Ohlone Chamber Singers

The Ohlone Chamber Singers meet on the Ohlone College campus on Tuesday evenings from 7-9 pm during the regular school term (August through May).

The Chamber Singers first appeared,
in their present incarnation, in 1987, under the direction of its current Musical Director Dennis L. Keller. The choir currently numbers 32 auditioned voices  composed of adult singers representing seventeen San Francisco Bay Area communities. The group is also available to talented College students. The choir performs an eclectic array of literature extending back to the Renaissance and through the most contemporary idioms. Although the group sings literature from all periods their tendency is music from the late Romantic and Contemporary eras, and folk arrangements from around the world.

Since 1989 the Chamber Singers have been heard in concert on seven European tours performing in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Scotland, and Poland where they have performed to critical acclaim. The choir has performed concerts in many spectacular settings, including Chartres Cathedral, Ste. Chapelle in Paris, Basilica San Marcos in Venice, the Duomo in Florence, the Dom Cathedral in Salzburg and Saint Thomas Kirche in Leipzig. We are currently planning a 2009 concert tour of the People's Republic of China.

The Choir has released five studio-recorded compact discs. In addition, we have a compact disc of our second friend/raiser recital, featuring soprano Janet Holmes. The Chamber Singers season also includes the annual “Masterworks” Series concert, which features the choir with orchestral accompaniment, performing the seminal works of choral literature from all historical epochs. This season the Masterworks concert will be March 15, 2008 and feature the Fauré and Duruflé Requiems.

We are holding auditions on January 29, 2008 to increase our Choir for the Requiems concert. Visit our Auditions page for more information.

Our Conductor

Mr. Dennis Keller accepted the appointment as choral conductor and vocal instructor at Ohlone College in 1985, where he founded the Chamber Singers. Since that time Mr. Keller has achieved the academic ranking of Full Professor in Music and continues to serve in this capacity. In addition to conducting the Chamber Singers, Mr. Keller teaches vocal lessons and World Music on the Ohlone campus. His formal training includes: a Bachelor of Music Education from Mount Union College, a Masters in Music from the University of Arizona, and has completed graduate course work at the University of Southern California. In addition Mr. Keller has participated in the Summer Vocal Institute in Graz, Austria, and studied conducting with Eric Ericson, Rodney Eichenberger, Dr. Maurice Skones, Dr. Douglas Pritchard, and Dr. Bruce Browne.

Before accepting the position at Ohlone College, Mr. Keller had taught music at all levels of public schools, and continues to be active in church music, as Director of Music at the First Presbyterian Church in Livermore, California. Recipient of three sabbatical leaves from Ohlone College, Mr. Keller has accepted an invitation to study conducting privately with Eric Ericson in Stockholm, Sweden; participated in World Music Seminars in Istanbul, Turkey and Cairo, Egypt. He has just returned from his most recent sabbatical, Spring 2007, where he served as a Visiting Scholar to the People’s Republic of China at the Dalian Normal University, and the Zheijang Vocational Academy of the Arts, and served as choral clinician in Melbourne and Perth, Australia. Mr. Keller continues to be active as a choral festival adjudicator, and consultant for church music program development.

Though leisure time is a premium in our conductor’s schedule, he is fond of spirited discussion involving international politics, public events, travel, wine, and yes, even a little technology. During the all-to-brief vacation periods he enjoys traveling with his family around the continental United States, Europe, and any place “tropical.” The Keller family, wife Janet Holmes, daughters Rachel and Hannah, and their two Hungarian Vizlas live in San Ramon, California.