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Founded: 1974 - New Canaan, Connecticut, USA
Re-located: 1979 - Stamford, Connecticut, USA |
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The Pro Arte Singers (= PAS) were formed in 1974 by current Artistic Director, Arthur Sjögren and a small group of professional singers who shared his dream to perform the finest choral music dating from the Renaissance to the present and to become the only fully professional chorus in the Fairfield/Westchester area. In the following years, The Pro Arte Singers grew in artistic achievement and critical acclaim as they presented an annual concert series, periodic special additional performances, appeared at major music festivals, and made several professionally cut recordings.
A Board of Directors was formed in 1978 to provide more efficient business leadership, and the group was incorporated as the Pro Arte Chamber Singers of Connecticut, Inc.
In 1979, the Pro Arte Singers moved its headquarters to Stamford, CT, from New Canaan, CT, to expand the group's exposure and provide greater community outreach to the larger population of Stamford. In 1988, the singers changed their name to "ProArte Singers," to reflect its repertoire which had grown far beyond just chamber music.
in 1990 Pro Arte commissioned and presented the première of The Nativity of Our Lord by Robert Convery. The preparation and performance of this work was featured on Connecticut Public Television in a documentary video, a joint effort between CPTV, GTE VisNet, and ProArte.
During the 1994-1995 season, the Pro Arte Festival Chorus was formed using experienced volunteers chosen through auditions, to compliment the Pro Arte Singers, and the Festival Orchestra was formed at the same time. Together they now perform with The Pro Arte Singers in two concerts a year.
Pro Arte continued its excellence by opening their 25th season in Norwalk, at the Norwalk Concert Hall in October. In December, Pro Arte continued its Traditional Candlelight Christmas, celebrated in Stamford to one of its largest audiences ever. In January PAS hosted its 2nd Annual High School Choral Festival, which was attended by eight schools and over 170 students. Pro Arte concluded its 25th Anniversary Season with a Benefit dinner, concert and reception in February, 1999 and its final choral presentation in April. |
