Driven By Passion: The Leadership and Legacy That is the Sacramento Choral Society

What does it take to build something that lasts 30 years?

In this episode, I sit down with Donald Kendrick, founder and artistic force behind the Sacramento Choral Society, to reflect on three decades of music, leadership, and cultural impact in our region.

Founded in 1996, the Sacramento Choral Society has presented more than 180 performances, toured internationally, recorded professionally mastered albums, and — in a model almost unheard of nationally — built a chorus that owns and sustains its own professional symphony orchestra.

Let that sink in.

In most cities, orchestras run the chorus. In Sacramento, it’s the other way around.

This conversation is about far more than music. It’s about passion. Volunteerism. Culture. Succession. And what it means to build something that belongs to a community.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

🎶 How a volunteer chorus became a nationally recognized cultural force
🎶 Why the Sacramento Choral Society owns its professional union orchestra
🎶 International tours — from Carnegie Hall to China
🎶 Raising over $3 million to sustain world-class performances
🎶 The culture of love and passion that defines the organization
🎶 What succession planning looks like after 30 years of visionary leadership
🎶 What the next conductor must bring to carry the legacy forward

A Unique Model of Excellence

Under Donald Kendrick and Executive Director James McCormick, the organization has:

• Presented 180+ classical performances
• Performed in Carnegie Hall multiple times
• Toured Germany, France, Slovenia, China, Canada, and more
• Built a $550,000 annual operating budget
• Created a growing endowment through the Sacramento Region Community Foundation
• Engaged hundreds of volunteers and nearly 900 alumni

And perhaps most importantly — they’ve created a culture.

A culture of music.
A culture of healing.
A culture driven not by obligation, but by love.

Why This Moment Matters

As the organization approaches its 30th anniversary, it is also entering a thoughtful succession planning process.

For the first time, the question is being asked:
What happens when the founders step away?

This episode is both a celebration and a call to awareness.

The Sacramento Choral Society is a cultural gem — one that deserves long-term sustainability and visionary leadership for the next generation.

Learn More

Visit: https://sacramentochoral.org

Chapter Summaries

00:00 Welcome & 30-Year Milestone
03:00 What Makes the Choral Society Unique
07:45 Owning a Professional Symphony Orchestra
13:30 International Tours & Carnegie Hall
19:00 Community Collaborations
24:00 Funding & Sustainability
29:00 Succession Planning & The Future
33:30 The Next Conductor’s Vision
39:00 Passion, Purpose & Personal Renewal
44:00 Protecting the Legacy

Thank you so much for listening to this nonprofit story!  We appreciate you. Please visit the website to sign up for our email updates and newsletter. https://www.nonprofpod.com/  And if you like, leave me a voicemail to comment on the program, leave a question for us to ask in the future or a message for me, Jeff Holden. I may even use your voice mail message in a future episode of one of our incredible local nonprofit organizations. https://www.nonprofpod.com/voicemail. Thanks again for your support in listening, commenting and sharing the great work our local nonprofits are accomplishing. 

Transcript

Donald Kendrick: [00:00:00] This is what is different about us than the orchestras of the bands in the choir. People have a passion for what they do. They love it. We're driven by love. We're driven by passion. And you know, I just want to see that that passion continues, that culture we've achieved. We've arranged, we've arrived at, we've unveiled a culture in the city, a culture of music, of love and passion that presents world-class performances to the audience.

And I just wanna see that protected.

Jeff Holden: Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. Our purpose and passion are simple. To highlight the incredible nonprofits that make our communities stronger. Each [00:01:00] episode is a chance for these organizations to tell their story in their words, sharing not just what they do, but why it matters to the people they serve, to their supporters, and to all of us who believe in the power of community.

Through podcasting, we hope to amplify their voices, inspire connection, and give them one more tool to impact the hearts of donors. Partners and neighbors alike. This work is made possible through the generous support of our incredible partners. CAPTRUST offering fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations, Western Health Advantage, a local not-for-profit health plan that believes healthcare is more than coverage.

It's about caring core executive leadership and comprehensive support services. They work in it so you can work on it. Five Star Bank, a local trusted advisor to community nonprofits for over 25 years. [00:02:00] This episode, I'm joined by a most unique guest. One I'm honored, privileged, and I might say a little bit odd.

To be in the presence of what he has done to help shape sacramental's cultural life for nearly three decades is not only incomprehensible, but remarkable as well. We are blessed as a community. He chose to take the route he did with the Sacramental Choral Society. Founded in 1996 by conductor Donald Kendrick and guided alongside executive director James McCormick.

The Choral Society has presented more than 180 performances, earned national recognition, traveled abroad, numerous awards. Built a remarkable model of artistic excellence, powered largely by committed, passionate volunteer leadership as the organization approaches its 30th anniversary and prepares for a thoughtful transition in both artistic and executive leadership.

This [00:03:00] conversation is an opportunity to reflect on the impact of their work, the community they've built, and the future of an institution 

Scott Thomas: that continues to inspire. 

Jeff Holden: Donald Kendrick, welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. 

Donald Kendrick: Thank you. I'm so happy to be here, Jeff. 

Jeff Holden: Well, I'm so, 

Donald Kendrick: it's my world, the nonprofit world.

Jeff Holden: Uh, this is true. This is and, and ours as well. 

Donald Kendrick: Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: If you would give us a high level overview of the Coral Society, what is the Coral Society and. Really some of the accolades and the incredible recognition that you've gotten over the course of the last 30 years, 

Donald Kendrick: that's been a long time, three decades of making music in this city.

The sacramental choral society is really the greatest gift we could have given to the city, not just this city, but. Literally around the globe, and it's basically housewives, doctors, lawyers, teachers, amateurs, painters, I mean everybody from seven different counties. They come from as far away as Fairfield, [00:04:00] up to Grass Valley from Stockton to.

Sacramento and they all arrive in Sacramento on Monday nights at seven o'clock, and magic happens till nine 30. These are people who really want to be a part of something pretty extraordinary and who believe in the value of singing, the power of the human voice. You know, I tell my kids at Sac State Years, go singing in a choir is not the same as playing in an orchestra.

Or being in a band or a marching band. Those are different things and they have their own value and their own. They're all important. But singing in a choir befits you for life in ways that nothing else can. It teaches you to express the inexplicable, and when you become a coer, you become a coer for life.

Singing is a completely different en environment than an orchestra. Orchestras don't get it. They, they come and they play and then they [00:05:00] go home. They, but choirs meld together and they have a society and they're social and they care about each other. They love each other, and they want to produce quality music.

So we've done over a hundred and. 80 classical concerts. Good heavens, over 180 classical concerts. One of our accolades in the KVIE did a great documentary on us. 

Jeff Holden: Yes, 

Donald Kendrick: they did a great documentary, Rob The Road that actually went national and went all over the country. They'd never seen anything like the Sacramento Choral Society in Orchestra.

The Sacramento choral, I mean mean every, I've said this to you earlier, every city in America. Chicago, Boston, New York, Dallas. You know, they all have professional symphony orchestras. Those are professional players who get paid their union and they put on great concerts of great classical music. But most of those orchestras have a chorus appended to them, like, oh, it's an amateur chorus, maybe from the school or the university, or maybe it's, you know, it's just a community group, but, and they, [00:06:00] they commit, maybe they have different groups and they'll come in and they sing a concert too once or twice a year.

And then that's it. You know, we turn the horse in the cart backwards. We, the chorus actually owns our own professional symphony orchestra. What that's un unheard of in America, 

Jeff Holden: right? 

Donald Kendrick: The, the chorus owns, we have a cb, a collective bargaining agreement. So fully orchestra 

Jeff Holden: union. 

Donald Kendrick: Orchestra, fully union orchestra.

We gr, we gra we guaranteed them work for two to three years. So now they can put down their mortgage and they can buy a house raising so they can be assured of an income from us for three years. Mm-hmm. On a, and we renew it every three years. So there's an organization in Washington, as I said earlier, called Chorus America.

And Chorus America is a big national flagship for choirs across the fruit of plane. So they keep track of all the choirs and their budgets and their programming, their soulless and their tours and their CDs, [00:07:00] and, and they are. Just flabbergasted that we, in Sacramento, California, the capital of our state, not la they're flabbergasted that we are running a professional symphony orchestra.

It's always the orchestra who runs the chorus. Right? Right. In every, not us, we run the orchestra and now there's other orchestra. There's another, Phil harmonica another other professional orchestras in this town, but, but our orchestra. For 30 years has been under the guide ship of the choir himself. We pour money, so it's quite remarkable.

We've done 11 tour, 11 tours nationally. I mean, you name the country Jeff. We've been there pretty well. Self-funded tours on my dad. 

Jeff Holden: Yes, 

Donald Kendrick: we've been to China. Good lord. I took a 220 people to China, six busloads. Unbelievable. We went to Beijing, we went to our sister city, mayor house. It was called Nan in South China.

We went to Beijing, we went to Ji, we went to Ian, the ancient capital. We've been to [00:08:00] Germany, France. I mean, we've been all over the, all over the world and really being. Cultural ambassadors for Sacramento. You know, we're taking our town, our city, and we're representing us on the international stage, and that's what our mayor talks about.

He wants Sacramento to be a world class city. Mm-hmm. You know? And how better to do that than through the arts. So we've, well, we have about 900 alumni. Which is pretty amazing. 

Jeff Holden: And those would be your, your, your singers and performers of some way, shape or form. 

Donald Kendrick: Yeah. Who over the past years people have sung with, these are alumni from the car who've moved on or moved away or gone to other cities.

Sure. So we have a huge alumni and then of course we're very, very strong into outreach to our veterans. We're very generous, very kind to our veterans and to students too. So you think you came to our. Christmas show at the Memorial Auditorium and you know, it's, it's called Home for the Holidays and we've done it for 30 years and we do it in Memorial Auditorium and we give about 250 seats out to the veterans.

And these guys love to come. Mm-hmm. To [00:09:00] Memorial Auditorium. This Hall Hall was built for us. We are veterans. This is called the Veterans Memorial Hall. We know that, and they are so moved by the Christmas music that we do. It just, it fills their hearts with warmth and they get teary eyed, some of them, and they come in uniform, you know?

Mm-hmm. And they're happy to be there. So, so we're, we're proud of that. We've done 10, I think, is it 10 professionally? Mastered CDs. People say what? These days people say, what's a cd? Well, if you still have a CD player, we have, you know, a lot of people one of these things. Exactly. Exactly. But uh, now people are hearing music in their own way on streaming it and things.

It's different. The application is different. So we're not making too many more CDs, but, but we, over the years, 10 10 professionally master CDs. That's that. That's a lot. We've raised over $3 million in the past few years. That's a lot of money. $3 million. 

Jeff Holden: That's a tremendous amount of money 

Donald Kendrick: just to, to make this happen.

So, 

Jeff Holden: and, and Don, what do you think it is? Why Sacramento? What, other than the [00:10:00] leadership, which 30 years, two gentlemen, yourself and James McCormick, 

Donald Kendrick: right? 

Jeff Holden: One on the administrative side, one on the creative side of things. Why Sacramento? Why has Sacramento embraced the choral society to the extent that it has?

Donald Kendrick: I, I think people just want to do great things in their city, and when they see an organization that is doing something that is affecting change in their life. When I was a kid, I'm from Ca Canada, from Calgary, Alberta. When I was young, my dad said, well, you, you should do something valuable in your life.

You, you should be a doctor or something. And I thought, I'm going to be a musician, but I am healing people. We're healing people through music. Mm-hmm. And you can't put a price tag on that. I think people want, and these are particular, well, they're, they're sort of people who are interested in classical music.

That's a strain in itself. But not everyone likes classical music. A lot of people like rock and roll or [00:11:00] reggae or hiphop, I dunno. But, but they want to, there's something powerful about singing the Verde Recrim. Or the dream of Antes of Sir Edward Algar or a Mass by Hayden. It just. And these are people, they, as I said, they're housewives, they're they're doctors, they're lawyers, they're, they're people who want to be a part of something that actually does something good for their community and makes the community better, a better place to live and elevates the cultural life of the city.

And this Sacramento, the capital of the state of California should have a great choir and a great orchestra. We're the only ones in town, the only ones in town who are producing this product. Mm-hmm. You would not hear the Dvo Act Rim. You know, I did it 30 years ago, how I did it 30 years ago. I did this recrim in this town, and this year, this, right now, this very minute, I'm the oldest I'll ever be.

This very minute. I wanted to reach back 30 years [00:12:00] ago and pull something that I did at the start to do in my 30th year. So I decided to do the D Divorce Act record. 

Jeff Holden: That's why. Okay. 

Donald Kendrick: Unbelievable music. He wrote it in 1890. He said he wrote a a little letter to a friend. I think I have created something pretty extraordinary.

It was extraordinary. It was a huge success at the Premier. It ended up with performances all over Europe, in Germany and France following the Premier, and it is, I think, the best thing. Corley that Anton and d Vak ever wrote. We did it 30 years ago, packed the house. They haven't heard it for 30 years in this town.

Jeff Holden: Oh, I didn't realize it hadn't been performed 

Donald Kendrick: and, and it's No, no, no. Since the beginning, not performed in this town for 30 years, but it's hardly performed in America. Hardly performed. Look at New York or Symphony, or the Chicago Symphony. People aren't doing this piece, so I. We'll [00:13:00] tell the audience as they, if these all your listeners out there in Radioland TV land, you better come on March the seventh at three o'clock to Safe Credit Union and hear this Recre of Divorce Act.

It is an hour and 36 minutes of the best thing he ever wrote, and if you don't come on March the seventh, you won't hear for another 30 years. 

Jeff Holden: That's. Well, and, and sadly to say, I don't know that you'll be the conductor in 30 

Donald Kendrick: years from now. No. I'll be six feet under probably by then. Absolutely. But it is stunning music.

Unbelievable. Very hard. The choir is working very hard to learn. This piece is stunning music. 

Jeff Holden: Let me ask you, over the course of that 30 years in the recognition and the accolades, share with us some of the, the awards that the city's written or you guys have been recognized for that have. Uh, just permeated the entire choral society of, of the country to say again, why Sacramento?

Donald Kendrick: You mean how many, what, what kinds of awards have we won? 

Jeff Holden: Yes, 

Donald Kendrick: yes. Oh my gosh, I can, I don't remember them all. There's been [00:14:00] so many, but we've gotten the, the best arts organization in town. We've, we've got the best executive leadership, Uhhuh through Jim McCormick's work. We've got. Things from the state senate that presented to us.

I, 

Jeff Holden: yeah, the list goes on and on. 

Donald Kendrick: It does go on. 

Jeff Holden: I was, yeah, looking at the website, which is a fabulous website for demonstration of your performances too. 

Donald Kendrick: Thank you. 

Jeff Holden: If anybody's curious. 

Donald Kendrick: Thank you. 

Jeff Holden: They're there with some links to actually hear and see what's going on because it's a visual as well. It's not just an audio performance.

There's a lot going on on stage. 

Donald Kendrick: There is, and and the website, as you said, Jeff, the website is the best. Way to find us some something out about what we do. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Donald Kendrick: The website, I, because it, it's a pretty thorough website, you know, it's interactive and 

Jeff Holden: Yes. 

Donald Kendrick: So people can really find out about, but yeah, it's been a labor of love.

I mean, you know, I was. Teaching, I taught, I was the direct, the director of choral activities at Sac State for 33 years. What does that mean? So I came here, I taught at LSU in Baton Rouge for a couple years. [00:15:00] So I left Toronto, I went to Baton Rouge, taught there for, and I was second in command. And then that summer I was teaching in, uh, ssas French Canadian Music.

Mm-hmm. Because they speak French there and. I applied to Sac State and I got the job like, and I, I was a student at Stanford years ago, and I thought, and I remember how beautiful California was, Palm trees, you know, sunsets, sand, beaches, no snow. I thought, I'll go to California. So I left for my second in command position in Baton Rouge, and I went to.

Sac State, I became number one and that, and they just stayed outta my way and let me do pretty well, whatever I wanted to do, which was great. 

Jeff Holden: Well, I think it looks like you knew what you were doing, Donald. 

Donald Kendrick: Well, I found my, I was sort of trying to find my way, but I established the graduate program. They didn't have a graduate program in Coral conducting, so I, in my second year here, 1985, I, I came in 1985, I think it was in 1986.

Maybe I established the Master's of [00:16:00] Music degree program in CHO conducting 

Jeff Holden: Wow. 

Donald Kendrick: M degree. I graduated by the time I finished my tenure there, I graduated nearly 40 students with their master's degrees in conducting and created a real interest in the, uh, mesmerizing these kids into getting into choral music, you know, and a lot of them went on to.

Finished their degree, their doctoral degrees at college, and they're teaching at college and went to other countries and so, and made them teach in the high schools and the colleges around here. And they, so they feed me students. Yeah. And so it was a great, great love affair. I loved my students. I just loved my students.

And I had built four or five choirs at one point at the Sac State, the chamber choir, the men's choir, the women's choir, the university choir, the Master's, chorus, you know, and all these kids were coming in and doing their degree. I took these kids. These kids at Sac State had never been outta Sacramento hardly, you know, and I took them.

Literally all over the world, and I raised the money. I just made it [00:17:00] happen and dressed them up in tuxedos and got dresses for them. And they didn't even have tuxedos at dresses when I came here this. Anyway, so we, and we just, we built up a huge, huge audience base. So most of our concerts were sold out for years, you know?

Mm-hmm. Our Christmas concerts, we did it three times just to get all the audience members in, you know, but I took them to. Canada took them to Vancouver for the first couple times and then we had met to Vancouver many times. We went to Montreal, we went to Ottawa. We sang in the Parliament buildings in Ottawa.

And then I took them to San Diego and San Francisco many times and Stockton and, and then I, I literally, and then I took them to Europe, to Italy, and to France and to Switzerland. These kids had never been to Europe. They'd never been out of Sacramento, many of them. Right. And they were just. I mean, they were just mesmerized by seeing what happens in other countries.

We sang in Rad Dam in Paris before the fire, of course. 

Jeff Holden: Yes. 

Donald Kendrick: I mean, that changed their lives in ways that nothing else could. You know, whether they were a math major or a social [00:18:00] science major, or a journalist major or something like that. Yeah. Who gets to do 

Jeff Holden: that? 

Donald Kendrick: They were, they would go to Europe and sing in Rad Dam.

They were just a changed person. Sure. You know, and they came back and school was never the same. They never remembered a damn thing about their science class, but they never forgot their music class. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah, certainly. 

Donald Kendrick: Absolutely. So I, I loved it. It was great. And, and I just got so, so old I thought I gotta retire and I don't know why, but I just decided to step away.

But, 

Jeff Holden: well, 33 years is not a bad run. 

Donald Kendrick: No, it's alright. 

Jeff Holden: Collaborators. Who are some of the other organizations that you work with in the community? 

Donald Kendrick: Yeah, sure. We certainly schools, we collaborate a lot. Well, CSUS, I mean, for years I had my Sax state choir singing on the stage in, which was then called the Community Center Theater.

Jeff Holden: Sure. 

Donald Kendrick: But now it's called the Safe Credit Union Performing Arts Center. 'cause they bought it. But. It's so, so we collaborate. My kids a lot of times got to sing on the stage with a professional symphony orchestra in a professional concert hall. It was a really a life-changing experience for those kids too.

I also collaborated with my [00:19:00] church group, which is a semi-professional group called Koola. Cont Toum, really wonderful choir, and we've had collaborations with narrators, many. Celebrities in town. I mean, TV personalities. We've had a collaboration with dancers, you know, so we've had a lot of different dancers with us on that page.

Um, so would 

Jeff Holden: that be coming from like the ballet or, or, 

Donald Kendrick: yeah. 

Jeff Holden: Orchestra with 

Donald Kendrick: the Philharmonic, the Dean cr, the Dream Dean, Crockett Ballet, and a company like that and some of the Sacramento Ballet. And, and as I mentioned earlier, the KVIE did that. We collaborated with KVAE and one of the concerts. It is a huge success.

It's sold out. It was called The Music of Downton Abbey. This was Reagan. Oh, sure. When Really popular show. Absolutely. It was a height, a heyday of, of Downton Abbey. I'm a Downton Abbey fan. I said, I mean, I'm a huge Downton Abbey fan. So we did this whole big production of Dell having KVIE partner collaborate with us.

Just they put in, got a green screen where you could stand behind it, and then they had down Abbey behind you, you can have your picture taken with Down Abbey or some of the big life-sized cartoon characters were cut out Uhhuh, [00:20:00] you could put your arm around them and, and we dressed the choir up in like maids with little white hats and the guys who were in their tuxedos and, and we did a lot of the music from Down Abbey and it just, just un more fun than human beings should be allowed to have.

So we also. Have collaborated with the, a lot of high school choirs in the area. Many of them have sung with us on that stage. And again, for a high school student to be singing on that stage with a professional sym orchestra and this powerful, um, muscular choir behind them, that was really outstanding for those kids.

We also partnered with the Sacramental Children's Course. 

Jeff Holden: Really. 

Donald Kendrick: Okay. I collaborated with them, which I founded with my grad student, Lynn Stevens brand for 26 years now. And, uh, but it was called the Sacramental Children's Choir. And they were, it was a, it was a professional opportunity for kids, young kids to learn how to sing, how to, to collaborate with each other, to how to present beautiful music and music education.

Very big heavy point of music education in that outreach and. Those kids. I mean, we had, at one [00:21:00] point we had like 240 kids in the program with five choirs. The top choir. The top choir was as good as any children's choir in the world. They've traveled all over the world. They've won a number of awards, so, so we, we've done a lot of collaboration with the partnership with all kinds of groups in this town.

That's been great. 

Jeff Holden: We'll continue our melodic conversation with Donald Kendrick right after we hear from those helping us hit the high notes with the sacramental choral society. 

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Speaker 5: All this travel, all the, the orchestra, uh, obviously the 

Jeff Holden: singers are volunteer, correct?

Donald Kendrick: They are. They actually pay to belong. They pay a whopping salary of 50 bucks a concert to belong, you know. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. 

Donald Kendrick: So a hundred bucks a semester. 

Jeff Holden: So how are you funded? How does the organization get funded? 

Donald Kendrick: We have an annual fund drive. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. 

Donald Kendrick: And that actually goes on throughout the whole year and that brings in about $50,000.

So it's a, but it's a a year long function. We also have family foundations, like the [00:25:00] fun family and the people like that who give us about between 15 and. 20,000 a year. Okay. So that helps. We do something that I invented in Canada called a Shon. A Shon, and basically it just happens where I used to do this with my kids at Sac State too.

When I came down here, I was a good way to raise. We thought about it. We thought that the dream came. To me in, uh, Toronto when I, I was working up there, I thought the kids just go out and they's like any, as on you, you get a little pledge for how long Uhhuh I will conduct and if I last eight hours or 10 hours.

And I used to do it in the malls here in Sacramento for like 10 hours. And, but now I, we, we do it for much less time, but, but each singer in the choir just goes out and gets. Pledges for how long the Sing athon goes on. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. 

Donald Kendrick: And we bring in about $80,000. 

Jeff Holden: Oh my gosh. 

Donald Kendrick: Just on one night for that. But, 'cause I don't like fundraisers anymore.

I'm way too old. I shouldn't be allowed to go to fundraiser at, at my age. But I, I, so I just want to quick and easy money, you know? So like, [00:26:00] let's, let's not sell grapefruit or let's just get this done a Shon once a year. So we get about 50,000 from that, you know, as I mentioned. The big day of giving is also very important for us.

I mean, it's a very integral part of our, our, our fundraising. And we get about 50,000 from that for the big day of giving the membership dues. The choir, well they all pay a hundred bucks a semester, 200 bucks a year, which is really cheap compared to the Bay Area singers. And some of these choirs charge seven or 809.

Oh my gosh. Yeah. A lot of money. But we, we are 50 bucks a, a concept, so that brings in about $28,000. Uh, so our, our, our annual budget, Jeff, is about. About 550,000. Okay. Maybe a little bit more. Uh, a lot of work on that board on budget, but about $550,000. Well, we stretch every dollar. One of our board of directors, our donors said, you know, Dawn and Jim, you guys make, get more out of $1 bill than I've seen any other arts organization doing this stuff.

You know, you, you, you see the Arts organization budget, they [00:27:00] think Rent a car, right? Huh? Yes. No. We know how to stretch the money and to make it work so. 

Jeff Holden: Well, it's amazing what you've been able to do. Clearly you've been doing it well over 30 years. You're still here. 

Donald Kendrick: I 

Jeff Holden: still, and not only here, but at the highest level.

Donald Kendrick: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: Of not only performance, but recognition. 

Donald Kendrick: Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: And that's about to change. And that's part of this conversation, 

Donald Kendrick: right? 

Jeff Holden: Because 30 years is a long time. 30 years is about time to say, Hey, I need a break. And with. The two gentlemen, yourself and James McCormick, not only the co-founders of the organization, 

Donald Kendrick: right, 

Jeff Holden: but you're the only administrator.

You're the only conductor. 

Donald Kendrick: We got all the 

Jeff Holden: secrets, and he's the only administrator we 

Donald Kendrick: know where all the skeletons are 

Jeff Holden: buried. Yes, you do. And that does portend some issues, right? Because yes, it is that intellectual equity is yours, 

Donald Kendrick: right? 

Jeff Holden: And it's, it's time now to look at that next step. So typically here we would ask, you know, what's the dream look like for the organization?

But I would imagine for yours, if somebody said. Donald, I love what you do. Here's a blank check. [00:28:00] It might look like some, some way to reformat to bring in what the next generation of sacramental Coral Society's going to look like. How, how do you see that? What happens next? 

Donald Kendrick: We would just absolutely love to have someone come in and give us a blank check.

Jeff, that would be a wonderful start to a new, new epoch for us. And I think if that did happen and someone did step forward and say, Dawn, Jim, you know what you've built here in 30 years. It's been pretty amazing. Nothing else has happened in this town, like the Choral Society and I, when I do step down and not yet, but when I do step down and Jim steps away, we don't want it to collapse, I don't think.

Just because I'm not conducting it. Huh? Or Jim's not here. It should not go on. 

Jeff Holden: Correct. 

Donald Kendrick: There. There's been a great growth, a great thrust. This is. It's something that is out of our control even, it's just, it's a life of its own now. It's a light force. So, so I do want to go on and I want to [00:29:00] for another 30 years, another 60 years, you know, when, and continue to provide great music to our community and, and around the world on the, in these tours.

But if we did have a beautiful donor or people keep wanting to step forward and help us, I would certainly want to see that money probably go into the endowment first. Because we have an endowment in the regional foundation. Community Foundation. There you go. They house our money. We have over, I think, 300 close to $400,000 in that a in that account.

Mm-hmm. For the foundation. Now we can access that account. We can, we could take off 10% if we want to defer operational funds, but we just don't touch it. We just leave it there. Mm-hmm. Because it, it's a nest egg, you know, for, so if this magical person. Wanted to step forward and guarantee the future of this incredible organization, we would probably wanna see their money go into that endowment as a safeguard so that we then could begin the [00:30:00] search and begin to find a worldclass conductor, a world-class, and what we really need help in.

And one of the things that we'd probably want to hire is someone who could help us with development. 

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Donald Kendrick: Someone who could help us with marketing. Those are two different things, right? Development and marketing, but someone who marketing is selling tickets, right. Also, the development of the organization.

So someone who could do grant writing, for example, and we, we need help and grant writing too, 

Jeff Holden: because right now it's really just. 

Donald Kendrick: Well, it it's Jim James with some volunteers, right? Jim? And, and, and we have, we have a lot of volunteers. We have, we have a whole staff of people who come into the office. Each of 'em has their own day or a couple days a week.

We have Cheryl Young who just runs our organization as our orchestral library. We couldn't exist without Cheryl and, and Cheryl Young, her husband, Tom sbo, great help to us for all these years. They've put these orchestras together that in it. Extraordinary amount of work contracting these busy [00:31:00] players who play in five other orchestras around the country, you know?

Mm-hmm. To get here and to here's the rehearsals and here's the make it all work, and then getting in the music to them and bow it and getting it sent out to the parts and, oh, it's, it's, it's a nightmare. It Cheryl's worth here. Weight and gold. So we have that. We have a volunteer chorus operations committee of 40 members.

40 members in this, this chorus. Yes, sir. And they all have job descriptions. You do this, you do. They know exactly what and they're very proud. They're protective about they're good leaders and they make the chorus run on Monday night. The chorus operations unfolds in a matter of no time, all the setup for the choir.

The choir comes in, rehearses, and then they have the tear down to it's gone like. Camelot in the night disappears for another a hundred years. Unbelievable. So these volunteers who come into our little tiny office on Bridge Street, they all know exactly. Someone looks after the cash from the night before at the rehearsal.

Someone looks after the program, bring someone [00:32:00] after the orchestra music. They all have the, someone looks after this huge. Huge library we have at McClellan Air Force Base. Mm-hmm. That keeps it. All the Christmas music got filed. We just did a Messiah sing-along. That sells out again. Every year they make sure all that music gets back.

It's a lot. It's a lot. But they. They happy to do it. Many of these people are retired. Not all of them, they're, some of them are still very busy working people, but it's a passion. It's a passion. Mm-hmm. And this is the thing, this is what is different about maybe us than the orchestras or the bands in the choir.

People have a passion for what they do. They. Love it. They we're driven by love. We're driven by passion. And you know, I just want to see that that passion continues, that culture that we have. We've achieved, we've arranged, we've arrived at, we've unveiled a culture in the city, a culture of music, of love and passion that presents world-class performances to the audience.

And I just wanna see that protected. 

Jeff Holden: What does the next conductor look like? I almost [00:33:00] said, what does the next Donald Kendrick, but there is no other Donald Kendrick. There's only one of you. 

Donald Kendrick: Wow. 

Jeff Holden: So how, how does that next person come in? What? What are the expectations? What if you're speaking to that they're out there somewhere, whoever that is, they may listen to this podcast.

What would you like to see that person be? 

Donald Kendrick: Yeah. Whether it's a man or a woman or whoever, it doesn't matter to me, but I, I, I would want to, first of all, I want to be the right person. Yes. You know, not the wrong person. And, and, and it's so easy to find the wrong person. And we've done that and we've seen it happen many times in my career, in, in two countries.

I've seen it happen a lot where the wrong person comes in and everything gets destroyed in a matter of years and falls apart, you know? But it has to be someone who. I think Jeff, first of all has to understand the spirit of the culture of the chorus and appreciate and respect. The spirit of volunteerism.

These people are [00:34:00] busy lawyers, doctors house, and you want to have someone who respects who they are. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Donald Kendrick: Not to take advantage of it or be aggressive or to be acerbic, but but to love them and to respect them and to administer. And so loving, generous, warm, good musician. He has to be able to conduct almost 200 voice chorus.

He has to know how to conduct a professional symphony orchestra. They don't wanna waste time. They don't want to, you know, mess around with someone who's just learning to wave his hands in front. They wanna know that you know how to conduct a professional orchestra. And I'll tell you, professional orchestras can eat conductors alive.

I would imagine. Just they can just gobble you up. They can sniff you out and smell you in five minutes. Does this guy know his stuff or not? And it's, it's a little hair raising experience. A little intimidating, right? Yeah, a little intimidating. So someone who knows how to conduct the orchestra, someone who.

Loves people who wants to help people, who [00:35:00] wants to teach people. 'cause you, the conductor is, first of all, their teacher. In this case, it's often their only voice teacher. He's gonna teach you how to sing. You, you know, he'll be their first and only voice teacher. They're, they're not singers, they're their, their amateurs.

You know, someone who knows the repertoire. Knows the, the, the whole canon of choral music from Gregorian chant to that 20th century Stravinsky, who can also be brilliant. And then I, I said this to one of my grad students. I'm, I'm giving, I'm still teaching, conducting, i, I said to one of my kids the other day, some of the most successful conductors are people who know how to program.

Michael Tilson, Thomas and I were good friends in Boston. Years ago. He conducts the San Francisco Symphony. Now he's stepping away, but he and, and Michael was a brilliant programmer when I was in Boston with him. He knew exactly now, it was a lot of Stravinsky back then, but he knew exactly how to put pieces together that made the audiences rush to the hall to [00:36:00] hear these cons.

It has to be someone who understands what's good for the choir, what's the choir's capable of and not capable of, and what the orchestra would like to play. And the question is, I asked my student this yesterday, I said, well, who do you program for yourself? The audience, your singers, or a little bit of everything you know?

That's a good question, Dawn. I go, you know, because that when you make that decision, that affects. How you proceed. So it's a, a different ball. Like it's a, a yarn that you have to unwrap. So has to be a good psychologist, has to be good with people, has to be good with fundraising, has to be good with press releases, has to be good with programming, has to be good with, it's a lot.

It's a lot. 

Jeff Holden: Chameleon unicorn. 

Donald Kendrick: Exactly 

Jeff Holden: right. Oh, oh, the above. 

Donald Kendrick: Yeah. And yet, and yet it's not. It's nothing more than just being a good person who loves choral music and wants to train people how to do great performances other than tour. 

Jeff Holden: You've seen a lot of people come through over the course of the 30 years, both academically and [00:37:00] from the performance side of things.

Donald Kendrick: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: Are there any success stories in there of people you could say, well, so and so went to, or so and so went to, and that that originated just. Here out of little old Sacramento. 

Donald Kendrick: Absolutely. Uh, many countless stories of the, I've had kids who've gone on to get their bachelor's degrees. I've had kids who I, I pulled into my choir and they ended up singing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

My little boy, John Fanning, he was in my cathedral choir. I sent him off. He was in a rock band. Didn't come to church choir late, but Miss Rock Band, I pulled him outta this terrible rock band and I put him into a, my New England conservatory in Boston where I went to school. I, I sent him down there and he ended up coming back and he's one of Canada's leading baritones.

He's now just retired, but he's singing all the opera houses in the world. This is Little John who came in and broke my glass window when, when it was, he was taking off his pocket from the snow and he put his suit. Elbow through the window anyway. So, but my kids here at Sac State, many of our, our voice majors, my, my students in Kolic and Toum, my, [00:38:00] my kids in the, many of them have gone on to international groups.

One, one of them went to Bard College in, in New York. One of them went to Julliard one. I mean, they've gone on and done great things with their lives, you know, and become, and they write to me letters. I, I, when I, I was, I taught at UOP for a year, I went down to help them. They're having trouble. Trouble with their choir, 

Jeff Holden: university of the Pacific, for those who, 

Donald Kendrick: yes, the University of the Privilege, I call it.

But anyway, so I went down to help UOP to get their kids back on track and, and one of the girls who was a little freshman, darling little girl, and I put her in the chamber choir, what? She was a freshman. I put her in the chamber choir. I believed that she was such a beautiful, she went on to have a big career in New York at the Opera Company Opera, New York City Opera.

She wrote me a letter. One, one Christmas dawn, I've never forgotten you. You put me in the chamber choir at UOP when I was just a freshman and you inspired me to want to reach for the best. Yeah. I've had so many touching stories of kids who've had really outstanding careers and, and still are having outstanding careers.

Jeff Holden: That's, that's wonderful. [00:39:00] Over the 30 years. The fact that you've been able to be consistent over the 30 years you've performed every home for the holidays. 

Donald Kendrick: Yes. 30 of them. 

Jeff Holden: I mean, gosh, gosh forbid you get sick. I mean, my goodness. You know? Yeah. What happens if you do? How do you unwind? I mean, many of our executives, you know, they're, they're in a space where, you know, whatever their, their nonprofit services and, and it can be daunting.

Yours. I mean, you wouldn't probably go a concert. An escape to, or maybe you would, what is it that you do that that helps you relax? 

Donald Kendrick: Yeah. Well, I mean, I don't reconsider it work, you know? Isn't it awful to say though, to me it's, it's the best kind of 

Jeff Holden: job to have. 

Donald Kendrick: Yeah. It's, it's, it's never been, I never viewed it as work.

I just viewed it as something I want to do and something I enjoy doing. Uh, you know, at one point, Jeff. In my career, I was, when is that Sac State? I was conducting six choirs in my professional orchestra. 

Jeff Holden: I heard you saying that as you're going through the 

Donald Kendrick: six choirs. Like [00:40:00] what? And, but I, I, I don't consider it work.

I just love to do it. I, it's my life, my high school teacher. Lloyd Erickson from Norwegian. He was a Norwegian. He inspired me. I never knew what I wanted to be when I got outta high school. I was 18 years old. I ran away from home when I was 18. I, I had to get away from my family and my parents. I ran away all from, from Calgary, Alberta, all the way across to Toronto to live with my aunt in her rumpus room.

But I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. And that's why high school teachers, that's why I tell my kids when they're doing their master's degree with me, you're the last person to put the thumbprint on that kid. 

Jeff Holden: Hmm, 

Donald Kendrick: you're the last person before that kid goes out the door. To find that Beethoven or that Mozart or that composer or that conductor that might turn their life around.

And so at 18 and a half turned, I turned 19. I thought like, I guess I'll, I'll go into music like my high school teacher, and that's exactly what I did. I know I had no idea what I was doing. But I, that's the path I went [00:41:00] down. So, so what do I do to relax? Well, I use the music to relax. I love reading through new pieces.

I love through looking at new repertoire. I'm a repertoire hound, but I, I love tennis too. I love playing tennis. I'm a real tennis fan. I love skiing. I'm a great, I'm a Canadian, so I, I love skiing and I, I'm a beautiful swimming pool in my backyard. I, I just love California. I, I'm so grateful. I have a wonderful life, Jeff.

I mean, everyone should have my life. You know, I've never regretted anything. I'm, and I've done a lot of wonderful things in my life. I've had great opportunities. I was very young to conduct the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and when I was in Canada, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the kitchen of Waterloo Symphony, I told my kids the other day at school, you know, my grad students and my conducting classes, I said, I don't think I've ever conducted.

Amateur orchestras, maybe four or five. I could count on one hand for 51 years, 51 years, I've [00:42:00] conducted only professional symphony orchestras. What does that mean? That means I'm run by the union on the clock, like every minute's gonna count to this rehearsal. Don't mess up. Don't waste time. Every 50 minutes, $10,000 just flew out the window.

So I would, it informs my. Rehearsal technique, how fast I work, how I rehearse is informed by the fact that I'm always looking at the clock and how much money is this costing, you know? 

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Donald Kendrick: So, yeah. So I, I've been very, very lucky. I've had wonderful players, wonderful. And my orchestra has been 30 years with me.

Even before that, when I used to, in the old days when I was teaching, still teaching the Sax day, but I used to be the Chorus Master, chorus Master of the Sacramento Symphony. So I prepared the choir for those. Carter nice and people like that, Jeffrey, whatever his name was. But anyway, and then they went belly up twice and that's how this all started.

And they all turned to me when the, the symphony went through the floor, the budget fell apart. Everyone left town, [00:43:00] the players. And the CO turned me, said, well Dawn, could you keep us together? And I said, well, let me go home and think about this so we can, I'll come back to you. So Monday morning I went back and said, well, we'll try it for a year.

We will see how it goes. Now these players are my friends. They're not just an orchestra. My orchestra has hardly any turnover for 30 years except for people who retired or died. Sure. But they're not just an orchestra. There, there are family I played for their weddings, their funerals. I know their kids' names.

I know how much money they make. You know, I've been to their home for dinner. We're a big family. I mean, it's, it's really, I know it sounds corny, but it's, we're a family and. I, I was conducting 'em even before I formed the sacramental choral site. So, so after I, I was doing all the concerts with the old symphony.

They were called, it was called mostly Mozart, and they would do those down at the Crest Theater and I would conduct those with the orchestra and then. Beer and jeans and [00:44:00] I, I ran that series for a while, and then I would conduct the outta town stuff like up in Yuba City and stuff. I'd take the orchestra and the chorus up there and, and I'd conduct those for years.

But, but then, so I, I said, okay, we'll st we'll try it and we'll see it. So we formed a chorus 30 years ago, and that, that year I took them to Carnegie Hall in, in New York, and we sang in Carnegie Hall. We've been back to Carnegie Hall since then, of course. But, but, and we've sung in all the major concert halls in the way I took this whole orchestra.

This entire orchestra to Los Angeles, we performed in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the orchestra, I took you to la. The whole orchestra went to LA and sang the Mozart Quim. We recorded it. There's the recording, the Mozart, rem, and lordon. Luke Satan. In la in the Disney Concert Hall in Beijing, we, we sang in the Beijing Concert Hall.

The, the communists built unbelievable architecture. Communists built these amazing, better than Carnegie Hall, made Carnegie Hall look like a dump. They pressed little buttons on the wall and hydraulic risers come out of [00:45:00] the floor to put the brass higher. The winds higher a little, the choir higher. It was a spectacular haul.

We've had worldwide experiences, Slovenia. Unbelievable. We were in Dub Paris. It, it's, it's breathtaking, all because people really wanna make a difference. They wanna belong to something that's doing something valuable in their community, not just to feel good, but that they're contributing to the community and making a change where they, they want their kids to hear them sing this music.

Come and listen to the Vja or to Hayden, or to Brahms. Reem, Verdi. Carmi, the Bana. No one in this town is producing this. Us, and I hope that it's gonna go on for another 30 years. 

Jeff Holden: I am amazed 30 years later, I can't, I just can't imagine you had any more passion 30 years ago than you do today. And the energy and enthusiasm, which which you're [00:46:00] presenting today is exciting.

It's like, okay, I gotta go. When's the next one? What's the next thing? When's it coming up? What's happening? March 

Donald Kendrick: 7th, three o'clock. Save credit. Union Performing Arts Center. Be there B Square. 

Jeff Holden: Where's the best way to find out more information? I think you mentioned the website. 

Donald Kendrick: The website, sacramento coral.org.

Jeff Holden: Okay, so@sacramentocoral.org. We will have that. We'll have that in the show notes so that it's easy for people to grab. 

Donald Kendrick: Thank you, 

Jeff Holden: Don. You and James have lived your vision for this organization. Your persistence and care and concern and love for what you're doing over the years has really left an indelible mark on sacramental's cultural life.

There's nothing like this anywhere. 

Donald Kendrick: No, there's not. 

Jeff Holden: Clearly there's not. No. Or you wouldn't have seen the accolades that you've had as the So choral society begins the important work of transitioning to. What that new artistic and executive leadership looks like. The community's support has really never mattered more, and that's really the essence of this conversation.

It's, it's one thing to get it out there and make people aware of it, but it's another thing to make people understand that we want to [00:47:00] continue it. Mm-hmm. And the significance of what you have created and the significance of what the community has supported. Doesn't go unnoticed. So thank you so much for that.

It's been a pleasure and 

Donald Kendrick: been a pleasure 

Jeff Holden: now onto the next generation of it, so to speak, so we have something that's sustainable and future looking and that we get leadership with the same compassion and interest. Mm-hmm. And just sincerity of doing what they do, to your point, to heal people. 

Donald Kendrick: Absolutely.

Absolutely. You know, I truly believe that's all gonna happen. How we're right now in the middle of a succession planning. Succession planning, that means what will happen when Don and Jim step away, 

Jeff Holden: right? 

Donald Kendrick: And that's a complicated experiment, but. It's, we've got great people helping us. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Donald Kendrick: We've hired a company from New York International and we've got great boards of directors people, [00:48:00] and they are asking questions that need to be asked, and we're looking for solutions.

I believe that we're on the right track and things are gonna happen. 

Jeff Holden: That commitment goes so much deeper than just the surface of what we see because I've seen it from the board. The board has reached out to us Oh. And said, we would love to have you interview Don and James. Oh yes. And I said, well, let's start with that home for the holidays, which is what we did.

And here we are with the full length episode to really get the message out that the. Significance of what we have, this gem of a performing arts, it's, it's bigger than just a choral society, right? 

Donald Kendrick: Yes, it is. Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: And it, it's such a unique situation that it's gonna take some time. 

Donald Kendrick: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: So, 

Donald Kendrick: and we have time.

We're, we're, we're in no hurry. I told them, I said, you know, I will step down when you find the right person. 

Jeff Holden: Perfect. 

Donald Kendrick: Otherwise, I'm never gonna stop 

Jeff Holden: on that. Thank you. 

Donald Kendrick: My pleasure. 

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