The Sheldon All-Star Chorus

Sheldon All-Stars Chorus posing and smiling on steps to a building

The Sheldon’s All-Star Chorus was founded in 2018 to break down barriers for participating in music for high school singers.  Many high school musicians have benefited from this donor-funded program, where tuition, transportation, private voice lessons and weekly dinner are underwritten by the Arthur and Helen Baer Charitable Foundation, generously supported by Dick and Mary Ann Shaw, and donors.  

Under artistic director Maria A. Ellis, the ensemble learns music literacy and vocal technique while they sing a wide variety of vocal music genres.  The group has been invited to perform in important venues like University of Missouri St. Louis’s Touhill Performing Arts Center, The Cathedral Basilica, and Carnegie Hall (2023), in addition to their home venue, The Sheldon.  They have performed in social media reels with Adam Maness’s Open Studio and have performed world premieres with Grammy-winning soprano Christine Brewer.  The All-Star Chorus is headed to Nashville in June 2025, where they will get to work with Dr. Wilson of the Fisk Jubilee Singers at Fisk University.