
About The Chorale
The Pittsburgh Concert Chorale (PCC) is an all-volunteer performing arts organization recognized as one of
the region’s most outstanding choirs.
Under the baton of Music Director Dr. Susan Medley, PCC strives to showcase remarkable musical versatility
at the highest level of artistic excellence through its three concert series performances: Sounds of the Season,
Classics, and Pops, while prioritizing its commitment to educational outreach and community enrichment.
PCC’s signature educational outreach program, the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale Festival of Choirs, has
welcomed more than 1,300 high school students since its inception in 2012 to promote the joy of life-long
choral singing. PCC regularly performs at community events such as Movie Sing-alongs, Summer Fridays at
the Frick, Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games, and the Fourth of July celebration at the Fort Pitt Museum.
PCC members come from diverse musical backgrounds, including trained musicians, former high school and
college choral singers, church choir members, and instrumentalists singing in a choir for the first time.
Beyond the local stage, Dr. Medley has led the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale Touring Choir in performances
across Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Manhattan, and the Chautauqua Institution. In 2026, the
ensemble will perform throughout France, continuing to share their love of music around the world.
The Pittsburgh Concert Chorale is a proud member of Chorus America, the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council,
and is recognized as an Allegheny County Regional Asset.
Mission, Vision, and Values

Mission
We entertain, educate and enrich our community, audiences, and singers through the lifelong cultivation of choral musical experiences. We are the region’s premier large all-volunteer choir. We sing a variety of styles at the highest level of artistic excellence, support the development of young singers through our annual Festival of Choirs, and are involved with our community in appearances throughout the city. We tour internationally to share our love of music with others and we invest in the choral life of the nation through commissioning new choral works.
Vision
We will inspire the community by being an outstanding leader in the choral arts.
Core Values
Artistry
We believe that choral music speaks to our deepest emotions and gives greater meaning to our lives.
Engagement
We believe in the transformational power of music to connect people across the many spaces of life in our community.
Organization
As stewards of a civic and cultural treasure, we are committed to supporting an organizational culture that values integrity, ethical practices, and mutual respect for others in all that we do. We seek to manage our resources responsibly and to become a model for others in our practices.
Our History

The Pittsburgh Concert Chorale was founded in 1985 as a 501c3 not-for-profit organization by Dr. Clark Bedford as the North Hills Chamber Singers, debuting with just 28 singers. Recognizing the ensemble’s growing scope, the group was renamed the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale in 1993 to better reflect its expanding repertoire, performance venues, and the regional diversity of its members. Following Dr. Bedford’s tenure and after co-conducting for one season, Dr. Katherine Mueller became Music Director in 2006, and since 2011 PCC has been led by Dr. Susan Medley, who also serves as Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at Washington & Jefferson College. Over the past four decades, the PCC has flourished into a premier symphonic chorus of approximately 125 voices, bringing high-quality choral music to audiences across the Pittsburgh region.
Staff

Dr. Susan Medley
Music Director
Dr. Susan Medley is Music Director of the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale (PCC). She is also Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at Washington & Jefferson College (W&J). She served as Associate Conductor of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh from 2008-2012 and Conductor of the Junior Mendelssohn Choir from 2009-2013. Dr. Medley's choirs have been recognized for excellence nationally. Her 2010 W&J Camerata Singers are the first recipients of the American Prize in Choral Performance, College/University Division. The following year, the Junior Mendelssohn Choir won The American Prize in Choral Performance, High School Division. Prior to coming to the Pittsburgh area, Dr. Medley served as Associate Director of Education at Carnegie Hall in New York City and founding conductor of the Carnegie Hall High School Choral Festivals. She also held the position of Music Director of The Central City Chorus, a 60-voice community chorus that performed three annual concerts in midtown Manhattan. Medley's choral work has taken her to Malaysia, where she served as guest conductor of the 2006 Kuala Lumpur Young Singers Choral Festival and led workshops for choirs and conductors throughout the country. Dr. Medley has served the profession as President of the American Choral Directors Association-Pennsylvania (2017-19), ACDA-PA Vice President (2019-2021), and various other offices. A recipient of the PMEA District 1 Citation of Excellence and a 2025 nominee for the Brave Women Project Pillar Award in Education, she holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting with a cognate in music theory from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, the Master of Music in accompanying from the University of Akron, and a Bachelor of Music in music education summa cum laude from the University Honors College of Kent State University. Dr. Medley studied piano with Naumburg Award-winning pianist Margaret Baxtresser. A gifted pianist, she continues to perform in recitals with other professional musicians. Dr. Medley's choirs perform both internationally and nationally. PCC has performed in Italy, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic and in Manhattan at Saint Peter's Church, known as the "Church of Jazz", and by invitation on the Great Artists Concert Series at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. Locally PCC has performed at "Fridays at the Frick," The Fourth at Fort Pitt, Three Rivers Arts Festival, and PNC Park. Her W&J Camerata Singers have performed at state and regional music education conferences (through a competitive auditioning process), and by invitation at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall and the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City. She has prepared singers for and performed with Sarah Brightman at the Benedum Center and Michael Bublé at PPG Paints Arena.

Bryan Sable
Accompanist
Bryan Sable graduated cum laude with a BA in Music Education from West Liberty State College where he studied piano with David Zapka and composition with Dr. Kenneth Mahy. Sable also holds a M.Ed. in Administration, K-12, from California University of Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Professional Core of The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh for four years, and served as Assistant Conductor of the Junior Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh for five years. Sable is an active recitalist and guest conductor in South Western PA, Northern WV, and Eastern Ohio. Bryan is the Choral Director at North Allegheny Intermediate High School. Prior to this post, he taught at City Charter High School and Ohio County Schools in Wheeling, WV, as an elementary and middle school music teacher at Wheeling Middle School, Steenrod Elementary School, and West Liberty Elementary School. In addition to his work as an educator, Sable serves as music director at Coraopolis United Methodist Church, where he conducts the handbell choir, Mary K. Kennedy Women’s Chorale, Robert E. Harper Men’s Chorus and the Chancel Choir. Prior posts have included St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Mt. Lebanon, Haven Heights United Methodist Church, and Christ United Methodist Church, Wheeling. He was a finalist in the 2014 University of Michigan Organ Improvisation competition. Bryan also serves as the accompanist for the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale, where he gets to explore the full gamut of musical worlds- jazz, pops, classical and modern. Bryan is a published composer with Heritage Music Press.

HANNAH BALASH
Office Manager
Hannah Balash earned her Master's degree in Vocal Performance from Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts, and since then has explored the worlds of opera, musical theater, and karaoke. Day to day, you can find her helping dreams come true at her bridal consignment shop Bridal Maven in Dormont, and now, in the Office Manager role at PCC! Hannah founded Bridal Maven in 2021, scaling the business from a small pop-up shop to a brick-and-mortar store that serves hundreds of brides a year. The shop makes perennial appearances on City Paper's " Best of PGH" winners list, and Hannah was recently profiled on the front page of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette's Sunday business section. She was also recently recognized as recipient of Pittsburgh Magazine's Women & Business Award. Hannah often performs with the Pittsburgh Savoyards and other area theater companies. She is the current President of Dormont Arts, a local arts nonprofit, which creates and cultivates artistic experiences in the community.
Our Board
John Dobson President (officer)
Sue Swick Secretary (officer)
Jack Doyle Treasurer (officer)
Tracey Staley Development Chair
Corina Campbell Strategic Planning Chair
Jeff Hahn Membership & Operations Chair
Nancy Klimcheck Membership
Steve Barancyk Production Chair
Kashmir Sainiak Front of House Chair
Mary Polley Social Chair /Development
Bill Maruca Development
Lance Turturice Webmaster / Marketing Bruce Ford Parliamentarian / Production
