OCWC 2024-2025 Annual Report

Annual Report

2024 - 2025

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A message from our Board President Our 27th season took us on a journey through time and place, considering where we’ve been, where we’re going, and what we’ll leave behind. We are so grateful to our patrons, donors, friends, and family for going on the journey with us.

The 2024-2025 season was a year of growth and development for the OCWC, centered around music that made all the difference. These are some of the things the OCWC accomplished with your support during the 2024-2025 season: We began our 2024-2025 season with a look back at where we’ve been on our OCWC tours, singing songs from England and Wales, Canada, and Croatia, including Derek Holman’s Sir Christëmas.

We dreamed together at our annual “Glass of Cabaret” fundraiser, during which solos and small groups serenaded the audience as they enjoyed delicious treats, wine graciously provided by ElementAL Wines, and an incredible silent auction. With your help, we exceeded our fundraising goal and donated 25% of our proceeds to the LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund, which offered emergency grants to artists affected by the Los Angeles wildfires.

In our March 2025 concerts, we looked forward to where we’re going, singing songs of purpose, power, resistance, and renewal.

You made our annual i♥OCWC online fundraiser a rousing success, again helping us exceed our goal.

Our Assistant Director, Sarah Hughes, led us for our June 2025 concert, during which we sang of creatures, climate, and what we’ll leave behind.

During our June 2025 concert, the OCWC performed the West Coast premier of Katerina Gimon’s Unsung, a sweeping multi-movement piece that takes audiences through the impacts of climate change on the Canadian landscape.

We are so grateful for 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 inspiring and relevant subjects, and buoying us as we continue our journey in the hopes of achieving even bigger goals in the future!

Katrina Veldkamp President, Board of Directors

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OCWC by the numbers: This season included

1,256

3

programs and

2

fundraising events, bringing meaningful music to

patrons.

Together, our

Our program repertoire showcased works by

29 7 16

composers,

22

60 4,680

living and

singers dedicated

who are no longer with us—including women and

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hours to rehearsals. men.

Our social media presence grew by

77%

compared to last year, reaching

282 74 $113,774.

1,976

donors—including

first-time supporters— helped raise

Our community of singers spans

5

generations. Over half have never seen a rotary telephone!

followers across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Generation X (1965-1980) 13%

Millennials (1981-1996) 38%

Baby Boomers (1946-1964) 26%

The Silent Generation (1928-1945) 2% Generation Z (1997-2012) 21%

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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.

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A message from our Artistic Director “I needed that.”

Those are three of our favorite words to hear, from our singers and from our audience members, and we heard them a lot this past season. When the world feels uncertain, music’s more important than ever—as a balm, as a motivation, as a distraction. Our Tuesday-night rehearsals are group therapy. Our concerts, we hope, are some blend of refuge, entertainment, community, and catalyst, in whatever proportions you need when you spend your afternoon or evening with us.

We began the 2024-25 season still flying high from our trip to Croatia, and eager to bring some souvenirs of our travels to our local friends. In March, we turned inward for a deeply personal program—a collection of ostensibly dissimilar music that I chose because it spoke to the anxiety of facing a new era in our shared history, and to the conviction that raising our voices together mattered more than ever.

And when I took an eight-week sabbatical in April and May, our brilliant Assistant Director, Sarah Hughes, stepped in to deliver a thrilling concert of music about our fragile planet, in all its beauty and agitation. What a joy to watch and listen as Sarah, Kirsten, and the chorus brought their audience to its feet with a triumphant musical (and meteorological) program of rivers, hurricanes, glaciers, and grasslands.

I needed that. I needed all of it. It’s our deepest wish that you, too, will always find something you need in our singing—something words alone can’t capture, something that speaks to feelings you haven’t yet named, something that brings you closer to the people and the planet around you, or simply to yourself.

Thanks for trusting us to sing music that matters. As I enter my second quarter-century as the Artistic Director of this extraordinary community, I’ve never been more honored or more humbled to keep striving toward higher ground and singing toward a better world.

Eliza Rubenstein Artistic Director

Artistic highlights Artistic highlights of our 2024—2025 season included...

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Three Journeys: Where We’ve Been December 7 and 8, 2024 Eliza Rubenstein, Artistic Director Sarah Hughes, Assistant Director Janelle Kim, Pianist

In December, we took our audience with us to the three international destinations we’ve visited: the British Isles, Canada, and Croatia! Derek Holman's infectiously wacky Sir Christëmas and a collection of songs we learned from our new friends in Zagreb highlighted our “Three Journeys: Where We’ve Been” concert, which also saw the conducting debut of our 2024-25 Conducting Intern, Kirsten Leon.

Our March concert, “Two Roads: Where We’re Going,” reflected upon the forking path that the prior election year represented for our country. We sang works spanning the spectrum from Francis Poulenc to Sweet Honey in the Rock, from grief to fear to resolve to hope. “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for”—wise words from June Jordan—opened and closed the program, and remain our mantra in an uncertain age.

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Jo i n u s f or A Glass of Cabaret

Dare to dream!

Sunday, February 23, 3:00 p.m.

February’s Glass of Cabaret event, coordinated

by Sarah, showcased jazz, pop, and musical theater numbers with a “Dare to Dream” theme.

Singers and audience members got to mingle between the music, dining, and auction events at this annual fundraiser.

One World What We Leave Behind May 31 and June 1, 2025

While Eliza took a break in May, Sarah led the chorus in “One World: What We Leave Behind,” a stunning end-of-the-season concert featuring the West-Coast premiere of Katerina Gimon’s Unsung: If the Earth Could Sing. We sang about the splendor of our planet and grieved the impact of climate change through a program about beauty, loss, and the promise of nature.

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Sarah Hughes, Assistant Director Janelle Kim, Pianist

Cassie Luftspring: On Christmas (2018)

Heather Masse: Bird Song

Katerina Gimon: “Grassland” from Unsung: If The Earth Could Sing (2025)

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Artistic leaders

Eliza Rubenstein, Artistic Director

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Sarah Hughes, Assistant Director

Janelle Kim, Pianist

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.

Financial highlights Our financial strength in our 2024–2025 season was made possible by your generous individual gifts, the outstanding support of our singers, and foundation grants. In addition, our season ticket sales continued at higher-than-ever levels, and our individual ticket sales for every program exceeded pre-pandemic levels for the second year in a row. We continue to manage our expenses carefully, and are committed to ensuring that the OCWC will share our music with the community for years to come.

How we’re funded

Tickets 20%

This year, 59% of our contributed revenue came from individuals and corporations— including our singers and board members.

Ticket sales accounted for 20% of our operating revenue, and we’re excited to see that figure continue to grow. Grants provided 7% of our annual funding, while investment income contributed a larger share than in past years thanks to strategic placements in certificates of deposit and high-yield savings accounts earning about 4.25%.

Grants 7%

Investment Income 3%

Special Events and Gifts in Kind 11% Individual and Corporate Contributions 32% Singer and Board Contributions 27%

Fundraising 7% General and Administrative 16%

Use of In Kind Donations 7%

Program Expenses 70%

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How we use our money As in previous years, the majority of our funding—70%—was dedicated to programming, including artistic compensation, production costs, and marketing. Management and administrative expenses decreased slightly to 16%, thanks to cost savings realized during the year.

Fundraising remained steady, representing 7% of total operating expenses.

Unaudited Statement of Financial Position as of June 30, 2025 and 2024

Assets

2025 $

Cash

191,428

Accounts and pledges receivable Other current assets Total assets

2024 $

175,372

100

802

5,290

3,882

$

196,818

$

180,056

$

15,018

$ $ 10,003

Operating, commissioning, touring reserves

137,327

126,137

Total liabilities

152,345

136,140

Total equity

44,473

43,916

$ 196,818

$ 180,056

Liabilities and Equity Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

Total liabilities and equity

Unaudited Statement of Activities For fiscal years ended June 30, 2025 and 2024

Revenue Contributed support

2025 $

2024

140,276

$

129,480

Ticket sales

38,520

32,399

Earned revenue, including tour revenue in 2024

6,643

204,250

Special events

7,480

9,028

Total revenue

$

$

192,919

375,157

$

100

$ 209,037

Salaries and related expenses

79,314

74,683

Program/artistic expenses

19,915

3,065

Program/production expenses

33,217

31,263

Other personnel expenses

13,297

13,616

Non-personnel expenses

20,724

20,719

Occupancy expenses

11,860

11,540

Travel and other business expenses

13,935

11,095

$ 192,362

$ 375,018

557

139

43,916

43,777

Expenses Tour and tour scholarship expenses

Total expenses Change in net assets Net assets, beginning of year

Net assets, end of year

$

44,473

$

43,916

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Administrative leaders 2024-2025

KATRINA VELDKAMP

MARJORIE A. BEALE

JANET A. BRATTON

LAUREL CHOWDHURY

MARGUERITE DUPRIEU

MARY C. LANGSDORF

JASMINE NICHOLSON

LAURA RAYNES

ALEC WATERS

HILLARY PEARSON

BOARD PRESIDENT

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

O P E R AT I O N S A N D TECHNOLOGY

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TOURS AND COMMISSIONING

FOUNDING AND I M M E D I AT E PA S T PRESIDENT

CHORUS A D M I N I S T R AT O R

O P E R AT I O N S

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

D A T A A N A LY T I C S FOR AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT AND FUNDRAISING

Contributors Dame Ethel Smyth’s Suffragist Army (Gifts of $2,500 and above) Archarios Foundation Janet Bratton and Tom Nichols Laurel and Debashis Chowdhury InPack, Inc. Mary and Bill Langsdorf Leslie and Robert Mulford Orange County Community Foundation, Robert & Doreen Marshall Fund for Dramatic Arts and Classical Music Ellen Quandahl and Larry Wheeler Laurie Soderberg, Kristen Soderberg, and Luke Goebel Karen Zfaty Clara Schumann’s Musical Family (Gifts of $1,500 to $2,499) Marjorie Beale and William Meyerhoff Cynthia and David Knell Cheryl Maxson Sara and Harry Veldkamp Mary Watson Hildegard von Bingen’s Community of Vision (Gifts of $500 to $1,499) Kathryn and Nick Baldasari Benevity, Inc. Susan and Jeffrey Berkel AYCO Charitable Foundation, Jeffrey A. and Susan L. Berkel Fund Gillian Bidgood Nancy Burke and Dominic Holzhaus Sherry Caldwell Elizabeth Cowan and Rebecca Chadwick Braddie and David Dooley John Feeney Pat and Dick George Doreen Harmon Faith and Steven James Chiara and Vincent Ko Tracy and Barry Kogen Karen and James McBride

Shauna McFadden and Shanna George Darlene Moen Patricia Morgan Morris Family Foundation Jane Pape PwC Laura Raynes and Mark Dizon Kent Rhodes and Bob Gunn Tegan Roberts Calvin and Caroline Roetzel Lisa Roetzel and Alan Terricciano Margie and Gary Sacks Martha Selby Sharon and Mike Sheffield Scott Shipley Val Simson Dr. Sharon Stevenson Claire and David Stoneman Linda Tilden Barbara and James van Gaasbeek Katrina Veldkamp and Michael Fischer Megan and Alec Waters Fanny Mendelssohn’s Musical Salon (Gifts of $150 to $499) Shruthi Aiyar Sue and Nick Alexopoulos Emi Allen Erin and Jon Allen Lindsey Almquist Kelly and Philip Arnold Mike Auchter Jayne and David Baldwin Linda Barnhurst Diana Bellafiore Elizabeth Bjornsti and Christopher Persichilli Carol and Larry Black Peter and Melissa Browning Kristin Byrnes JoJo and Mike Caprini Richard and Libby Cook Boska and Joseph Dzida Bill and Beth Eldon 16

Dylan Faulcon Janelle Forney Steve Forney Ymène Fouli Kendal Frear Merrilee J. Gardner Renée Gehlbach Allison Gibbons Adriana Gomez Janice and Paul Goodwin Samantha and Tom Gossage Michael Guscott Ako Harada Mary Harmon KJ (Kim) Heidebrecht Randall Hodges Barbara Hook Martha and Darrell Hughes Abigail Jimenez Bethany and Aaron Justice Kai Kanatsiz Kristin Kennedy Genie Kirchner Jeff Kogen Felicia Lee Kate MacPherson Raaga Mahesh Kate Manders Theresa and Mark McManigal Karina Melgar John Middlebrooks Tasha Miller Logan Mintz-Hernandez Molly and Dawn Molt Neeti Nanda Jasmine Nicholson Kevin Nicholson Brian Noel Fiona Parker Francie Quaas-Berryman Linda C. Radano and David Shuler Doreen C. Ramsey Andrea Romero Elyse and Brad Rosborough Eliza Rubenstein 17

Paul Sandorff Lindsie Hardy Seagren Carroll S. Seron Jaimelynn Shah Sherri Sobel Laurie Soderberg Rachel and Joe Sosta Maddison Sperry Cathryn Starr and Ronald Banks Mariko Takahashi Brittany Traufler Petrina Walker Anne Walthall Lynn West Stephanie and Keith Wright Jennifer Yalamanchi Chiara Margarita Cozzolani’s Chorus (Gifts up to $149) Lorna Adkins Michelle Ahumada Nicole Aldrich Susan Anderson Beth Anderson-Harold Mark Anthony Elizabeth Armstrong Carole Arvidson Catherine Bailey Elizabeth Baker Reetu Bala Wendy Ballard Linda and George Bauer Sarah Benson Willam Bentley Kieran and Marilyn Bergin Jessica Blair Christopher Blank and Josie Badeaux Rosalyn Botuchis Joan and Ron Breuch Sondra Burgoyne Deborah and Don Calkins Kathryn Cartelli Donna Catalano Benjamin Cauffman Kristina Chatow

Vivian Cook and Chet Wescott Carolyn Cooper Joann Craig Robert and Mary Kim De Wolf Myrna Dillon and Griff Hill Diana D’Itri Ernest Duarte Gail Dufour Dolores Ealy-O’Neal Stephanie Eckerman Susan Engelhart Carolyn Estrada Matt Ferrell Julie Fischer Molly Fitts Shannon Fowler Kathy Fraga Channing Freeman Susan Garrett Laurie Girand Oliver Glenn Marissa Gonzalez Patricia Goodman Bonnie and Bill Hall Cricket Handler Judy Hante Lela and Scott Hardy Autry Harper Patricia Heilig Christine Hensley Anne Herron Jane Herron Karen Ann Hurst Nan Hussey Melanie Inskeep Chardette Jameson Virginia Johns Dani Johnson Jassel Kaye Barbara Kingsbury Cheryl Knudsen Randi Kraemer Kroger Deborah Kuryan Barbara and Bill Lacey

Arlie Langager Jillian Lappetito Susan and Rich Liechty Kenneth Litvack Donovan Loomis Delight Lucas Ashley Mac Amanda Mahlow Jacob Manczyk Mary Martin Judith Marx Linda Mayer Donna McCune Heather McFadden Mary McFadden Joseph McVeigh Thomas and Susan Meisenhelder Deborah Mendelsohn Catherine and John Miles Natalie Miles Harris Miller Liz Miller Maria Moretti Dolores Mortier Carrie and Kaz Mulcahy Sindy Murray Nicolette Myers Angela Nelson Michael and Joan Neuscheler Helen Okie Shannon Ord Kay Ostensen Karine Parry Neal Paton Sharon Phelps Clay Phillips Lois Phillips Linda and JT Price Mandi Raspudic Edwin Reese Guy Regev Julie and Ben Roberts Margret Roberts Vicki and David Roberts Dr. Stephen Rochford 18

Mary Roetzel Jennifer Rohen Meghan and Eric Ruggio Mai Saito Varsha Sampath Diane Scalzo Joann and Craig Schaum Janice Schneider Mary Scifres Anne Seagren Griffin Seagren Catherine Sharbaugh Prin Sielski Bonnie Simon Janet Smith Sharon Smith Magen Solomon John and Shawna Sorber Diane Sovereign Jodie Spanos Michelle Sperry Heather Spickard and Alexander Demetrescu Nathan Staph Thyra Tegner James Toledano Bruce Tunell Lindsey Ueberroth Vanessa Vail Luke Verseput Murray and April Wachtenheim Kathleen Wahl Kenneth Waldram Marie Washington Vonnie Waters Peter Wernett Beverly and Mike Wirtz Alan Yamashiro

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In-kind Donors The OCWC gratefully acknowledges the following individuals, businesses, and organizations for their generous in-kind donations of goods and services in the 2024–2025 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.

Kelly and Philip Arnold Kathryn and Nick Baldasari Baroque Music Festival Diana Bellafiore Elizabeth Bjornsti and Christopher Persichilli Bogle Winery Janet Bratton and Tom Nichols Canterbury Consulting Cabrillo Playhouse Chance Theater Choral Arts Initiative Laurel and Debashis Chowdhury Coastal Kitchen Allison Gibbons Christina and Mike Grant Ako Harada Historic Mission San Juan Capistrano Irvine Barclay Theatre Kristin Kennedy Cynthia and David Knell Chiara and Vincent Ko Laguna Art Museum Laguna Beach Chamber Singers Laguna Playhouse Mary and Bill Langsdorf Lyon Air Museum Lyric Opera of Orange County Shauna McFadden and Shanna George MenAlive - OC Gay Men’s Chorus Muckenthaler Cultural Center Leslie and Robert Mulford Newport Harbor Lutheran Church Orbit Printing Pacifica Hotels Pacific Chorale Pacific Symphony Philharmonic Society of Orange County

Francie Quaas-Berryman Ellen Quandahl and Larry Wheeler Lisa Roetzel and Alan Terricciano Andrea Romero South Coast Repertory South Coast Symphony St. George’s Episcopal Church St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church STOS Partners Trader Joe’s Vouri Clothing Mary Watson Webb Grain Works Wiens Cellars Stephanie Wright

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23802 Avenida De La Carlota Laguna Hills, CA 92653 www.ocwomenschorus.org info@ocwomenschorus.org