Mayor Proclaims Chorale’s 50th Anniversary, And Carnegie Hall Next Year

At the Estes Park Chorale’s recent spring concert, Estes Park Mayor Wendy Koenig presented a proclamation from the Town of Estes Park in honor of the 50 years of music enhancing the vibrant culture of the area.

The original organization, the Estes Park Madrigal Singers, was founded by musical director Josephine Waddell in 1970 and was composed of sixteen voices and was affiliated with the Fine Arts Guild of the Rockies. Quickly growing beyond Madrigal group size, the Estes Park Chorale was born.

The Proclamation itself, composed of “Whereas” paragraphs, illustrates the Mission of the Chorale, providing an opportunity for area residents to sing in an ensemble setting, to enhance members’ musical skills, and to promote an appreciation of choral music.

Variety is the musical spice of the Chorale’s repertoire, with Denise Stookesberry, current musical director, driving her expertise ever forward to mix favorite classical styles with cutting edge contemporary challenging opportunities to stretch members’ personal and combined choral gems. Auditions are not necessary to belong to the Chorale, but a commitment to weekly rehearsals gathers the wide variety of ages and ability levels to continually learn and grow.

The Chorale is committed to present at least two major concerts annually, with outreach into other performance options in the community at large being planned for the near future.

A most exciting opportunity for outreach is the recent invitation the Chorale has received from MidAmerican Productions to sing at Carnegie Hall next Memorial Day (May 2024) with renowned composter/conductor John Rutter. The Chorale will sing either Rutter’s “Magnificat” or his “Requiem,” both multi-movement works with seven sections, totaling about 20 minutes of music. Singers in the Estes Park area not currently singing with the Chorale are invited to join the special rehearsal schedule of approximately one hour per week beginning as soon as the specific piece is assigned. For information about this exciting opportunity, please contact Denise Stookesberry at dstookesberry@gmail.com or check out the Chorale website at www.estesparkchorale.org.

A great big “Thank You” goes out to the Village Thrift Shop for awarding the Chorale a grant to finance the purchase of the music needed for the Carnegie Hall performance.

Let’s look forward to another 50 years of the Estes Park Chorale’s enhancing the wide and varied musical atmosphere in the Estes Park area.