What to Listen For: Sun and Moon and Stars
A behind-the-music guide to Kantorei’s 2026–27 season opener
What should you listen for when you hear a new choral concert? Sometimes, knowing a little about the music—and the stories behind it—can make the experience even richer.
For Sun and Moon and Stars, Kantorei Artistic Director Joel Rinsema brings together music inspired by sunlight, nighttime, lullabies, nature, folk traditions, and the stars. The program includes works by both living and historical composers, along with music connected to members of the Kantorei community.
We asked Joel to take us behind the program and share how these pieces came together—and what he hopes you'll hear when you join us.
How does Kantorei choose the music for a concert?
When I program concerts, I usually start with pieces the singers of Kantorei will sound wonderful performing and repertoire I want to introduce to our audiences, then build a theme around them to flesh out the rest of the program.
This time, I really wanted Kantorei to program works of Lili Boulanger: her Hymne au Soleil (Hymn to the Sun), which I'd performed before, and Soir sur la Plaine (Evening on the Plain), which was new to me.
Lili was the younger sister of famed piano pedagogue Nadia Boulanger. She died at only 24, which is truly unfortunate; based on the quality of her limited output, I believe she would have been one of the most influential composers of the 20th century.
Both works feature piano, giving us a chance to showcase our collaborative pianist, Alicia Rigsby, who happens to love French repertoire. As a special bonus, she'll be playing two 9-foot concert grand pianos: a Steinway at First Plymouth and a brand-new Bösendorfer at Wellshire!
What to listen for
Listen for the contrast between Boulanger's two works and the way the piano becomes an important part of the sound of the choir. You'll also hear two very different instruments across the two concert venues, each bringing its own character to the performance. A little note to consider throughout: be sure to follow along with the texts in the program as you listen. The words are what set the vocal arts apart from other performing arts, giving the music added depth, meaning, and emotional resonance.
From sunset to night: How the theme came together
These pieces are about the sun rising and setting, which started me down the path of a concert about the sky, especially at night.
Naturally, some lullabies turned up in my research. Jake Runestad's Good Night, My Love and Eric Whitacre's setting of the children's story Goodnight Moon both feature piano again.
The third, Sing to Us, Cedars, is special to all of us in Kantorei because it was written by former member Leah Porter Tracy.
A piece with a Kantorei connection
Leah set The Bird's Lullaby by poet Emily Pauline Johnson in this hauntingly beautiful piece, which won Chicago a cappella's "HerVoice" competition for emerging women composers, chosen from 82 works by 69 composers representing 13 countries and 22 U.S. states.
Leah's piece was workshopped and performed by the Grammy Award-winning Kansas City Chorale, and she worked with mentor composer Chen Yi.
Leah will be with us for both concerts. After completing her Master's degree in composition at CU Boulder, she and her husband Alec moved back to Ohio to be closer to family.
Welcome back, Leah!
What to listen for
As you hear these lullabies, listen for the different ways composers approach music associated with sleep and nighttime. You'll hear the intimacy of lullabies alongside the larger sound of the full choir—and, in Leah's piece, the sounds of nature.
The story behind Ola Gjeilo's Luminous Night of the Soul
Ola Gjeilo's Luminous Night of the Soul for piano and string quartet also came to mind.
When I was in Phoenix, I helped commission Ola's Dark Night of the Soul and introduced him to the text by St. John of the Cross; I believe it may have been his first setting of English text.
Following that work's popularity, Ola wrote this companion piece, again setting St. John of the Cross along with poet Charles Anthony Silvestri, who is no stranger to Kantorei.
This connection makes Luminous Night of the Soul particularly meaningful for me—and for Kantorei. The piece grew out of an earlier commission and a relationship with a composer whose work has already been part of our musical history.
What to listen for
Listen for the combination of choir, piano, and string quartet. The instrumental ensemble gives this work a different sound world from the pieces that surround it, while its connection to Dark Night of the Soul creates a thread between past and present.
Bringing the cello into the night sky
With a string quartet in the mix, I contacted one of my favorite instrumentalists, cellist Dylan Tyree (featured on our recent Song Offerings album and the cello soloist in Eric Whitacre's The Sacred Veil a few years back), and he agreed to assemble the quartet.
To round out the program, I looked for works featuring cello that fit our theme.
Dan Forrest's The Sun Never Says, inspired by the words of Persian Sufi poet Hafiz, is a movement from his larger work LUX: The Dawn of Light, arranged for SATB choir and cello.
The most "fun" find is the Irish folk song Sun and Moon and Stars, with cello and soprano solo.
Wait till you hear Beryl Fanslow Wilson on the solo—and what a great title for our concert!
Finally, there's Underneath the Stars, an arrangement of English singer-songwriter Kate Rusby's song, made famous among choirs worldwide by VOCES8.
What to listen for
The cello becomes another voice in this part of the program, sometimes accompanying the choir and sometimes taking a more prominent role. Listen, too, for the change in musical traditions—from contemporary choral writing to Irish folk music and an English singer-songwriter's work as interpreted by the choral world.
A little something for everyone
Like most Kantorei concerts, there's a little something for everyone: French impressionism and neo-romanticism, Ola Gjeilo's cinematic writing, sweet and tender sleep songs, folk melodies, and the sounds of nature in Leah Porter Tracy's lullaby.
Rather than presenting one single style of choral music, Sun and Moon and Stars moves through a wide range of musical colors and traditions, connected by the imagery of light, darkness, sleep, nature, and the night sky.
Meet the soloists
I'm also excited for you to hear our talented soloists.
Soprano Sara Michael, mezzo-soprano Sarah Branton, tenor Mason France, and baritone Caleb Heaton are featured in the Boulanger.
Soprano Lexie Orvin soars in the Whitacre and the Porter Tracy.
Mezzo-soprano Emily Alexander and tenor Chad Nelsen share a lovely, bittersweet duet in Underneath the Stars.
And, of course, there's Alicia Rigsby at the piano.
Experience Sun and Moon and Stars live
We'll perform without intermission, pausing only briefly to recognize these soloists and the rest of Kantorei's wonderful singers.
What a great way to start our 29th season. I'm really excited to share this program with you, and I hope you'll be there!
Sun and Moon and Stars
October 3 & 4, 2026
Experience live choral music with Kantorei, a Denver choir, as we journey from sunlight and sunset into the night sky and toward dawn.
