The Chagrin Valley Choral Union is a not-for-profit choral group dedicated to providing a unique opportunity for singers and music lovers to perform the masterworks of the choral literature for residents of the Chagrin Valley and the greater Northeast Ohio region. The roster of singers is as diverse as the music we perform. We welcome all types of singers ranging from professional musicians to church and community group participants. We take pride in our dedication to learning and making music while maintaining a family friendly and caring environment.

In 1953, James A. Raftus, the Director of Music at the Methodist Church in Chagrin Falls, first performed Handel's Messiah as a Christmas gift for his congregation and the Chagrin Valley area. To do the work justice, Mr. Raftus invited the choir members of St. Martin's Episcopal Church to join his singers.

Over the next 59 years, the Chagrin Valley Choral Union, as it came to be known, has performed many major sacred and secular works, some in collaboration with other area musical organizations, including Mendelssohn's Elijah, masses by Mozart, Faure, Randall Thompson's Testament of Freedom, Rossini's Stabat Mater, Brahms' German Requiem, Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Charpentier's Te Deum, Schubert's Mass in G, Pergolesi's Magnificat, Puccini's Magnificat, Pachelbel's Magnificat and Bach's Mignificat.

Mr. Raftus was the first of only six directors, including A. Edward Battaglia II, Kurt Sauer, Edward E. Wiles, Edward A. Shure and now, Dr. J.D. Goddard, to lead the Chagrin Valley Choral Union.

If you are interested in singing with the Chagrin Valley Choral Union, please feel free to attend our rehearsals at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 7196 SOM Center Road (Rt. 91) in Solon. Rehearsals are on Sundays from 1:30-4:00 p.m. weekly from September - December and from January - April.