The Philadelphia Chorus
Raquel García, Artistic Director
Artistic Director
Raquel García is the Artistic Director of The Philadelphia Chorus. She is also the former Artistic Director of The Swarthmore Chorale in Swarthmore, PA, and is the former Assistant Conductor of the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia. Ms. García assisted in conducting the Mendelssohn Club in Robert Moran's world premiere performance of "Chant du Cygne" for four choruses, four orchestras. She is the former director of The Chamber Singers of Harrisburg. During her tenure in Harrisburg, she participated regularly in the annual Central Pennsylvania Choral Festival and was invited by the American Choral Directors Association to conduct in the regional convention in Philadelphia.
She has prepared choruses for such conductors as Tamara Brooks, Fiora Contino, Alan Harler, Robert Page and Gregg Smith. She has led The Philadelphia Chorus in such varied works as Bach's Magnificat and Mass in F, Brahms' Requiem, Rene Clausen's Memorial, Duruflé's Requiem, Handel's Judas Maccabæus and Jephtha, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass and Creation Mass, Honneger's King David, Mozart's Vespers, Fauré's Requiem, Rutter's Gloria, Todd's Mass in Blue, Forrest's Jubilate Deo and Jenkins’ The Armed Man. A native of Puerto Rico, Ms. García studied at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Theory and a Master's degree in Choral Conducting, both from Temple University.
The Harrisburg Patriot News praised her as a conductor who “clearly knows music and how to bring the best of it from choral groups”. BSharp Productions’ review stated, “The most important person at this performance was Raquel García, Artistic Director. As conductor, she led the chorus through the journey of each work. García was very in tune to the music that surrounded her. García was so hypnotic in her movement that one could feel the emotion just by looking at her. It is no wonder that the choir sounded so passionate and expressive - it is because of her guidance. The music danced as she danced, and the music cried as she cried.”