita
Jennifer Mulford
Nicolette Myers
Neeti Nanda
Kim Nason
Angela Nelson
Angel Nguyen
Kevin Nicholson
Caroline Nicholson
Sabrina Niselman
Kevin Nordine
Renée and Cory Oakes
Leah Omaiye
Sam Orfield
Andrea Paris
Madge McCollum Parker
Susan Parr
Olivia Parungao
Neal Paton
Karen Pender
Franz Potter
Christopher Pounds
Teri Pearson Poythress
Kimberly Pressley
Carrie Preusse
Linda and JT Price
Linda C. Radano and David Shuler
Jocelyne Ramirez
Doreen C. Ramsey
Ed Reese
Fatima Rizvi-Flores
Julie Roberts
Vicki Roberts
Stephen Rochford
Mary Roetzel
Jennifer Rohen
Jesus Romero
William Roop
Kierstyn Rosales
Ashley Rose
Jessica Rubenstein
Meghan and Eric Ruggio
Julian Rymar
Joann Schaum
Carolyn Scheer
Marcia Carroll Scholl
Stephanie E Scott
Barbara Seagren
Lisa Sedares
Teresa Sforza
Teri Sforza
Dean Shackle
Catherine Sharbaugh
Angie Sharp
Lynn Shipley
Val Shirgal
Ellen Shockro
Pamela Silk
Janet Smith
Magen Solomon
John Sorber
Nathan Staph
Paula-Rose Stark
Terry Steagall
Chris Sumpter
Albert Swarthout
Kathleen Sylvester
Mariko Takahashi
Darryl Taylor
Lisa Thess
Paula Thomas
Tony Thornton
James Toledano
Celine Torkan
Dale Trumbore
Michael Tucker
Ann Tweedy
Karen Tyson
Ellen Upton
Nicolas Urrea
Vanessa Vail
Nancy Valett
Luke Verseput
Murray and April Wachtenheim
Kenneth Waldram
Eric Walton
Robert L. Ward and Atzin Azpeitia
Marie Washington
Michelle and David Washington
Martin Waters
Raven Weaver
Herbert G Weaver Jr
Merri Weir
Denise Weiss
Lynn West
Van White
Monique Wike
James Wilson
Tracy Winfree
Andrea Wooldridge
Marilyn Wright
Marion Yerxa
Anne Yung
Allison Zema
Jingyuan Zhang
Chung Cha Ziesel-Fitch
Max and Saeko Zirkelbach
In-kind Donors, FY24
We cheerfully accept in-kind donations to support our general business needs (for example, printer paper, file folders, printer ink), our annual fundraising events (for example, wine, hors d’oeuvres, and items for our silent auction, including event tickets, gift cards, gift baskets, and experiences), and our tours and travel (airline miles are most welcome!). If you would like to make an in-kind donation, please email us. The Orange County Women’s Chorus operates under 501(c)(3) non-profit status, Federal Tax ID 330895635. Please consult your tax advisor to determine the deductibility of your donation.
The OCWC gratefully acknowledges the following individuals, businesses, and organizations for their generous in-kind donations of goods and services in the 2023 – 2024 season. These include donations to our silent auction, use of facilities, and pro bono or discounted services. We encourage our supporters to patronize the arts and cultural organizations and businesses below.
Kathryn and Nick Baldasari
Baroque Music Festival
Elizabeth Bjornsti
Bowers Museum
Janet Bratton and Tom Nichols
Chance Theater
Laurel and Debashis Chowdhury
Coastal Kitchen
Lindsie Hardy
Historic Mission San Juan Capistrano
Huntington Beach Symphony Orchestra
Jasmine Khorsandi
Cynthia and David Knell
Chiara and Vincent Ko
Jaquelyn Kothari
Laguna Art Museum
Laguna Beach Chamber Singers
Mary and Bill Langsdorf
Lyon Air Museum
MenAlive, Orange County Gay Men’s Chorus
Logan Mintz-Hernandez
Patricia Morgan
Leslie and Robert Mulford
Pacific Chorale
Pacific Symphony
Philharmonic Society of Orange County
Ellen Quandahl and Larry Wheeler
Lisa Roetzel and Alan Terricciano
Laurie Soderberg
South Coast Repertory
South Coast Symphony
Claire and David Stoneman
Katrina Veldkamp and Michael Fischer
Vinos Unidos Wines
Mikita Weaver
Webb Grain Works
