Article Contributed on: 4/13/2007 5:30:01 PM
The Musicians of Saint Clare make music with their voices and their hearts to enrich the community, and for the pure joy of making perfect harmony. This small group has sung for countless music lovers in Denver and the world for the last 13 years, and continues to "up the bar" by raising their own standard of performance every season. This Denver gem is a uniquely dedicated, talented, and surprisingly powerful chamber choir of about 30 voices, and compares favorably with internationally renowned groups over three times as large, both in artistic excellence as well as sheer volume of sound production. They are an IRS non-profit organization, but don't tell the choir that; they all seem to profit enormously from membership.
Not restricting themselves to modern works, they include Gregorian chant and tenth to twenty-first century composers in their library. They have sung a touching memorial concert following the death of Pope John Paul II, at weddings, christenings, birthdays and funerals of choir members, and four days in a row at the 2002 Easter celebration in Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City! This group is flexible enough and capable of singing everything from Latin chant masses to opera to Carl Orf's intensely profane work, Carmina Burana.
This very friendly bunch has said that members must be 'at least half a bubble off center' in order to join the choir, and is as committed to their craft as they are to adjourning for conviviality at a local watering hole where they unwind after a concert. Work hard, play hard, and leave a good sound in the ears of their audience could be described as their MO.
Their next concert (May 13 at 3 pm, Saint Paul's, 16th & Grant, Denver) will feature works of Mozart, Brahms, Woollen, and perhaps their personal favorite, an absolutely delightful, short, and delicate piece by Jacob Arcadelt. The choir will hire an orchestra of local professional instrumentalists to accompany the majority of the pieces, but reserves the human voice alone for certain works. After hearing them, you will agree that this is frequently the best way. After all, the human voice is the original and most portable of musical instruments. Contact the group at www.mscchoir.org, or call (303) 384-9492 for tickets and more information.
Performance of this rarely performed but stunning repertoire is paid for entirely by the choir members themselves; no high paid staff or administrative budget exists to shuttle the director to and fro in a limousine. All funds are received from the individuals in the choir, small donations, and from ticket sales. The only person paid is their rehearsal accompanist; a salary for the director is a hope for the future. If the fantastic work that this group does is to continue, I urge you to get out and buy a ticket for their concerts, pick up recordings of their previous performances, and support them with your presence as well as a donation, Once you hear them, you'll want to be at every one of their performances. Live music requires a live audience, so get a group of your friends together and go see and hear this concert on May 13. You can have a part in their success - and in the well being of your soul!