Int roducing

There is a new professional choral ensemble in North Dakota called Dakota Pro Musica. The ensemble was founded in October 2020 shortly after I moved to Bismarck from Bronxville, NY (a suburb of New York City), where I had served as Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music and Humanities at Concordia College New York from 2007-2020. Dakota Pro Musica was created after the model of the professional church choirs which exist in nearly every church on the East Coast and especially New York City. Most churches in the City hire 8 professional singers and perform concerts as well as worship services. I was a member of the Christ Church Bronxville choir for nearly a decade, which was led by the renowned British composer Philip Stopford.

Dakota Pro Musica began with eight volunteer singers which rehearsed weekly from October until Christmas and gave their first concert in Dickinson in December 2020. After the first concert, I decided to change the rehearsal process into the standard of professional choir across the US. This typically means the singers learn the music on their own and have just 3-4 rehearsals the week preceding the concert. The first season included performing Dido and Aeneas with the Bismarck State Concert Choir at the Belle Mehus, and then our first annual Mother’s Day concert at Corpus Christi Church in Bismarck.

The ensemble became a fully professional ensemble beginning in the fall of 2021, and over the last two seasons Dakota Pro Musica has hired over 70 local musicians across 9 concert series. One of the unique goals of the ensemble is to bring our concerts to different venues across central North Dakota, and during the last two years we have performed concerts in Jamestown, Minot, Richardton, Fort Yates, Washburn, Mandan, and Bismarck. The philosophy of Dakota Pro Musica is that our concerts can “Build Community” through thoughtful programming and collaboration with other ensembles. In order to “Build Community” with our concerts, we only present performances that will enhance, honor, and highlight the celebrations, commemorations, and cultures of our community.

In Spring 2022, the ensemble collaborated with Bismarck State College to bring Dr.

Tim Sharp (former Executive Director of ACDA) to Bismarck to lead his High Lonesome Bluegrass Mass with the Cotton Wood Bluegrass band from Washburn. This concert was a unique combination of choir and bluegrass which highlighted one of the favorite ensembles of central North Dakota. In the fall of 2022, we collaborated with the Missouri Valley Chamber Orchestra, Bismarck State College Choirs, and Native American musicians to present a concert to honor veterans that alternated between classical choral music like Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, and the honor and veterans songs of Native American Powwow tradition.

Beginning in December 2022, Dakota Pro Musica began a secondary part of the organization’s Mission with “Raising Voices” outreach programming. We asked the question, “Who doesn’t deserve live music?” a fundamental question in creating these outreach programs. Our first program took place in April/May 2023 with a songwriting workshop at the North Dakota State Penitentiary, and a second program will begin in May 2023 with a parentinfant singing program which we will do in partnership with Burleigh Public Health, and local churches and organizations.

Dakota Pro Musica strives to be a vital part of the music making in North Dakota by:

• offering professional choral and vocal concerts which bring new and unique repertoire to our communities while using that music to Build Community and relationships, and

• finding ways to help others in the community to “Raise their Voices” in outreach programming especially designed to reach underserved and marginalized communities.

In Fall 2023, Dakota Pro Musica is partnering with the Minot Chamber Chorale, Bismarck Mandan Symphony Orchestra, and the Bismarck State College Choirs to present “Considering Matthew Shepard” to honor the 25th anniversary of the kidnapping and murder of Matthew Shepard.

Choosing to “recharge” isn’t a selfish act.

Self-care inevitably benefits all of your students.

— John Spencer