Our History
The Normandale Choral Society, founded in 1982 and incorporated in 1985, was directed by Dr. Docter, Director of Choral Music at Normandale Community College. In 1996 Marc Jaros succeeded Dr. Docter as choral director through the Spring of 2003. At this time the group suddenly found itself without a home base, performance venue, director, accompanist or funding due to budget and program cuts at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, MN. What could have been the end of Bloomington’s non-audition mixed adult community chorus became an opportunity to reinvent and reenergize as the Bloomington Chorale. The city was opening a new civic plaza in July 2003 which included a center for the arts.
Bloomington Chorale joined as a community arts organization for the city of Bloomington in the Center for the Arts building. The first concert that December 2003 boasted 14 Chorale members and 99 people in the audience. The concert program consisted of borrowed music from various churches where members belonged. Since then, 20 years later, we have grown to 90 Chorale members in our Fall 2024 session!
Performances at the Schneider theater include various instrumentalists and piano accompaniment. Additional community performances are held at various venues throughout the year. There is a broad variety of music including traditional, spiritual, classical, pop and contemporary.
Through the years, the Chorale has seen members from age 18 to over 80 and welcomes members from all walks of life, income levels, cultures and backgrounds. Together this is a community of singers who have fun learning and refining vocal technique and repertoire.