HANDEL’S MESSIAH WITH YOUR COLORADO SYMPHONY
TAYLOR MARTIN, conductor
DUAIN WOLFE, creative director
ANNA CHRISTY, soprano
KELLEY O’CONNOR, mezzo soprano
DEREK CHESTER, tenor
ANDREW GARLAND, baritone
COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS, Mary Louise Burke, associate director
Friday, December 19, 2025 at 7:30pm
Saturday, December 20, 2025 at 7:30pm
Sunday, December 21, 2025 at 1:00pm
Boettcher Concert Hall
HANDEL Messiah
Part I
Overture
Comfort ye, my people
Ev’ry valley shall be exalted
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed Thus saith the Lord
But who may abide the day of His coming?
And He shall purify
Behold! A virgin shall conceive O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion For behold, darkness shall cover the earth
The people that walked in darkness
For unto us a child is born
Pifa: Pastoral Symphony
There were shepherds abiding in the field
And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them
And the angel said unto them
And suddenly there was with the angel
Glory to God
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion
Then shall the eyes of the blind be open’d
He shall feed his flock
Come unto Him
His yoke is easy
— INTERMISSION —
COLORADO SYMPHONY IS PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY
Friday’s concert is sponsored by duaine WolFe
Part II
Behold the Lamb of God
He was despised Surely, He hath borne our griefs
And with His stripes we are healed
All we like sheep have gone astray
All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn He trusted in God
Thy rebuke hath broken His heart
Behold, and see if there be any sorrow
He was cut off out of the land of the living
But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell
Lift up your heads, O ye gates
Unto which of the angels said He at any time
Let all the angels of God worship Him
The Lord gave the word
How beautiful are the feet
Why do the nations so furiously rage together?
Let us break their bonds asunder
He that dwelleth in heaven
Thou shalt break them
Hallelujah
Part III
I know that my Redeemer liveth
Since by man came death
Behold, I tell you a mystery
The trumpet shall sound
Then shall be brought to pass
Worthy is the Lamb
— Special thanks to Phil Hiester, lighting designer —
CONCERT RUN TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS AND 30 MINUTES INCLUDING A 20 MINUTE INTERMISSION.
FIRST TIME TO THE SYMPHONY? SEE PAGE 14 OF THIS PROGRAM FOR FAQ’S TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE GREAT!
RECITATIVE - Tenor
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness; prepare ye the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
ARIA - Tenor
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low; the crooked straight and the rough places plain.
CHORUS
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
RECITATIVE - Bass
Thus saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts: Yet once a little while and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations; and the desire of all nations shall come.
The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the Covenant, whom you delight in; behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
ARIA - Alto
But who may abide the day of His coming, and who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner’s fire.
CHORUS
And He shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
RECITATIVE - Alto
Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel, God with us.
ARIA - Alto and Chorus
O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain. O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, behold your god! Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
RECITATIVE - Bass
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
ARIA - Bass
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
CHORUS
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
RECITATIVE - Soprano
There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night.
And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying:
CHORUS
“Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, good will towards men.”
ARIA - Soprano
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto thee; He is the righteous Savior, and He shall speak peace unto the heathen. Rejoice.
RECITATIVE - Alto
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.
ARIA - Alto
He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; and He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
ARIA - Soprano
Come unto Him, all ye that labor, come unto Him that are heavy laden, and He will give you rest. Take his yoke upon you, and learn of Him, for He is meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
CHORUS
His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.
INTERMISSION
CHORUS
Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.
ARIA - Alto
He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
CHORUS
Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows! He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him.
CHORUS
And with His stripes we are healed.
CHORUS
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way. And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
RECITATIVE - Tenor
All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn; they shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying:
CHORUS
“He trusted in God that He would deliver Him; let Him deliver Him, if He delight in Him.”
RECITATIVE - Tenor
Thy rebuke hath broken His heart: He is full of heaviness. He looked for some to have pity on Him, but there was no man, neither found He any to comfort him.
ARIA - Tenor
Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow.
RECITATIVE - Alto
He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgressions of Thy people was He stricken.
ARIA - Soprano and Tenor
But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell; nor didst Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.
CHORUS
Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts. He is the King of Glory.
RECITATIVE - Alto
Unto which of the angels said He at any time: “Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee?”
CHORUS
Let all the angels of God worship Him.
CHORUS
The Lord gave the word. Great was the company of the preachers.
ARIA - Soprano and Alto
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.
ARIA - Bass
Why do the nations so furiously rage together, and why do the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against His anointed.
CHORUS
Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yokes from us.
RECITATIVE - Tenor
He that dwelleth in Heaven shall laugh them to scorn; The Lord shall have them in derision.
ARIA - Tenor
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
CHORUS
Hallelujah: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Hallelujah!
ARIA - Soprano
I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first fruits of them that sleep.
CHORUS
Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
RECITATIVE - Bass
Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
ARIA - Bass
The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
RECITATIVE - Bass
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory.
CHORUS
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and honor, glory, and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, forever and ever.
Amen.
PROGRAM NOTES
MESSIAH 2025
Notes from Duain Wolfe
We all remember our first experience with this great oratorio, whether as a student or as a veteran musician or as an avid music patron.
I was 15 when I attended my first performance of MESSIAH. I had never heard music like this, or drama like this, or emotional power like this, and I was transported. When the chorus and orchestra burst their lungs at “Worthy is the Lamb”, I knew at that moment that my life would be a life in music. That one moment directed my career path, and I am eternally grateful to those performers, while I am especially grateful to Handel himself, who over two hundred years earlier had penned notes that would transform the lives of millions, just as those notes transformed me.
He was an opera composer, passionate about the stage and the drama inherent in telling a story. His oratorios, whether sacred or historical, are imbued with the power of weaving a compelling narrative. MESSIAH is quintessential drama. The drama of the Prophecies. The drama of the Nativity. The drama of the Passion. The drama of the Resurrection, the Transfiguration, and finally, the Redemption.
The drama in Handel’s music invites us to make connections – text connections, musical connections, emotional connections (especially emotional connections). This year, we revisit those remarkable connections. For instance, in the Book of Isaiah, the verse “Every valley shall be exalted…and the rough places plain” is followed by “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed”. Handel gives this line to the altos alone – in the tenor range. So, our tenor soloist sings that line, employing exactly the notes that Handel wrote, and it allows him to announce the chorus’ exhilarating outburst of joy. These kinds of connections are peppered throughout Handel’s brilliant score, accentuating the ingenuity of Charles Jennen’s supremely connected libretto.
Handel wrote MESSIAH in 1741 (King George II), famously completing the entire score in just 21 days. Oddly, there was no commission that prompted it. He wrote it because he wanted to write it – a notion that paid off in April of 1742 when he had the opportunity of premiering it in Dublin as a benefit for an orphanage – during the Lenten season, not the Christmas season. It’s a piece that is profoundly moving at any moment in the liturgical calendar, though perhaps most poignant during the Passion season of Lent. Part One sets the scene with the Old Testament prophecies and the Nativity, while Part 2 explores the Messiah’s passion and its attendant horrors, leading to the apotheosis of Part 3 – redemption.
We present this performance with Handel’s affinity for drama in mind. He made stories clear in his operas by staging them and by musical/textual connections. It follows that his oratorios had the same dramatic intent that his operas had. Inspired by his genius, we reveal the inner workings of his great score by utilizing the geography of our stage and production values that were also available to him (lighting, visuals, performers’ attire). Each of these elements heightens the impact of text and music in his score.
PROGRAM NOTES
Like the divided orchestra that Handel used in MESSIAH – Ripieno (full orchestra) and Concertante (small orchestra) – our chorus is divided into the Ripieno (full chorus) and the Concertante (small chorus), which performs on the stage with the soloists.
When Handel premiered this oratorio, he worked with several of his favorite soloists, providing them with lines, keys, ornaments, and cadenzas that suited their voices and personalities. We too, tailor our music in these performances to our performers, always using the music that Handel provided almost three centuries ago. These elements remain faithful to the world theater of George Frederick Handel. We are committed to honoring Handel’s great music exactly as he wrote it, while also honoring his operatic instincts as one of the best musical story tellers of all time.
Duain Wolfe, Creative Director
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TAYLOR MARTIN, chorus director and conductor, Colorado Symphony Chorus
Taylor Martin is the Director and Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Chorus and Artistic Director of ELUS Vocal Ensemble. In 2019 Taylor made his debut with the Colorado Symphony conducting their staged version of Handel’s Messiah, titled Messiah: Awakening. Now in his tenth season with the Colorado Symphony Chorus, he has frequently taken the podium during the holiday season for productions of A Colorado Christmas and Messiah. Taylor has prepared the Chorus for productions with the Colorado Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Dallas Symphony, and he recently conducted a concert tour of Austria featuring works for chorus and organ, leading Anton Bruckner’s Te Deum with the Salzburg Domorchester. Known for his musical versatility, Taylor has prepared choruses for Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, Al Green, and Josh Groban, among other critically acclaimed artists. Now in his eighth season with ELUS Vocal Ensemble, Taylor has led performances of great a cappella repertoire through imaginative programming of new music and major works, such as David Lang’s the little match girl passion and Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem to considerable acclaim.
ANNA CHRISTY, soprano
Praised by The New York Times as “nimble of voice, body and spirit,” GRAMMY® Award–winning soprano Anna Christy continues to captivate audiences with her radiant voice, compelling stage presence, and innate musicality. In the 2025/26 Season, she returns to the Colorado Symphony for Messiah, following recent appearances there in Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, Bruckner’s Psalm 150, and Messiah.
Ms. Christy’s operatic repertoire spans an impressive array of roles and styles, including Don Giovanni, Madame Mao, Lucia Silla, Fidelio, The Mother of Us All, Zémire et Azor, A Wedding, An American Tragedy, Die Zauberflöte, Candide, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Giulio Cesare, Dialogues des Carmélites, Un ballo in maschera, Bianca e Falliero, La rondine, Die Fledermaus, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Ariadne auf Naxos, L’enfant et les sortilèges, Our Town, The Ballad of Baby Doe, Alcina, Gianni Schicchi, and La bohème. She has appeared on the stages of The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Philadelphia, Canadian Opera Company, The Santa Fe Opera, Teatro Real, Opéra National de Bordeaux, English National Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opéra national de Paris, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro alla Scala, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra de Lille, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, New York City Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Central City Opera.
She is a frequent collaborator with many of the world’s foremost conductors, including Seiji Ozawa, Peter Oundjian, Joe Hisaishi, Stéphane Denève, Brett Mitchell, Michael Tilson Thomas, Marin Alsop, Harry Bicket, Charles Dutoit, Emmanuelle Haïm, Sir Andrew Davis, Edward Gardner, David Stern, Bertrand de Billy, Bramwell Tovey, George Manahan, Antony Walker, James Conlon,
BIOGRAPHIES
Paul Daniel, Marco Armiliato, Julius Rudel, Donald Runnicles, Kent Nagano, Jane Glover, and Emmanuel Plasson. Her orchestral work includes performances of Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 2 and 4, East Land Symphony, Messiah, In Terra Pax, and Carmina Burana with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, Savannah Philharmonic, Kansas City Symphony, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Saito Kinen Festival, The English Concert, Baltimore Symphony, and Les Vents Atlantiques.
Ms. Christy is a recipient of the Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center, the Richard Tucker Music Foundation Career Grant, the ARIA Award, a Sullivan Foundation Grant, the Richard F. Gold Grant, and the Shouse Debut Artist Award from Wolf Trap Opera. Born in Chicago and raised in Pasadena, California, Anna spent her summers in Tokyo, Japan, at her mother’s family home and is fluent in Japanese. She is a graduate of Rice University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and an alumna of the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus and Pasadena’s Polytechnic School. She now resides in Colorado with her husband and children.
BIOGRAPHIES
KELLEY O’CONNOR, mezzo soprano
The GRAMMY® Award-winning mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor is one of the most compelling vocal artists of her generation. She is known for a commanding intensity on stage, a velvet vocal tone, and the ability to create sheer magic in her interpretations. O’Connor performs and inhabits a broad selection of repertoire, from Beethoven, Mahler and Brahms to Dessner, Corigliano and Adams; she is sought after by many of today’s most accomplished composers. She performs with leading orchestras and conductors around the world, with preeminent artists in recitals and chamber music, and with highly acclaimed opera companies in the U.S. and abroad.
In the 2025–2026 season, Kelley O’Connor returns to the Aspen Music festival for the world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis’s Siddhartha, She, under the baton of Robert Spano. She opens the Grand Rapids Symphony season with Beethoven 9 and performs the work again with the San Francisco Symphony; joins the New World, and Fort Worth Symphonies for Peter Lieberson’s Neruda Songs; appears with the Colorado and Winston-Salem Symphonies for Handel’s Messiah; sings Mahler 2 with the Indianapolis Symphony; returns to the Atlanta Symphony for Bernstein’s “Jeremiah” Symphony; and appears with the Nashville Symphony in two programs: Verdi’s Requiem and Bernstein’s “Jeremiah.”
Recently, O’Connor has premiered an extended version of Thomas Adès’s America (A Prophecy) in her debut with the Gewandhausorchester under Andris Nelsons; performed Mahler’s Second Symphony with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra and his Third Symphony with the San Francisco Symphony; John Adams’s El Niño with the Houston Symphony; and a gala performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the New York Philharmonic to celebrate the opening of the newly renovated David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.
Sought after by many of the most heralded composers of the modern day, Kelley O’Connor has recently premiered works by John Corigliano, Kareem Roustom, Joby Talbot, and Bryce Dessner. John Adams wrote the title role of The Gospel According to the Other Mary for O’Connor and she has performed the work, both in concert and in the Peter Sellars fully staged production, under the batons of John Adams, Gustavo Dudamel, Grant Gershon, Gianandrea Noseda, Sir Simon Rattle, and David Robertson. She continues to be the eminent living interpreter of Peter Lieberson’s Neruda Songs, having performed this moving set of songs with orchestras around the world. She also created the role of Federico García Lorca in Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, for which she has received unanimous critical acclaim.
Operatic highlights include her Seattle Opera debut as Anna in a concert version of Berlioz’s Les Troyens, the title role of Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia presented by Boston Lyric Opera in a new production by Broadway theater director Sarna Lapine, Carmen with Los Angeles Opera, Donizetti’s Anna Bolena at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Madama Butterfly in a new production by Lillian Groag at the Boston Lyric Opera and at the Cincinnati Opera, Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict at Opera Boston, Falstaff with the Santa Fe Opera, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Canadian Opera Company.
BIOGRAPHIES
DEREK CHESTER, tenor
Praised by The New York Times for his “beautifully shaped and carefully nuanced singing,” tenor Derek Chester enjoys a versatile career spanning both the operatic and concert repertoire. He returns to the Colorado Symphony with great enthusiasm, having previously performed in Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, and staged productions of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. Recent performance highlights include Alessandro in Cavalli’s Eliogabalo and David in Charpentier’s David et Jonathas with West Edge Opera, Ulysses in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with InSeries, and Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at the Staunton Music Festival.
Chester earned his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Georgia and a Master of Music from the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music, where he studied under full scholarship. As a Fulbright Scholar, he completed a Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Performance and Opera Studies at the University of North Texas, with a dissertation focused on the early song compositions of Samuel Barber. In addition to his active performance career, Chester is a dedicated educator and conductor. He served for a decade as Associate Professor of Voice and Early Music at the University of Northern Colorado. A proud Colorado resident, he makes his home in Fort Collins with his partner Matt, their corgi Lily, and is the father of three extraordinary children.
ANDREW GARLAND, baritone
Baritone Andrew Garland is hailed as a performer whose artistry is a perfect combination between “baritone of strength and vocal opulence” (Opera News) and “cosmic energy and suavity” (Opera News).
He brings his highly communicative style to the concert stage with orchestras including the Boston Symphony, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Atlanta Symphony, Boston Baroque, The Handel and Haydn Society, Nashville Symphony, Brevard Festival, Emmanuel Music, Boston Youth Symphony, National Philharmonic, Albany Symphony, Houston Symphony, UMS Ann Arbor, Washington Master Chorale at the Kennedy Center and National Chorale at Lincoln Center.
Garland has been a regular with the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) and has given multiple recitals at Carnegie Hall, the Ravinia festival as well as Vocal Arts DC, Marilyn Horne Foundation, The Bard Festival, Camerata Pacifica, the Moab Music Festival, Andre-Turp Society in Montreal, Voce at Pace, Huntsville Chamber Music Guild, Fort Worth Opera, Seattle Opera, Fanfare in Hammond, LA, Cincinnati Matinee Musicale, Cincinnati Song Initiative, Tuesday Morning Music Club, venues in Italy, Greece, and Turkey, and dozens of college music series around the country.
In addition to numerous song and concert premieres, Garland has created several operatic roles. He has also sung with Opera Philadelphia, New York City Opera, Seattle Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Minnesota Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Colorado, Fort Worth Opera, Hawai’i Opera Theatre, the Prototype Festival and many others.
BIOGRAPHIES
His 10th CD recording – Conquest Requiem, by Gabriela Frank with soprano Jessica Rivera was just released on Naxos. Chamber music appearances have included the Ravinia Festival, Camerata Pacifica, Maverick Concerts, Huntsville Chamber Music Society, and he has sung with the Takács, Dover, Calder, Amernet, and Daedalus string quartets.
Garland is a mentor with Bel Canto Boot Camp, on tonebase.com, and is an Associate Professor of Voice at The University of Colorado, Boulder. He lives on the Front Range with his wife and two children.
MARY LOUISE BURKE, stage director for Messiah & associate director, Colorado Symphony Chorus
Mary Louise Burke is in her 32nd season with the Colorado Symphony Chorus. In addition to assisting Founding Director and Conductor Laureate Duain Wolfe for many years, she has also prepared the chorus for various Colorado Symphony pops concerts and special projects, including Too Hot to Handel. She is the Creative Director of the Symphony’s annual A Colorado Christmas concert and the Stage Director for this season’s performances of Handel’s Messiah. In the summer of 2022, she conducted the Symphony chorus on a concert tour of Austria. She was the Associate Director of the Colorado Children’s Chorale for many years, participating in hundreds of concerts and dozens of the Chorale’s regional, national and international tours. She was also Vocal Director of the Children’s Chorale, where she provided specialized vocal coaching and opera preparation. With an expertise in vocal technique, Burke frequently leads seminars in vocal and choral techniques for area church and community choirs. She is the Vocal Advisor at Montview Presbyterian Church and sings regularly at Holy Family Church, Denver. She has a Doctorate in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado.
DUAIN WOLFE, Creative Director of Messiah; Conductor Laureate and Founder of the Colorado Symphony Chorus
Three-time Grammy winner for Best Choral Performance, Best Classical Recording, and Best Opera Performance, Duain Wolfe is Founder and Conductor Laureate of the Colorado Symphony Chorus. He was the 2023 recipient of the Colorado Symphony’s Margarett Phipps Award. The Chorus has been featured at the Aspen Music Festival for nearly three decades. After more than a quarter of a century, Wolfe recently retired as Director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. He has collaborated with Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Muti, and Sir George Solti on numerous recordings including Wagner’s Die Meistersinger, which won the 1998 GRAMMY® for Best Opera Recording. Wolfe’s extensive musical accomplishments have earned him the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Denver, the Bonfils Stanton Award in the Arts and Humanities, the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in an Artistic Discipline, and the Michael Korn Award for the Development of the Professional Choral Art. Wolfe is Founder of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, from which he retired in 1999 after 25 years. For 20 years, Wolfe also worked with the Central City Opera Festival
as chorus director and conductor, founding and directing the company’s young artist residence program, as well as its education and outreach programs. Wolfe’s other accomplishments include directing and preparing choruses for Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, the Bravo! Vail Festival, the Berkshire Choral Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Grand Teton Music Festival. He has worked with Pinchas Zuckerman and Alexander Shelly as Chorus Director for the Canadian National Arts Centre Orchestra since 2001.
COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS
The Colorado Symphony’s 2025/26 Season marks the 42nd year of the Colorado Symphony Chorus. Founded in 1984 by Duain Wolfe, our chorus has earned a reputation as one of the finest symphonic choruses in the United States. This outstanding chorus of volunteers joins the Colorado Symphony for numerous concerts each year, performing the great Masterworks, as well as pops concerts, movies and special projects, all to repeated critical acclaim.
Additionally, the Chorus has been featured annually at the Bravo!Vail Music Festival, performing with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra or Dallas Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of notable conductors Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jaap van Zweden, Alan Gilbert, Fabio Luisi, Hans Graf, as well as 25 years with the Aspen Music Festival.
In 2009, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the chorus, Duain Wolfe conducted the chorus on a concert tour of Europe, presenting the Verdi REQUIEM in Budapest, Vienna, Litomysl and Prague; in 2016 the chorus returned to Europe for concerts in Paris, Strasbourg and Munich featuring the Fauré Requiem. In the summer of 2022, the Chorus toured Austria, performing to great acclaim in Vienna, Graz and Salzburg. The Chorus is looking forward to performing Brahms REQUIEM in a concert tour of Portugal and Spain in the summer of 2027.
BIOGRAPHIES
COLORADO SYMPHONY
CHORUS
Taylor Martin, Director and Conductor
Mary Louise Burke, Associate Director and Conductor
Jared Joseph, Assistant Conductor
David Rosen, Chorus Manager
Barbara Porter, Associate Manager
Duain Wolfe, Founding Director and Conductor Laureate
Hsiao-Ling Lin and ShaoChun Tsai, Pianists
Eric Israelson, Chorus Manager Emeritus
SOPRANO
Lori Ascani
Brianna Bettis
Jude Blum
Denelda Causey
Ruth Coberly
Suzanne Collins
Kerry Cote
Claudia Dakkouri
April Day
Lisa Fultz
Amy Gallegos
Jenifer Gile
Susan Graber
Stacey Haslam
Erin Hittle
Elizabeth Hott
Kaitlyn Jones
Lauren Kennedy
Leanne Lang
Dana Linder
Rebecca Machusko
Anne Maupin
Shannon McAleb
Erin Montigne
Wendy Moraskie
Jackie Oldham
Jean O’Nan
Jodie Peterson
Kim Pflug
Julie Plouffe
Barb Porter
Grace Reilly
Lori Ropa
Roberta Sladovnik
Syd Timme
Sue von Roedern
Marcia Walker
Alison Wall
Cara Young
Joan Zisler
ALTO
Mary Boyle Thayer
Michelle Brown
Isabel Cavosie
Jayne Conrad
Martha Cox
Debbie Davies
Barb Deck
Kate Friedlander
Michelle Fronzaglia
Sharon Gayley
Daniela Golden
Gabriella Groom
Sheri Haxton
Kaia Hoopes
Olivia Isaac
Brandy Jackson
Annette Kim
Annie Kolstad
Andrea LeBaron
Carole London
Joanna Maltzahn
Jenae Martinez
Susan McWaters
Kristen Nordenholz
Christine Nyholm
Syder Peltier
Donneve Rae
Kathi Rudolph
Wendy Schnell
Melanie Stevenson
Pat Virtue
Beth York
TENOR
Jordan Antonio
Jim Carlson
Dusty Davies
John Gale
Frank Gordon
Sami Ibrahim
Ken Kolm
Andy Marner
Tom Milligan
Richard Moraskie
Garvis Muesing
Dallas Rehberg
David Rosen
Andrew Seamans
Evan Secrist
Jerry Sims
COLORADO SYMPHONY MESSIAH CHAMBER CHORUS
SOPRANO
Emily Burr
Angie Collums
Meredith Duffy
Gracie Ewert
Andria Gaskill
Lori Gill
Elizabeth HedrickCollins
Karen Wuertz
ALTO
Priscilla Adams
Liz Arthur
Brenda Berganza
Charlotte Braud-Kern
Jill Parsons
Jennifer Pringle
Leanne Rehme
Kim Trubetskoy
TENOR
Gary Babcock
Nicholas Dietrich
Jack Dinkel
David Hodel
Sean Lund-Brown
Tim Nicholas
P.J. Stohlmann
Daniel Thompson
Hannis Thompson
Kenneth Zimmerman
BASS
John Adams
Grant Carlton
Tim Griffin
Chris Grossman
Doug Hesse
Leonard Hunt
Tom Jirak
Jared Joseph
Matthew Kersten-Gray
Nalin Mehta
Matthew Molberg
Greg Morrison
Gene Nuccio
John Phillips
Tom Potter
Jacob Pullen
Ken Quarles
Russ Skillings
Tom Virtue
Marc Whittington
Lu Wu
Jeffrey Zax
BASS
Bob Friedlander
Nic Hammerberg
Terry Jackson
Ben Pilcher
Joshua Richards
Adam Scoville
Matthew Smedberg
Mike West
