Announcing our 2026-27 Season!
Another incredible season is upon us!
I can't wait to introduce our singers and audience to new music alongside standards of the choral repertoire - just like any Kantorei season you encounter with us!
We begin the season bathing in celestial beauty with Sun and Moon and Stars. We'll perform music by some of Kantorei's favorite composers and past collaborators, including Ola Gjeilo's Luminous Night of the Soul, Eric Whitacre's Goodnight Moon, and Jake Runestad's Goodnight My Love, and introduce you to new music by former Kantorei member Leah Porter Tracywith her Sing to Us, Cedars. We'll also celebrate one of the foremost women composers of the 20th century, Lili Boulanger, with performances of Soir sur la plaine and Hymne au soleil, featuring Alicia Rigsby on piano.
For our December programs, we'll perform the North American premiere of Armenian-British composer Kristina Arakelyan's nine-movement A Christmas Offering. It's a festive celebration that ranges from the energetic "Alleluia!" to the contemplative "Out of the East," with heartfelt moments such as "There Is No Rose." Scored for SATB chorus with harp and inspired by Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols, the work draws its texts from medieval carols in Latin and early English. The musical language often evokes a medieval sound world, but with a contemporary twist, drawing on Arakelyan's own Armenian heritage and other Eastern influences. Then we'll feature seasonal works for piano four-hands and choir, with Amanda Draheim joining Alicia Rigsby to accompany works by Mack Wilberg, Ryan Murphy, Dan Forrest, and Reginald Unterseher.
In March, we're bringing baritone Ben Brady — a former Denver resident performing with the MET Opera — to sing Ralph Vaughan Williams's Five Mystical Songs with Kantorei and organist Ricki Vorrath Moyer. Ben is an East High School graduate and an alumnus of the Rocky Mountain Children's Choir (now Denver Children's Chorus) who has appeared in several recent MET productions and is a rising star in the opera world. Ben will also sing a set of his favorites and join the choir for other works featuring baritone solo.
Finally, we'll be preparing for our next international recording release, "From Breath to Light," featuring local composer and friend Terry Schlenker in a program of his works, including a reprise of our new favorite, Still Waters, Green Pastures.
Another great season with your favorite choir, and we're glad to have you with us!
Joel
