Singers Marin History

Choral Singers Marin was founded in January 1987 by Artistic Director, Jan Pedersen Schiff. The SSAA chorus, Wings of Song, consisting of adult women’s voices was its first ensemble. Over the years, Singers Marin had grown to 7 choruses.  The youngest was Caroling Kids, ages 4 to six, which was added in 1996.  The others were Twinkling Stars, Starlights, Celestial Voices, and les etoiles – ranging from middle school through high school, and The Marin Master Chorale, which was an adult semi-professional mixed chorus.  Another summer performing mixed chorus, A Joyful Sound, was added in 1992. 

In 1994, Wings of Song hosted the California Women's Chorus Convention. The chorus recorded its first CD, Sentimental Journey, during the summer of 1999. 

In May 2001, the Marin Master Chorale, after four successful seasons, presented a historic final performance of the Berlioz Requiem at Davies Symphony Hall.

Both adult and children’s choruses have traveled extensively.

In 1995 and 1999, through invitation, the adult singers performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. Wings of Song and les étoiles returned to Carnegie Hall in 2006 to perform the spring program of pieces by Ralph Vaughan Williams. In 1997, the choruses traveled to Berlin and Vienna to perform at the International Schubert Festival. In 1999, les étoiles performed at the Kiwanis Choral Festival in Vancouver, BC, and in the summer of 2001 at the Sydney Opera House where they received a gold award in the Australian International Music Festival. In 2004, les étoiles traveled to Bremen, Germany to compete in the World Choir Games, where they received a bronze medal for their achievements. 

In June of the same year, Celestial Voices sang at the Golden Gate International Children’s Choral Festival for the first time. They competed in two categories and returned home with second and third place finishes. Four years later, in the summer of 2008, les étoiles and Celestial Voices traveled to Graz, Austria to compete once again in the World Choir Games, receiving a silver diploma for their achievements.  Wings of Song participated in music festivals around the world, including Italy, where they performed at the Vatican, Iceland, Poland and Ireland.

Following Jan’s retirement in 2020, Choral Singers Marin became a singers-run organization and consists of a mixed SSA/SATB non-auditioned chorus named Singers Marin. Michael Brandon Morales is the Musical Director, along with our accompanist, Irene Jacobson. Singers Marin holds 3 sessions per year, each culminating with a concert.