COSTA MESA, CA (March 27, 2024) – Pacific Chorale Board Chair Craig Springer today announces that the Board of Directors has named veteran arts leader Rhett M. Del Campo President and CEO of the GRAMMY®-winning ensemble. Del Campo, who assumes the post on May 1, 2024, has notable leadership expertise in the choral field, including a nine-year tenure helming the GRAMMY®-nominated professional vocal ensemble Seraphic Fire and, most recently, serving as the first executive director of iSing Silicon Valley. Prior to moving into arts administration, Del Campo was a professional percussionist, performing with the Chicago, Kansas City, and Detroit symphonies, among others, and serving as Principal Percussionist with the Royal Swedish Opera and Ballet.

“I am pleased to welcome Rhett Del Campo to the GRAMMY®-winning Pacific Chorale as the institution’s new President and CEO,” says Pacific Chorale Board Chair Craig Springer. “His many accomplishments in the professional choral industry reflect his strong leadership skills, keen strategic insights, and deep musical knowledge. The Board of Directors is unanimous in the belief that Rhett is the ideal choice to effectively lead our organization, dramatically expand its reach and reputation in Orange County, and provide ever more opportunities for audiences to experience the joy and wonder of choral music.”

The Chorale’s Artistic Director, Rob Istad adds, “I am thrilled to welcome Rhett to the Pacific Chorale family. The outstanding achievements during his leadership of Seraphic Fire and iSing Silicon Valley attest to Rhett’s passion for choral artistry at the highest level and enthusiasm for educational community programs of substance. I have been inspired by Rhett’s work for many years. He and I share a bold vision for Pacific Chorale’s expansion into our community and our potential for broader international impact, and I look forward to working with him to propel Pacific Chorale to an innovative, responsive, and exciting future.”

Del Campo states, “Pacific Chorale is an organization I’ve long admired and respected. I feel quite honored at the opportunity to join an organization with such a rich history and build upon its exceptionally strong foundation. I am deeply committed to working with Rob Istad, the Board, and the entire team to ensure Rob’s artistic vision continues to flourish, while further building audiences for the choir, increasing vital philanthropic support, and expanding the organization’s educational footprint across Orange County. I am also drawn to Pacific Chorale because of its unique position in the greater Orange County arts community, including its home at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and strong partnership with the Pacific Symphony. I am eager to get to work and excited to meet all the wonderful artists and supporters who are the heart and soul of Pacific Chorale.”

The GRAMMY® Award-winning Pacific Chorale, resident chorus at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA, presents its own concert series each season and frequently collaborates with world class ensembles such as Pacific Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The choir, hailed for its “uplifting tones” (NBC4) and “beautifully balanced programming” (KTLA), has “racked up national acclaim” (San Francisco Classical Voice).

ABOUT RHETT DEL CAMPO

With 15 years of leadership experience in the professional arts industry, Rhett M. Del Campo focuses on increasing organizations’ impact through sustainable partnerships and cultures that provide high levels of productivity and profitability. Del Campo joined iSing Silicon Valley, a choral education program for K-12 girls, as their first Executive Director in 2023 following a nine-year tenure as Executive Director of Seraphic Fire, a GRAMMY®-nominated professional vocal ensemble based in Miami. Under Del Campo’s leadership, Seraphic Fire built a robust education program that brought music education into Title I elementary schools across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Collier counties. He forged three national education-based partnerships, launching the Ensemble Artist Program with UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music, the Professional Choral Institute at Aspen Music Festival and School, as well as student conductor and composer apprenticeships with University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. He also brought to fruition artistic collaborations with The Cleveland Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony, New World Symphony, and American Brass Quintet, oversaw numerous national tours, commission and recording projects, and worked to increase artist compensation by 53% over the course of his tenure at Seraphic Fire.

At Seraphic Fire, Del Campo also focused on long-term sustainability. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization honored all contracts with its artists and retained all full- and part-time staff while increasing cash reserves through continued budget surpluses. Through rigorous financial planning, strategic arts partnerships, touring, building an endowment, and a strong commitment to its home community in South Florida, Del Campo helped the organization achieve relevance in the international arts community as a model for sustained success.

Del Campo started his career in arts administration as the assistant to the executive director with Kansas City Symphony. He also served as a business developer and client relationship manager for Monday Loves You, a Chicago-based web technology company focused on digital strategies for nonprofits. His administrative leadership and development expertise have been informed by capacity building workshops with DeVos Institute of Arts Management and studies at Indiana University’s Fund Raising School.

A Chicago-native and life-long musician with a background in piano and percussion performance, Del Campo debuted as a piano soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1991 and on tour in Italy with the Chicago Youth Symphony in 1994. He holds a bachelor’s degree from New England Conservatory (Boston) and a master’s from DePaul University (Chicago), both in percussion performance. Del Campo was a percussion fellow with New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas for four seasons and, from 2006 to 2010, resided in Stockholm, Sweden, serving as the principal percussionist with the Royal Swedish Opera and Ballet. He has performed, recorded, and toured with the Philharmonia Orchestra (London) under Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Palau de les Arts Opera (Valencia) under Zubin Mehta and Lorin Maazel, as well as the Chicago, Detroit, and Kansas City symphonies.

Del Campo is committed to being an active member of the communities he serves. He was a taskforce leader for Emerging Arts Leaders of Miami and a member of United Way’s Young Leaders, where he volunteered his time as a member of the health council reviewing grants and conducting site visits. He also served as an Arts & Culture grant panelist for the Florida Department of State and for Miami-Dade County’s Department of Cultural Affairs. To give back to New World Symphony, Del Campo has presented to fellows as part of its Sounding Boards series and Entrepreneurship Program. He served on the Executive Committee of the Friends of New World Symphony Board and is currently the Chair of the Board for IlluminArts (Miami) and Co-Chair of the Alumni Committee at the Aspen Music Festival and School.

ABOUT PACIFIC CHORALE

The GRAMMY® Award-winning Pacific Chorale, led by Artistic Director Robert Istad, is an Orange County “treasure” with a “fresh viewpoint” that “can sing anything you put in front of it with polish, poise and tonal splendor” (Orange County Register). It has risen to national prominence since its founding in 1968.

Hailed for delivering “thrilling entertainment” (Voice of OC), the resident choir at Segerstrom Center for the Arts is noted for its artistic innovation and commitment to expanding the choral repertoire. It has given world, U.S., and West Coast premieres of more than 40 works, including numerous commissions, by such lauded composers as John Adams, Jake Heggie, James Hopkins, David Lang, Morten Lauridsen, Tarik O'Regan, Karen Thomas, Frank Ticheli, András Gábor Virágh, and Eric Whitacre.

In addition to presenting its own concert series each season, Pacific Chorale enjoys a long-standing performance partnership with Pacific Symphony, including the choir’s highly anticipated Carnegie Hall debut in 2018. The chorus also regularly appears with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with which it won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance for its contribution to the live recording of “Mahler: Symphony No. 8, 'Symphony of A Thousand,'” conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, featuring Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, National Children’s Chorus and Pacific Chorale.

The choir has performed with such leading orchestras as the Boston Symphony, National Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, and Musica Angelica, among others. In addition to receiving national accolades, Pacific Chorale has garnered tremendous international acclaim. In July 2023, the chorus completed its first international tour in seven years with appearances in Austria, Germany, and the United Kingdom in collaboration with Bath Philharmonia, Free State Orchestra of Bavaria, and Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Orchestra. Previous tours have taken the choir to 19 countries in Europe, South America, and Asia, including engagements with the London Symphony, Munich Symphony, L’Orchestre Lamoureux and L’Orchestre de St-Louis-en-l’Île of Paris, National Orchestra of Belgium, China National Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Estonian National Symphony, and Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Argentina, among others.

Deeply committed to making choral music accessible to everyone, the organization has a discography of 14 self-produced recordings and an extensive collection of free digital offerings. Among other artistic highlights, Pacific Chorale’s “The Wayfaring Project,” an original concert film conceived and conducted by Istad and produced during the pandemic, was streamed on pbssocal.org, kcet.org and the PBS app, reaching audiences around the globe. Pacific Chorale also places significant emphasis on choral music education, providing after-school vocal programs for elementary school students, a choral summer camp for high school students, and an annual community-wide singing event at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. www.pacificchorale.org