Richard Schacht, bass, joined the Chorale (and also the SFO Symphony Chorus, as a Contract Singer) in 2017. He and his wife Judy Rowan had relocated to Santa Fe from Urbana, Illinois, after careers at the University of Illinois (his in Philosophy). He has been singing all his life — from madrigals to choral ensembles large and small, to musicals and operas. He sang Elijah, his first oratorio, with the Chautauqua (NY) Summer Chorus, as an 11-year-old alto. In high school he sang in everything. As both an undergraduate (Harvard) and a grad student (Princeton), he sang in their renowned Glee Clubs; and he has been singing ever since. At Illinois he sang for many years in its Oratorio Society, in its Graduate Chorale (its choral graduate program’s premiere ensemble), and in productions of its opera program. (He also was principal French horn in one of its orchestras for 25 years.) He and Judy happily reside (and sing) in a house they built in the Tesuque area.
