Our story

The Healdsburg Chorus grew out of community members’ desire to come together and share the joy of singing.

In 1987, a few community members in Healdsburg, California met to discuss the dream of forming a group to share their love of singing.  With a modest gathering of twenty people, founding director Betty Zukov and accompanist Susan Nelson stepped forward to lead the group, and the “Healdsburg Community Chorus” was born.

Since the first concert in 1988, the Chorus has grown to approximately sixty members. In May, 2013, the Chorus celebrated its 25th anniversary and honored retiring director Betty Zukov for her 25 years of inspiring musical leadership.

The Chorus was fortunate to attract long-time music educator and choral leader Jim Humphreys as its director beginning in the fall of 2013.  Jim’s love of music, his natural teaching ability, his energetic directing style and his great sense of humor kept the Chorus learning and growing during his tenure that ended in 2019. Susan Nelson also continued to accompany the Chorus and inspire us with her musical talent, dedication, and patience until she retired in 2019.

During the COVID pandemic in 2020-2021, a stalwart subset of the Chorus and Board continued to meet under strict health protocols and kept itself going until lockdown ended, at which time David Martin joined as Director.  David was a retired music educator and professional violinist.  He holds degrees in Music Education from San Francisco State University, Golden Gate University and the University of Calgary.  His joy of music, outstanding sense of humor and vast talent  restored the Chorus to musical health.  Beth Benjamin joined the Chorus in 2024 as accompanist, bringing her extensive background in piano and organ, along with her remarkable talent and focus.

In 2026, following David’s retirement, Don Scott Carpenter took the baton.