About the Chorus

Plano Civic Chorus

The Plano Civic Chorus, Inc., chartered in 1972, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the choral arts in North Texas. The chorus is a member of Chorus America, and actively supports its goals of nationally promoting choral music.

With the 2011-12 season, the chorus celebrates 39 years of great choral performances in the north Texas area. The chorus sings a broad repertoire that offers something for every taste. In recent seasons the chorus has performed several important choral masterworks including Brahms' Requiem, Mendelssohn's Elijah and Lobgesang, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and the Ninth Symphony, Verdi'sRequiem, Orff's Carmina Burana, Vivaldi's Gloria, Bach's Magnificat, Handel's Messiah, Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna, Bloch's Sacred Service, Mozart's Requiem, Cherubini's Requiem and Faure's Requiem. Other concerts have included performances of favorite Broadway songs, great American classics, folksongs from the British Isles, music by Texas composers, and well-known opera choruses.

The chorus has participated in several prestigious events in its 39-year history. Among them was a March 1998 appearance at New York's Carnegie Hall as part of the North Texas Festival Chorus in a special performance of Mozart's Requiem and a concert for the Texas Choral Directors' Association convention in San Antonio. In June 2006, the chorus was the featured chorus in the Hot Springs Music Festival's 10th anniversary gala in Hot Springs, Arkansas performing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms. The chorus performs frequently for community events such as the annual tree lighting celebration for the City of Plano, the Galleria Christmas Extravaganza, and the Shops at Legacy Christmas Gala. The chorus has also performed for such civic events as the Collin County Peace Officer's Memorial Service and for INS Citizenship ceremonies

In June 2002 the chorus joined with the Sanctuary Choir of First Presbyterian Church in Richardson for a concert tour of the British Isles that involved performances in Coventry, Canterbury, Edinburgh, and Dublin, and was the featured international chorus for the Criccieth Choral Festival in Wales. In June 2005 the two groups joined forces for a second European tour that included performances in the Czech Republic, Austria and with the International Church Music Festival in Bern, Switzerland under the direction of the legendary Sir David Willcocks. In 2008 the chorus partnered with the Chancel Choir of St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano and the Sanctuary Choir of First Presbyterian Church to perform concerts in Notre Dame Cathedral and La Madeleine in Paris and in St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. In June 2011 the chorus traveled to Germany and Italy performing concerts in Berlin, Wittenberg, Munich, and Florence.

In 2003 the chorus named Simon Sargon as its first Composer in Residence. Mr. Sargon is a Professor of Composition at Southern Methodist University and a highly respected and much-published composer. Throughout his long association with the group, the chorus has premiered several of his works: his poignant choral trilogy, The Wisdom of Solomon, his dramatic setting of Psalm Eight, an arrangement of three Christmas spirituals entitled Christmas in Black, and most recently, Bonie Wee Thing , a collection of four songs based on the poems of Robert Burns.

For more information on the Plano Civic Chorus, email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Artistic Director

Ralph Frederick Stannard

Ralph Stannard has been artistic director and conductor of the Plano Civic Chorus since 2000. He is also director of music at First Presbyterian Church in Richardson, where he directs both the adult and youth choirs. Mr. Stannard has held similar positions at St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church in Irving, Munger Place United Methodist Church in Dallas, and at Bethel Temple in Oak Cliff. In addition, Mr. Stannard has been the choir director for Temple Emanu-El in Dallas since 1999 and has conducted the Temple Choir in several programs of important Jewish concert and liturgical music. For thirteen years Mr. Stannard also served as conductor for special performances for the Dallas Symphony Chorus.

Mr. Stannard has conducted many of the great masterworks including Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Brahms’ Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Lobgesang, Cherubini’s Requiem, Bloch’s Sacred Service, the Requiems of Faure and Durufle, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, and Rossini’s Petit Messe Solennelle. In September 2002, he made his formal conducting debut with the Plano Symphony Orchestra, conducting the chorus and orchestra in several operatic choruses by Verdi. In additional collaborations with Maestro Hector Guzman, conductor for the Plano Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Stannard has prepared the Plano Civic Chorus for performances of Verdi’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, and for the annual Christmas pops concerts

Mr. Stannard has led several successful choir tours. In 2002 he directed the combined choirs of the First Presbyterian Church, Temple Emanu-El, and the Plano Civic Chorus in concerts throughout the British Isles and in 2005 took a similar group to the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Austria. Mr. Stannard led a 2008 concert tour to Italy and France with the Plano Civic Chorus and the choirs from First Presbyterian Church and St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano. The combined choirs gave performances in St. Marks Basilica in Venice and in both Notre Dame and La Madeleine in Paris. Mr. Stannard completed a fourth European concert tour in June of 2011 conducting the Plano Civic Chorus in Berlin, Wittenberg, Munich, and Florence.

A lyric baritone and voice student of Grant Williams, Mr. Stannard has performed as soloist in several oratorials throughout the North Texas area as well as in performances with the Dallas Opera Chorus, The Denton Bach Society, and the Deep Ellum Opera Theater. Mr. Stannard received his BM from the University of Texas in music theory and composition, his MME in instrumental education from the University of North Texas, and has completed three years of post graduate work towards a PhD in music education at UNT. Mr. Stannard has studied orchestral conducting with Kate Tamarkin, band conducting with Robert Winslow, choral techniques with Frank McKinley, Henry Gibbons, and David R. Davidson, and Synagogue music with Simon Sargon.

Mr. Stannard is an active member of TCDA (Texas Choral Directors Association), ACDA (American Choral Directors Association, GTM (Guild of Temple Musicians) and PAM (Presbyterian Association of Musicians).

For more information about the chorus, email Mr. Stannard.