Cape Fear Chorale

Cape Fear Chorale Celebrating its twenty-seventh year, Cape Fear Chorale is under the direction of Aaron Peisner, Artistic Director and Conductor. Nygard, Jr., and Welborn E.

Cape Fear Chorale is committed to building and enriching our community through exceptional choral artistry and by creating meaningful, educational, and inclusive musical experiences. All members are volunteers, and the group is comprised of 70-85 auditioned singers each semester. Cape Fear Chorale presents two concerts annually, along with a fundraiser in the Spring. Its repertoire has included ma

jor works, sacred music, patriotic music, humorous music, spirituals, holiday music, motets, madrigals, and light opera. The Chorale has enjoyed hosting two guest conductors: internationally known choral composer Carl J. Young, Director of Choral Activities at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Artistic Director and Conductor of Bel Canto Company. Over the years, Cape Fear Chorale has also premiered commissioned work, including Nygard’s Festival of Praise. The Chorale has also performed with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra. Because of its outreach to hundreds of singers and thousands of listeners in the Cape Fear community, the Chorale has been recognized by the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners for “its past and future service to New Hanover County and its citizens.”

Cape Fear Chorale believes in the transformative power of music. We celebrate the expressive capacity of the human voice and the ability choral music has to heal, unite, and inspire our community. We are committed to building our community through exceptional choral artistry and by creating meaningful, educational, and inclusive musical experiences. As an incorporated non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, Cape Fear Chorale is totally dependent upon donations and advertising.

CARMINA BURANA was an amazing success and we are so grateful for your support.  What's next?  We're celebrating 250 year...
05/04/2026

CARMINA BURANA was an amazing success and we are so grateful for your support. What's next? We're celebrating 250 years of American Music with ON THE ROAD: AN AMERICAN MUSICAL TRAVELOGUE
Tickets are limited and are available at
www.ticketsource.com/cape-fear-chorale

Our concert week rehearsals are underway for *Carmina Burana*, and we are glad to share a few moments from this week’s w...
04/23/2026

Our concert week rehearsals are underway for *Carmina Burana*, and we are glad to share a few moments from this week’s work.

This program brings together Cape Fear Chorale, UNCW Choirs, Codington Elementary School Chorus, and the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, exploring themes of fortune, love, and the passage of time in Carl Orff’s score.

This weekend’s performance is now sold out. Thank you to all who have chosen to join us—we look forward to sharing the concert with a full hall.

After nearly three decades of presenting choral music in Wilmington, the Cape Fear Chorale is commissioning an original ...
03/20/2026

After nearly three decades of presenting choral music in Wilmington, the Cape Fear Chorale is commissioning an original work written specifically for our chorus.

We are proud to collaborate with Wilmington-based composer and UNCW faculty member Dr. Chelsea Loew. The piece, created in honor of America’s 250th anniversary, will use text by a North Carolina author to highlight local artistic contributions. This commission ensures that the Cape Fear Chorale—and our community—remain part of the continuing story of American choral music.

Donors to this project will be listed in the published score, preserving their role in the creation of this work for future choirs nationwide. The premiere will take place on November 15, 2026, alongside Adolphus Hailstork’s I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes and Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.

Support this commission and help shape the future of choral music: https://bit.ly/CFC2026LoewCommission

🎻✨ Celebrating Our Incredible Orchestra ✨🎻Our Mass in Troubled Times performance would not have been possible without th...
12/29/2025

🎻✨ Celebrating Our Incredible Orchestra ✨🎻

Our Mass in Troubled Times performance would not have been possible without the extraordinary musicians who formed our orchestra — a remarkable group of artists from across the Cape Fear region. Our area is rich with talent, and we are deeply grateful for the chance to partner with these musicians who help bring our mission to life:

“Cape Fear Chorale believes in the transformative power of music… to heal, unite, and inspire our community.”

Their artistry, precision, and passion elevated every measure and made this concert a truly unforgettable experience.

ORCHESTRA
🎻 Violin
Holland Phillips
Abigail Albaugh Martinez
Beverly Andrews
Jessica Landes
Jennifer O’Konski
Lisa Gattuso

🎻 Viola
Clark Spencer
Carrie Jackson

🎻 Cello
Andrew Anagnost
Hannah Fishsation

🎻 Bass
Karl Marzolf

🎺 Trumpet
Christopher Luebke-Brown
Stephen Luck

🥁 Timpani
Mitchell Hebert

✨ Harp
Christina Brier

🪕 Organ
Kira Garvie Conner

To each musician — thank you for sharing your gifts with us and with our community. We are honored to make music beside you. 💙🎶

📸 -Hill-Photography

🎄✨ From all of us at Cape Fear Chorale, Merry Christmas and a harmonious New Year! ✨🎄As we wrap up a season filled with ...
12/25/2025

🎄✨ From all of us at Cape Fear Chorale, Merry Christmas and a harmonious New Year! ✨🎄

As we wrap up a season filled with music, community, and joy, we’re so grateful for every voice, partner, and supporter who helped make this year sing. 💙

Here’s to another year of sharing harmony, hope, and the transformative power of music with the Cape Fear community. 🎶

✨ Honoring Our Incredible Soloists ✨We are deeply grateful to the extraordinary vocalists who brought such depth, beauty...
12/19/2025

✨ Honoring Our Incredible Soloists ✨

We are deeply grateful to the extraordinary vocalists who brought such depth, beauty, and expressive power to our Mass in Troubled Times concert. Their artistry elevated every moment on stage, and we are honored to have partnered with them for this performance.

Fern Hill Soloist
🎤 Monika Cosson, Mezzo-Soprano

Missa in Angustiis (Mass in Troubled Times) Soloists
🎤 Shannon Kessler-Dooley, Soprano
🎤 Monika Cosson, Mezzo-Soprano
🎤 James Taylor, Tenor
🎤 Robert Harrelson, Bass-Baritone

Thank you for your impeccable performances, your musicianship, and the passion you brought to this music. We are so fortunate to share the stage with artists of this caliber. 💙🎶

📸 Merlee Hill Photography

✨ A magical weekend to remember! ✨We were so honored to join Wilmington City Ballet once again for their stunning produc...
12/15/2025

✨ A magical weekend to remember! ✨

We were so honored to join Wilmington City Ballet once again for their stunning production of The Nutcracker at the Wilson Center! 🩰🎶

Sharing the stage for this beloved holiday tradition — from the treble choir’s enchanting moments to our full ensemble’s Sunday night pre-show concert — was pure joy. 💙

A heartfelt thank-you to City Ballet for inviting us to be part of the magic, and to everyone who came out to support the arts in our community this season. Until next year… 🎄

📸 -Hill-Photography

🌍🎶 Happy World Choral Day! 🎶🌍Today, we celebrate the universal language of choral music — a force that transcends border...
12/13/2025

🌍🎶 Happy World Choral Day! 🎶🌍

Today, we celebrate the universal language of choral music — a force that transcends borders, unites voices, and brings harmony to a world that needs it most.

At Cape Fear Chorale, we believe in the transformative power of music:

“We celebrate the expressive capacity of the human voice and the ability choral music has to heal, unite, and inspire our community.”

To every singer, listener, director, accompanist, and supporter — thank you for keeping this art form alive and thriving. Here’s to the music that connects us all. 💙

🎶 Auditions Tomorrow — Last Chance for Spring 2026 🎶If you’re scheduled to audition—see you tomorrow (Sat, Dec 13) at th...
12/12/2025

🎶 Auditions Tomorrow — Last Chance for Spring 2026 🎶

If you’re scheduled to audition—see you tomorrow (Sat, Dec 13) at the UNCW Cultural Arts Building. Warm up, bring your best, and let’s sing.

Thinking about joining? This is it—last chance until next fall’s auditions. The process is 10–15 minutes:

- Vocalize through your range
- Sing a short familiar tune (My Country ’Tis of Thee, Amazing Grace, or Happy Birthday)
- Pitch-matching & aural skills
- Brief sight-singing

👉 To get on the list:
• Email [email protected]
• Complete the form: capefearchorale.org/audition

Come make music, build community, and be part of something that actually moves people.

  to our “Sounds of the Season” outreach concert at Brightmore of Wilmington!This special performance brought holiday ch...
12/11/2025

to our “Sounds of the Season” outreach concert at Brightmore of Wilmington!
This special performance brought holiday cheer straight to the residents’ living room — laughter, carols, and a few happy tears included. 🎶✨
Sharing music beyond the stage is one of the most meaningful parts of what we do, and this day reminded us just how powerful a simple song can be.

📜✨ Before it was a concert, it was a collection of medieval poems about life, love, and luck. ✨📜Next spring, Cape Fear C...
12/10/2025

📜✨ Before it was a concert, it was a collection of medieval poems about life, love, and luck. ✨📜

Next spring, Cape Fear Chorale joins the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra and UNCW Choirs for a performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana — one of the most electrifying works ever written for chorus and orchestra.

Born from a 13th-century manuscript of songs about fortune, joy, and desire, Orff’s 20th-century masterpiece transforms those ancient words into a modern eruption of rhythm, passion, and power. 🔥

🎶 Carmina Burana
📅 Saturday, April 25, 2026 | 7:30 PM
📍 Wilson Center @ CFCC
🎟️ Tickets on sale now: https://bit.ly/CFC-WSF-CarminaBurana2026

Experience the raw emotion, the thunderous percussion, and the timeless humanity of this monumental work.

Address

5725 Oleander Drive, Suite C3
Wilmington, NC
28403

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