Our Mission

The goals of CoroAllegro are: the pursuit of artistic excellence in small ensemble singing, both in a cappella works and in collaboration with instrumental artists; community outreach to traditionally underserved audiences, including individuals in retirement and convalescent communities; and arts literacy and education, ranging from preschool children's classical music programming to interactive workshops with high school students. We aim for an intimate performance environment, which includes rather than separates the audience; attendance at community outreach concerts range from 60 to 100, while formal concerts target an audience of 200 to 400. CoroAllegro's combination of small size, artistic excellence and performance versatility, which includes repertoire otherwise not available to Delaware audiences, make it a unique volunteer organization in the Wilmington area.

Our History...and Future

In the spring of 1986, CoroAllegro (then known as the Delaware Chamber Choir), an auditioned group of twelve adult volunteer singers, was established as an outgrowth of the Performing Arts Society. In 1987 Mr. Jack Burnam was named Music Director. Under Mr. Burnam's leadership, not only has the group grown to 24 singers, including both professional and skilled avocational singers, but it has matured in its ensemble and sound, exploring diverse and challenging repertoire.

This repertoire includes a wide spectrum of vocal music, including Renaissance motets and madrigals, baroque cantatas, chamber works from the classical and romantic periods, and secular and sacred 20th century works. Whenever possible, music is performed in the original language, which has included such diverse tongues as Spanish, Hebrew, and Czech. In addition CoroAllegro has increased the repertoire for chamber choruses by commissioning new works by noted composers such as Alice Parker and Craig Phillips.

CoroAllegro enjoys broad support from our patrons and from the arts community. We are consistently awarded grant monies from the Delaware State Arts Council. 

A continuing addition to the legacy of CoroAllegro is our triennial scheduling of "CoroAllegro and Friends," where we augment our performance forces to present major works of the choral repertoire. Past performances have included the Puccini Messa di Gloria, the Beethoven Mass in C, and the Brahms Deutsches Requiem.

Thanks to the generosity of those who contributed to our recording fund, CoroAllegro has also produced a CD recording, The Singer, which is a compilation of favorite repertoire from past concert performances.

Please mark your calendars for this year's concert season. We hope to see you!