About Us

About South Coast Singers

With a repertoire encompassing both traditional and popular styles of music (jazz, swing, Broadway, classical, gospel, patriotic and rock are all included at one time or another) the South Coast Singers is comprised of more than fifty talented singers from all over Orange County. The Singers offer quality performances in a “pops” style to enthusiastic audiences each season.

Founded in 1992 as the Capistrano Chorale, under the direction of Jonathan Jenkins, the group had its beginning as ten women singing two-part harmony and performing in a gym at the Dana Point Recreation Center. Today, the mixed group often performs complex arrangements ranging from 4-part to 8-part harmony. Concerts are presented in churches including Geneva Presbyterian in Laguna Woods, Presbyterian Church of the Master in Mission Viejo, and Gloria Dei Lutheran in Dana Point.

In 2000, the Chorale became a California nonprofit performing arts 501(c)3 corporation and in January 2002 changed its name to South Coast Singers, with Raymond P. Woods as its Musical Director. The group is dedicated to fostering the musicianship of its members and to bringing education, enjoyment and cultural enrichment to the community. The South Coast Singers present a series of concerts throughout South Orange County twice yearly, in June and December, as well as additional special performances throughout the year.

Always well-received by those who attend, "joyful" and "awesome" are words repeated over and over by audience members. "The musicianship shown by this group is breathtaking," wrote one member of the audience. Each season South Coast Singers gain additional enthusiastic fans as they continue to bring their love of choral music to the community.

Community involvement is an ongoing goal of the South Coast Singers as they seek to share their love of music with the public and, with support from community and audience sponsors, they continue to pursue that goal. In past years, they have participated in Soka University of America’s International Festival on the Green, lent their voices to Christmas at the Mission in San Juan Capistrano, and were selected to participate in Disneyland’s Candlelight Choir during the holiday season.

Past investments by Arts Orange County and the City of Laguna Niguel aided the Singers in establishing its Community Outreach Program which includes an annual scholarship competition known as Stars of Tomorrow, where high school vocalists from all over Orange County compete for prizes totaling at least $4500. Established more than fifteen years ago, these annual competitions have helped many to achieve their career goals and several past winners have gone on to become successful Broadway and Classical performers.

The South Coast Singers are bound together by their love of music and their dedication to each other and to their director, and that love and dedication is expressed in every performance. Audiences come away from their concerts with a smile and a feeling of joy. An insightful writer once said : “We don’t sing because we’re happy; we’re happy because we sing.” That line could have been written by any number of joyful South Coast Singers.

Join the South Coast Singers for their next concert series -- let them capture your heart with song.

Our Musical Director, Ray Medina, is also the Vocal Music Director for the South Orange County School of the Arts at Dana Hills High School and is in his sixteenth year teaching vocal music at the high school level.  His choirs have consistently earned unanimous superior ratings at festivals and have won several competitions throughout the western states. He has had the privilege of conducting choirs at Carnegie Hall and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, and has performed on stage at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and La Madeleine in Paris. Ray earned his B.M. in Choral Conducting and Music Education at Chapman University.

Dennis Aigner is a retired professor of Economics and Management at UC Irvine and former Dean of its Merage School of Business. He was also Dean of the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UC Santa Barbara, among other leadership positions is his long academic career. His M.A. and Ph.D. degrees are from UC Berkeley.

Dennis has been a performing singer and instrumentalist (bass, guitar) for many years, beginning in high school with choir and a jazz vocal octet that performed on Ray Anthony’s TV show and at the Hollywood Palladium. As an undergraduate at UCLA he participated several times in its annual Spring Sing at the Hollywood Bowl with a men’s vocal jazz quartet from his fraternity, and played rhythm guitar in a jazz combo. He has been part of a five-piece classic rock band for over 40 years that is still performing and, as an outgrowth of his long-time participation in SCS, he is also a member of a jazz vocal group, the South Coast Quartet, made up of members and former members of SCS, that has been performing for over a decade.

Dennis continues to do some academic research, but his main activities these days consist of his various musical endeavors, a very large extended family and, with the assistance of the SCS Board and our very talented Musical Director, helping to develop SCS into the premier community choir in Orange County.

Brian O'Neill has been the South Coast Singers' accompanist since 2002. He attended Dana Hills High School & the University of San Diego where he studied computer science & music, and has worked as a software developer for several tech companies in Southern California, including Hewlett-Packard. Brian also serves as an accompanist for several Catholic churches in the Orange County area and lives in San Juan Capistrano with his wife Melissa and three children.

Raymond P. Woods was the Founding Musical Director of the South Coast Singers. He led the group from January 2002 until July 2017. He was the Artistic Director of the South Orange County School of the Arts (SOCSA) at Dana Hills High School, where he served as a vocal music teacher for 30+ years. Ray had an extensive music background as an accomplished pianist, organist & harpsichordist, and over 40 years of experience in choral directing. He received his B.S. at Whittier College, an M.A. from Occidental College, and did doctoral studies at the University of Southern California. During his career, he founded and directed several community chorales and directed the United Methodist Church choir in Garden Grove. In November 2007, Ray was named Outstanding Arts Educator of the Year in Orange County. He touched the lives of innumerable families in South Orange County.

Perry Carter was Musical Director Emeritus of the South Coast Singers. Perry began singing solos at the age of 3. He taught and sung professionally for more than 55 years. His teaching experience included directing high school choral music programs and church music programs, and he retired from teaching voice for 22 years at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California. Perry graduated in music from Chapman University and held his master's degree from the University of Southern California. His solo experience covered a wide range of musical styles from jazz to oratorio to singing the Celebrant's part in Leonard Bernstein's “Mass” to singing barbershop harmony in Disneyland’s Dapper Dans. Mr. Carter was a Voice Specialist and founder of VOCALiNSPIRATIONS™, a comprehensive voice program specializing in authentic voice development. Perry was beloved by so many, and will be missed.