PROGRAM NOTES

giving voice to those phrases; any music lover would rejoice to hear them. Wright begins with the tenderness of spring rain and the serenity of flowing voices, becoming fuller in places, especially in the radiant closing lines. What is that “dazzling unknown shore”? Interpretations may vary, but certainly it is a resplendent place, perhaps even more so with Wright’s music.

Ken Burton: Prayer

There are many prayers, but only one Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 – 1906). Perhaps the first highly acclaimed African American poet, Dunbar stood out not only as a superior wordsmith amongst his own people, but as one whose works were also admired by influential voices in American literature overall. His Ode speaks of “hard won miles… my wounded feet and God… and healing waters.”

Composer Ken Burton (b. 1970) sets the text eloquently: at first flowing peacefully, then building to resplendence, before easing back into rest. There is, it seems, comfort in the Lord’s “gracious balm.”

Rosephanye Powell: Arise, Beloved

Bible verses and romance do not often come in the same package. However, the Old Testament does contain the rapturous love songs of the Song of Solomon, and it is there that American composer Rosephanye Powell (b. 1962) found the text for Arise, Beloved. Voices are joined by piano, not merely as accompaniment, but as an expressive component, too. Powell says she wanted the piano “to play an equal role. Its sparkling lines contrast perfectly with sostenuto voices and flowing passages that juxtapose men’s voices and those of women: it is, after all, a love song! In the last measures, the piano part ascends, quite literally, to a final statement of “Arise.”

Marques L. A. Garrett: My Heart Be Brave

In My Heart Be Brave, composer Marques L. A. Garrett (b. 1984) sets a sonnet by American civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson (1871 – 1938). “Look up, and out, beyond…

There is a power making for the right.” It is a plea for steadfastness in the face of difficulties encountered in the struggle for civil rights. Garrett begins with calm, perhaps reassuring moods. More nimble lines, even eager ones, develop, leading toward visions of “inspiring hope.” Surely, hope is one sort of bravery, and if a cappella voices can inspire it, then let it be done!

- All program notes © Betsy Schwarm, author of the Classical Music Insights series

Joel Thompson: Draw Us Near

Here we have another entreaty for courage in difficult times, though not civil rights per se. Rather, it is a supplication to the “God of Peace” to give strength to those wearied by “war and blood and fear.” One might wonder if this setting by Joel Thompson (b. 1988) will seek to express those frightful visions, but darkness is not the message. Rather, the mood is largely gentle, gradually becoming sunlit as hope takes root in the heart. Near to the God of Peace, there is comfort.

Christopher H. Harris: Bring to Me All Your Dreams

Dreams can be passionate, or magical, or many other things. For this text by Langston Hughes (1902 – 1967), current composer Christopher Harris opts for awestruck rapture. The harmonies are smooth, the vocal lines flowing. Dreams, after all, are not only those that occupy one’s mind during sleep; they can also be aspirations for the future. Such a notion is a recurring theme in Hughes’ works. The gentleness of Harris’ setting suggests bated breath, that Hughes’ voice is offering a joy that had never seemed possible.

Joel Thompson: Hold Fast to Dreams

Kantorei’s program closes with one more dream of possibilities to come, evoked through a second work by composer Joel Thompson, whose Draw Us Near was featured a short time ago. Hold Fast to Dreams, another Langston Hughes text, muses upon what happens to dreams deferred. Therein could lie discouragement, and indeed, the music juxtaposes both soft and dark energies, even anxiety. However, in the closing pages, Thompson and Hughes together offer the strength of hope and steadfastness. “Hold fast to dreams, for when dreams go, life is a barren field frozen with snow.” Thompson’s music suggests not the barrenness, but rather the hope still within reach. It is a heartening mood in which to send listeners and performers off on their way.

- All program notes © Betsy Schwarm, author of the Classical Music Insights series

& CLASSROOM GRANT

The Kantorei community is proud to offer an annual Classroom Grant and Individual Scholarship to support choral teachers and students of color in the Denver metro area! With your help, we aim to improve diversity in the choral arts. We would love your support of this program, both financially and to get the word out to eligible students and teachers.

Use this QR code to donate. Check back in the fall for application instructions!

JOEL M. RINSEMA Managing Artistic Director

Joel M. Rinsema joined Kantorei (Denver, Colorado USA) in 2014, becoming the second conductor in its 25-year history. A frequent collaborator and champion of new works for chorus, Joel has commissioned and premiered works by many of today’s leading composers, including Kim André Arnesen, Mason Bates, René Clausen, Jean Belmont Ford, Ola Gjeilo, Jocelyn Hagen, Mark Hayes, Cecilia McDowall, Sarah Quartel, Jake Runestad, and Eric Whitacre. In the summer of 2022, Joel conducted the Central American premiere of Jake Runestad’s El Último Hilo (The Last Thread) in Guatemala City and Antigua, Guatemala with Kantorei and the Guatemalan choir Vocalis. He will return in late May of 2023 to conduct Eric Whitacre’s The Sacred Veil

Under Joel’s direction, Kantorei has released two recordings on the Naxos label. Sing, Wearing the Sky: Choral Music of Jake Runestad (2020) was the #3 best-selling classical album on iTunes, reached #4 on the Traditional Classical Billboard Charts, and was in the top ten in both the best-selling classical album and new classical release categories on Amazon. Infinity: Choral Works of Kim André Arnesen (2018) climbed to the #2 best-selling classical album on iTunes, #6 on the Traditional Classical Billboard Charts, and #19 on the overall Classical Billboard charts. Santa Barbara Music Publishing Inc., publishes the Joel Rinsema / Kantorei Choral series.

Joel led Kantorei in performances at the 2019 National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association, and prepared Kantorei as the primary chorus for the Aspen Music Festival for Maestro Robert Spano in the summers of 2021 and 2022. More recently, he conducted Kantorei along with the Canadian Brass in December of 2022, commissioned and prepared Kantorei for the world premiere of the string orchestra version of Eric Whitacre’s The Sacred Veil, led by the composer, and guest conducted The Sacred Veil with the Washington (DC) Choral Arts Society in May of 2023.

Joel is a passionate advocate for the professional choral art form, and he frequently consults with choral arts organizations around the country. Because of his leadership in his field, he received the Louis Botto Award for “Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal” from Chorus America, the industry’s advocacy, research, and leadership development organization for choruses, choral leaders, and singers.

From 2017-2020 he was the North American Choral Promotion Manager for Oxford University Press based in Oxford, England, a tenure during which he worked closely with and represented roster composers John Rutter, Mack Wilberg, Bob Chilcott, Sarah Quartel, Cecilia McDowall, Gabriel Jackson, and Will Todd among others.

Joel holds music degrees from Arizona State University and Whitworth University and he is a member of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammys), American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and Colorado Music Educators Association (CMEA).

He came to Kantorei from the Grammy Award-winning Phoenix Chorale. Throughout his 23-year tenure with the Phoenix Chorale, he served in nearly every capacity with the organization, including his last 15 years as President & CEO and Assistant Conductor. He negotiated an ongoing recording contract with the prestigious U.K.-based Chandos Records, and Phoenix Chorale recordings received a total of eight Grammy nominations and two Grammy awards during his tenure. Joel appears on all Phoenix Chorale recordings and was a soloist on the Grammy Award-winning “Spotless Rose: Hymn to the Virgin Mary.” In addition to his work with the Phoenix Chorale, he was the founding chorus master of the Arizona Musicfest Chorus.

Kantorei is a Denver-based, choral ensemble comprised of volunteer singers under the direction of Artistic Director Joel M. Rinsema

Formed in 1997 under the leadership of six friends and artistic director Richard Larson, Kantorei has established itself as one of the nation’s premier choral ensembles. Our choral artists have studied at schools with strong music programs across the United States such as Baylor University, Brigham Young University, Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, St. Olaf College, Wartburg College, and Westminster Choir College. Kantorei’s singers reside throughout the greater Denver area. Some serve as choral music educators, church choir conductors, and vocal instructors. Others are doctors, social workers, optometrists, counselors, clinical psychologists, accountants, realtors –all brought together in weekly rehearsals for shared artistic excellence and community.

Kantorei has performed for major choral conventions across the U.S., toured the world, and has commissioned and premiered new choral works from such renowned composers as Kim André Arnesen, Eric William Barnum, Abbie Betinis, René Clausen, Ola Gjeilo, Jocelyn Hagen, Sarah Quartel, Jake Runestad, Joshua Shank, and Eric Whitacre. In the summer of 2022, Kantorei performed the Central American premiere of Jake Runestad’s “El Ultimo Hilo” in Guatemala City and Antigua, Guatemala, along with Guatemelan choir Vocalis. In the fall of 2021, Kantorei began its three-year collaboration with M. Roger Holland, II as Artist-in-Residence.

Kantorei has released two recordings on the Naxos label. “Sing, Wearing the Sky” (2020) choral music of Jake Runestad reached the #3 best-selling classical album on iTunes, #4 on the Traditional Classical Billboard Charts, and the top ten in both the best-selling classical album and new classical release categories on Amazon. “Infinity: Choral Works of Kim André Arnesen” (2018) climbed to the #2 best-selling classical album on iTunes, #6 on the Traditional Classical Billboard Charts and #19 on the overall Classical Billboard charts. Santa Barbara Music Publishing Inc. publishes the Kantorei Choral series.

“...An ideally balanced ensemble... In total a much recommended release.”

-David Denton, David’s Review Corner, August 2020 (Read the full review here)

“That he writes well for singers is enthusiastically proved by the all-volunteer Denver-based Kantorei choral ensemble and eight instrumentalists, and some full-blooded recordings.”

-Laurence Vittes, Gramophone, October 2020 (Read the full review here or here)

“…Always engaging and colorful…sung with depth and conviction by Kantorei.”

– Karl W. Nehring, Classical Candor, December 2020 (Read the full review here)