History
The West Shore Chorale (WSC) was founded in 1968 by a group of Lakewood residents dedicated to bringing excellent choral music to Cleveland’s West Side. Debuting at the Lakewood Civic Auditorium in May 1969, WSC has been an anchor in the lives of singers & audiences for 50 years. Our 80-95 members range in age from high school to senior citizens. Our annual holiday concert has become a popular community tradition with people coming to sing along, listen & socialize. In 2010, we received national attention for organizing a “flash mob” of 500 choristers who sang the Hallelujah Chorus at Cleveland’s West Side Market.
Led by Conductor, John Drotleff for 38 years, WSC has performed over 100 concerts of major choral/orchestral compositions and many other programs featuring hundreds of choral octavos both accompanied and unaccompanied. We have performed as guest artist with The Cleveland Woman’s Orchestra, Canton Symphony, Lakeside Symphony, Opera Circle, the Cleveland Philharmonic, The Summit Choral Society, Cleveland Pops Orchestra Chorus and for churches in Cleveland, Warren, Poland, Stongsville, Youngstown, Parma, Boardman and North Olmsted. In 2014, we performed a new arrangement of the Brahms Requiem for chamber orchestra at St. John Cathedral’s prestigious Helen D. Schubert Artists Series. The Chorale has also performed twice for the Ohio Choral Directors Association and for the conference of the Ohio Music Education Association.
As part of our community outreach, WSC showcases the talents of young artists. In 2010, we began the Choral Scholars program, inviting local students to rehearse & perform a major work with us. We continued the program in 2013 with Handel’s Samson, in 2015 with Beethoven’s Mass in C & 2016 with Haydn’s Creation & in 2017 with works by Dvorak & Haydn. Our recent holiday concerts have featured the Avon Lake High School Merples & community based grade school group, Cantate Musica. WSC also offers free concert admission & membership dues to all students.