In 1991, a group of choral singers got together, under the direction of noted composer, conductor, and bass-baritone Thomas Beveridge, to form the New Dominion Chorale. Now one of the largest choral groups in the area (if not the largest), NDC boasts 225 members and is widely regarded as one of the jewels of Washington's brilliant choral scene. In recognition of its musical excellence, NDC has attracted widespread community support and has garnered glowing reviews in the Washington Post and other publications.

Writing in the Post about an NDC performance of the Messiah, critic Joseph McClellan used words like "opulent, precise, and powerful," noting that the sound was "smoothly balanced and integrated, with each section bringing a justly proportioned weight and color to the total effect." McClellan also praised the benevolent dictatorship of Artistic Director Beveridge. "You do not get this kind of result in a large chorus without hard work and firm, uncompromising leadership," he wrote.

NDC is unique in many ways, starting with the fact that it is a singers' cooperative. With no office and no paid staff, it's run by a board of directors consisting solely of current members. The singers sell the tickets, oversee the finances, write grant proposals, operate the website, and perform the myriad tasks that keep an organization as large as this running smoothly.

"Because we draw our people from Metropolitan Washington, we have unbelievable depth in the professional lives of our members," says Rosemarie Hunziker, a former president of the organization, "including a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, a composer, a former president of the Virginia State Bar, and the CEO of a successful high-tech company. So when a job needs to be done, we have the advantage of being able to tap into all these remarkable skills."

The board takes its fiscal responsibilities seriously, so NDC has never finished a year in deficit. Support comes from members' dues, ticket sales, and contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals.

"We're thriving because we don't have paid staff," says former NDC president Joseph Condo. "All the money goes for production - for paying our soloists, our orchestra, and our artistic director. Members scour the area for grants, and individual singers contribute money as well. One year a member sold a piece of property and had an unexpected windfall, and she donated a substantial sum to the chorale."

NDC has even managed to remain fiscally sound while putting on ever-more ambitious concerts. Recently, for example, the group performed Mendelssohn's Elijah, a monumental, complex work. "In addition to bringing in John Cheek, a Metropolitan opera soloist, we had four other professional soloists and a solo octet from the Palestrina Choir, a professional vocal ensemble," says Beveridge. "And the orchestra was huge--nearly 50 members. Obviously, you can't put on an expensive concert of this magnitude all the time."

Among other notable works the Chorale has performed, two in particular stand out. They are the Yizkor Requiem and the Symphony of Peace, two large-scale oratorios composed by artistic director Beveridge. Both had their premiers with NDC. The Yizkor premier has been followed by twenty other performances here and abroad, and a recording was recently released on the Naxos label under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner.

Given the stature of the chorale, many people are surprised to learn of its no-audition policy; anyone can sing with the chorus. Even so, critics have praised the ensemble for its vocal balance and the polish of its performances. In part, the high level of musicianship comes from an unspoken compact among members: "Learn your notes. And if you don't read music that well, practice at home until you know the piece cold."

"All of us choral directors in town were kind of aghast at first when we heard about the no-audition policy," says Robert Shafer, artistic director of the City Choir of Washington. "All it takes is one loud, wobbly singer to ruin a work, but his groups really sound good. Tom is a fine singer himself, and he understands the voice. He knows how to help people."

"I think there's a reason people practice, and it all stems from our desire to do our best for Tom," says longtime member Tam Gotchef. "We have such admiration and respect for him; you feel you don't dare mess up."

Members also take their responsibility to the community seriously. That is why they volunteer their time to sing in area retirement and nursing homes. NDC also sponsors the "Summer Sings" series, a summer evening sing-along of the great chorale works to which all comers are invited.

The genesis of the Chorale was unusual. It grew out of the now-defunct McLean Choral Society, where Beveridge served as the artistic director from 1987 to 1991. MCS was a small community-oriented group with a budget of about $5,000 a year when he took it over. "There were only 28 or 30 members at the time," he recalls. "They were performing in local churches and high schools, with piano accompaniment by the excellent and loyal Dianne Shupp, and an audience consisting mostly of family members."

Under Beveridge's leadership, MCS grew to 150 members within four years. The artistic level rose as well, thanks in no small part to the ability to hire professional soloists and orchestral musicians. In 1991, however, Beveridge resigned over artistic and management differences with the board, taking most of the members and Ms. Shupp with him. They became the nucleus of the New Dominion Chorale, which was formed the same year. Sixty of the original members are still singing with the organization.

"We had a core group of people who were very loyal to Tom," recalls Stu Schmid, a founding member of NDC. "They wanted to continue under his leadership, which meant starting anew. So we sat down and hammered out all kinds of decisions, such as what to call ourselves and what would be our base of operations. Would we be McLean-based, or have a broader geographical focus? In the end, we settled on a Northern Virginia motif, although we have performed in other venues. Once we formed the New Dominion Chorale, we were off and running in no time at all."

For the first ten years of its existence, NDC mostly performed in churches and high schools. As the group grew, however, it became increasingly difficult to find a venue that would hold 200-plus people on the stage. "I remember one concert we sang at the McLean Community Center," says Tam Gotchef. "The stage was so crowded, some of us actually had to stand off-stage, behind the curtain."

Then, in 2001, NDC was fortunate enough to find a permanent home in which to perform: The Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center, a 1,000-seat concert hall on the Alexandria campus of the Northern Virginia Community College. Praised for its lush sound, the hall has proved to be a blessing in more respects than one.

"When we went to Schlessinger in 2001, it changed the way we produced our concerts," says Beveridge. "We no longer had to haul risers and chairs around, and the chorus no longer had to stand throughout the concert, as it did in most venues. That made it difficult to perform big pieces like Elijah, Mendelssohn's Hymn of Praise, and the Verdi Requiem. The whole professional quality and choice of repertoire has been enhanced by our move to Schlessinger."

The caliber of the orchestral musicians performing at concerts has steadily grown, too. "We get the cream of the crop," says Beveridge. "We hire the best of the freelance professionals and military musicians in the area. All of them are familiar with the repertoire."

Although members are serious about their music, people do laugh about funny things that happen from time to time. Members still talk about the time the power went out before a holiday concert of the Messiah at the McLean Presbyterian Church on Balls Hill Road. The church's emergency lighting provided just enough light for the orchestra and singers to set up, but reading the music was another story. Beveridge asked the audience to get flashlights from their cars; they produced about 50 of them. People were poised to shine their flashlights over the shoulders of the orchestra members, but at the last moment, just as the chorus was lining up to make its entrance, the lights came on.

Then there was the near-disaster during the premier performance of Yizkor Requiem at St. Mark's Catholic Church in Vienna. A priest was supposed to do a reading from the Union Prayer Book for Jewish Worship, cued by a soft "Amen," sung by the chorus, but as the music faded away, Maestro Beveridge realized something was amiss. "When I turned to the priest to signal it was his turn to get up, he didn't respond. It wasn't because he was asleep. He was so genuinely moved by the music he was in a sort of trance. So I grabbed the score and read it myself."

The group's members are just as moved by the music, which is selected mainly from the classical choral canon. "Everything starts with the music," says Rosemarie Hunziker. "The New Dominion Chorale is about making music accessible to everyone. First and foremost, it's for people who love to sing, but who, for the most part, have day jobs. The music is also accessible to audiences. Our ticket prices are low enough so that everybody can come - from those who love choral works to those who will love it once they are exposed to it. It's a joy to belong."