During the early days of the Great Depression, a Phoenix voice teacher decided to bring some joy to the community by forming an all-American chorus. Douglas Russell posted a notice in The Arizona Republican asking for men to join the Orpheus Club — named for the Greek god of music. The club’s first meeting was held on November 5, 1929, and attracted about 25 men who performed on Christmas morning during a KTAR radio broadcast.
“I have to believe that performance was healing,” says Mitra Khazai, executive director of what now is the Orpheus Male Chorus of Phoenix. “Musicianship was always important. They put on a great show, it’s always uplifting, and you always leave affected by their singing.”
Ninety-six years later, the chorus is still performing around the Valley, and also around the world. Chorus members have to audition to join and come from a variety of backgrounds. “We have men who have sung with the opera professionally and also men who maybe sang in high school or their church choir,” Khazai says. There’s a wide age range, too, with some members in their 20s and others in their late 80s.
The chorus aims to make sure a love of music and choral singing continues for generations. Orpheus helped develop the Phoenix Boys Choir and also hosts an annual event called Men Do Sing, which brings choral directors together to work with middle and high school students. “It’s a way to demonstrate the long-term value of singing,” Khazai says. “You might not pursue singing as a profession, but you could always sing in a choir.”
Orpheus holds three concerts in the Valley every year. And since its founding, the chorus has performed at least once annually, making it the longest-standing continuously performing choir in Arizona. As the group approaches its centennial year, Khazai says the goal is to continue community outreach and help people through music.
“Music has a healing effect; it’s therapeutic,” she says. “We’re looking to expand that work, because it’s clearly impactful to the population served, and there is a need.”