About

Chamber Singers of Iowa City is a volunteer chorus of approximately 70 singers chosen annually by audition. Many of the performances comprising our typical three-concert seasons are performed with orchestral accompaniment and soloists. Such orchestras are formed from professional and amateur musicians from the local and regional area.

Music Director David Puderbaugh has been directing the Chamber Singers since 2002. We are also accompanied during rehearsals and performances by Lynda Hakken.

Chamber Singers is funded by annual dues from chorus members, private and corporate donations, as well as state and national grants. The board of directors is the primary fundraising force behind the group.

Bios

Music Director

David Puderbaugh has served as Music Director of CSIC since 2002. Under his direction, the choir has performed such notable works as Haydn’s The Seasons, Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil, Bach’s Magnificat, Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus, and
Pärt’s Passio. In 2011, the choir released its first CD, On Christmas Day. In 2018, he appeared in concert at Carnegie Hall, leading CSIC, choirs from Illinois and
Pennsylvania, the New England Symphonic Ensemble, and soloists in a performance of Haydn’s Missa cellensis. Puderbaugh also serves as Assistant Director of Choral Activities at the University of Iowa, where he conducts Camerata Singers and teaches graduate choral literature and undergraduate choral conducting. Since 2017, he is an Associate Director
of the UI School of Music, overseeing graduate studies.

A native Iowan, Puderbaugh holds degrees from Drake University, the University of Missouri-Columbia, and the University of Iowa. A former Fulbright Scholar in Estonia, he has added that nation’s choral music to the CSIC repertoire.

Puderbaugh is in demand as a guest conductor and tenor soloist. Most recently, he conducted in Estonia, where he led the Estonian chamber choir Voces Musicales in a CD recording of new music by Estonian and American composers, and in Sweden, where he led a mass choir in a concert commemorating the 750th anniversary of the city of Örebro. He serves as Recorded Sound Reviews Editor for ACDA’s choral Journal.

Accompanist

Lynda Hakken accompanist, is a freelance musician in the area, organist at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, and has a private studio. Hakken is also an active solo
performer and accompanist whose doctoral research is the basis for a beginning method of keyboard harmony. Hakken’s Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ
Performance and Pedagogy and Master of Arts in Organ Performance are from the University of Iowa. Her Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance is from Hope College in Michigan. She studied with Anthony Kooiker (piano); Huw Lewis, Delores Bruch, and Delbert Disselhorst (organ).

Board of Directors

Our board of directors is chosen annually by the membership. These volunteers work closely with the Music Director to produce concerts, publicize performances, raise funds, and manage chorus membership. We thank them for making Chamber Singers possible.

President

Jo Ann Benda

Secretary

Julie Noble

Treasurer

Alison Burchett

Members at Large

Josh Atcher

Jeff Emrich

Michala Martin

Ned Szumski

History

Learn about concerts we’ve given over the last 40 years.