5.17.2025
SATURDAY @ 7:30PM
First Plymouth UCC 3501 S Colorado Blvd, Cherry Hills Village
5.18.2025
SUNDAY @ 3:00PM
Wellshire Presbyterian Church
2999 S Colorado Blvd, Denver
Composer Melissa Dunphy
Photo courtesy of Melissa Dunphy
YEARNING TO BREATHE
AD MANUS (From Membra Jesu nostri )
DIETERICH BUXTEHUDE (C. 1637-1707)
Chris Leonard, violin; Autumn Pepper, violin; Dylan Tyree, cello; Peter Schimpf, theorbo; Jerimiah Stephen Otto, portative
Beryl Fanslow Wilson, soprano; Sara Michael, soprano; Sarah Branton, alto; Matthew Eschliman, tenor; Kirk Schjodt, bass
TO THE HANDS
CAROLINE SHAW (B. 1982)
Chris Leonard, violin; Autumn Pepper, violin; Aimee McAnulty, viola; Dylan Tyree, cello; Kurt Melendy, bass
1. PRELUDE
2. IN MEDIO / IN THE MIDST
3. HER BEACON-HAND BECKONS
4. EVER EVER EVER
5. LITANY OF THE DISPLACED
6. I WILL HOLD YOU
N-400 ERASURE SONGS
1. FORM N-400 ERASURES
2. N-400 (AN ERASURE)
Stacie Hanson, soprano; Scott Horowitz, baritone
3. CHANGE [Y]OUR COUNTRY
SONGS FOR THE PEOPLE
CITY CALLED HEAVEN
Victoria Bailey, soprano; Alicia Rigsby, piano
THE ROAD HOME
Christianna Sullins, soprano
PRECIOUS LORD
Kantorei’s Vision:
To elevate the human experience through choral excellence
Our Mission:
Kantorei is an inclusive community of volunteer singers that invites audiences to experience the richness and diversity of the choral art form, joyously executed at the highest standard of musical excellence. We are innovators: we responsibly leverage our resources to commission work by living composers, perform music by underrepresented and emerging artists, encourage future talent through educational engagement, and nurture the choral community.
Our Values:
Musical Excellence – We maintain the highest possible standards. We hold ourselves and each other accountable for putting in the necessary effort. We take on artistic challenges that many choirs cannot. We provide our audiences with unique musical experiences performed with professionalism, accuracy, passion, and finesse. We are a volunteer choir with world-class aspirations and achievements.
Inclusion – We strive to create a singer community where individuals from all backgrounds and experiences can be their best. We celebrate and perform composers that have been underrepresented in the choral tradition alongside those who have historically enjoyed the spotlight. We amplify voices that should be heard, and seek to bring our voices to new places. We connect diverse audiences through the power of music.
Land acknowledgement
Kantorei honors and acknowledges the Tséstho’e (Cheyenne), hinono’eino’ biito’owu’ (Arapaho), Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Sioux) Tribes, and all of the original Indigenous peoples of the land upon which we rehearse and perform.
MELISSA DUNPHY (B. 1980)
MELISSA DUNPHY
JOSEPHINE POELINITZ (B. 1942)
Joy – We make music because it brings us joy and we are passionate about sharing that joy with others. Audiences feel our connection to each other and the music; through our work they experience intellectual and emotional expansion. Sharing this joy with each other and our audiences is a privilege.
Community – We provide an opportunity for singers, artists, students, and audiences from many different backgrounds and identities to share in musical experiences that allow us to transcend the world we live in. Our singers show up for each other, both musically and personally. We are in community with the composers who partner with us. We create nurturing relationships with other choirs so we can collectively thrive. We show young and emerging artists what their musical future can look like.
STEPHEN PAULUS (1949-2014)
THOMAS A. DORSEY (1899-1993)
ARR. ARNOLD SEVIER
Innovation – As an organization, we are never stagnant. We feel a responsibility to use our funding to educate, delight, and amaze, which is evident through every aspect of our work: programming, recordings, concerts, and community impact. We move the art form forward by celebrating the full diversity of modern choral composition, and juxtaposing it with treasured work of the traditional canon. Our audiences can feel the musical past resonating with wisdom in the present, and the present reaching back to seek guidance from the past.
PROGRAM NOTES
of spirituals while adding rich harmonic textures that enhance the emotional impact. The piece features moments of both quiet contemplation and powerful, full-voiced declarations, creating a moving journey from desolation to hope.
The text of "City Called Heaven" speaks to the universal human experience of feeling lost and alone while searching for meaning and belonging. In our modern world characterized by disconnection, social isolation, and digital fatigue, the spiritual's plaintive cry resonates deeply: The narrator's sense of being a "poor pilgrim of sorrow" wandering through a difficult world mirrors many people's experience of navigating life's challenges without adequate support systems. This feeling of being alone in one's struggles has only intensified in contemporary society, where traditional community structures have often fragmented.
The spiritual's yearning for a "city called heaven" where the singer can "make it their home" speaks to our fundamental human desire for belonging and peace. In today's world of increasing displacement, migration, and housing insecurity, the concept of finding true "home" carries profound significance across cultural and socioeconomic boundaries.
"The Road Home"
Stephen Paulus's "The Road Home" features text by Michael Dennis Browne that directly addresses modern concerns about identity, direction, and finding one's path in a complex world: The piece asks searching questions about belonging and purpose, themes that have particular resonance in our era of career uncertainty, shifting social structures, and widespread questioning of traditional life paths. The imagery of being called home by a "mysterious voice" speaks to the intuitive sense many people experience that there is something more meaningful beyond the daily grind.
In a time when many feel overwhelmed by information and choices, the simple invitation to "come home" represents the appeal of authenticity and groundedness. The text suggests that wisdom often comes not from external sources but from reconnecting with one's own deeper values and sense of purpose—a message particularly relevant in our externallyfocused culture. Composed by the late American composer Stephen Paulus (1949-2014), "The Road Home" is a contemporary piece with a timeless quality. Paulus adapted a melody from "The Lone Wild Bird," found in the 19th-century collection Southern Harmony, and created a new composition that feels both fresh and familiar.
The piece speaks to universal themes of belonging, seeking, and finding one's way back to a place of comfort and peace. Its accessible melodic line is supported by warm harmonies that create a sense of gentle assurance, making it a favorite for choirs and audiences alike. Paulus was known for his lyrical sensibility and gift for text setting. In "The Road Home," he achieves a remarkable balance between simplicity and depth, allowing performers to bring considerable emotional nuance to the piece.
"Precious Lord"
"Precious Lord, Take My Hand" stands as one of the most beloved gospel songs of all time. It was written by Thomas A. Dorsey (1899-1993), often called the "Father of Black Gospel Music," following the tragic deaths of his wife and newborn child in 1932. From this profound personal grief, Dorsey created a song of uncommon spiritual power and resilience. Arnold Sevier's arrangement expands on Dorsey's original, incorporating rich choral textures while preserving the song's essential character. The arrangement employs skillful voice leading and harmonic development that builds to emotional climaxes while maintaining the intimate prayerlike quality of the original.
Thomas A. Dorsey's "Precious Lord" addresses the universal human experience of suffering and the need for guidance through difficult times: The prayer for divine guidance – "take my hand, lead me on" – resonates profoundly in our age of anxiety, uncertainty, and rapid change. The request for support through darkness toward light reflects the universal human need for hope during challenging circumstances, whether personal tragedy, social upheaval, or global crisis. The imagery of weariness, weakness, and the fear of standing alone speaks directly to contemporary experiences of burnout, compassion fatigue, and the isolation many feel even amid our connected world. The song's acknowledgment of human frailty provides a counterbalance to cultures that often prize self-sufficiency and strength above all else. In an era where many people report feeling adrift without traditional religious frameworks but still hunger for meaning and transcendence, this song offers a model of vulnerable prayer that can speak to believers and spiritual seekers alike.
Each of these three works, though rooted in specific religious traditions, addresses fundamental human needs and questions that transcend time and cultural context –finding home, seeking guidance, and maintaining hope in difficult circumstances – making them as relevant today as when they were first created.
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. During his tenure, Kantorei has experienced tremendous audience growth, nearly tripled its budget, and launched an ambitious recording strategy. 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, Christopher Tin, 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 returned in May of 2023 to conduct Eric Whitacre’s The Sacred Veil and serves as Artistic Advisor and Principal Guest Conductor of Vocalis.
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 has prepared Kantorei as the primary chorus for the Aspen Music Festival, with Maestro Robert Spano conducting, in the
summers of 2021 and 2022. More recently, he conducted Kantorei along with the Canadian Brass in December of 2022, and commissioned and prepared Kantorei for the world premiere of the string orchestra version of Eric Whitacre’s The Sacred Veil, conducted by the composer, and guest conducted The Sacred Veil with the Washington (DC) Choral Arts Society in May of 2023.
A passionate advocate for the professional choral art form, Joel 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.
Joel is an accomplished conductor of major works for choir and orchestra and was one of eighteen conductors chosen nationally through audition to participate in master classes and workshops presented by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association and Chorus America. As a tenor soloist, Joel performed across the United States as well as in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.
Joel also serves as Director of Music and Technology in Worship at First Plymouth Congregational Church in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. He was also the North American Choral Promotion Manager for Oxford University Press based in Oxford, England from 2017 to 2020, 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.
He holds music degrees from Arizona State University and Whitworth University and is a member of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammys), and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).
Joel 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, Joel served as the Director of Music at Church of the Beatitudes United Church of Christ in Phoenix for 15 years, and he was the founding chorus master of the Arizona Musicfest Chorus.
He and his wife Sarah Branton (Choir Director at Cherry Creek High School) and stepson Simon Harrison live in Centennial, Colorado along with their miniature Dachshund Lucia. They enjoy all that Colorado has to offer outdoors, including camping, fishing, golfing, and snow skiing.
Kantorei is a Denver-based, choral ensemble comprised of volunteer singers under the direction of Managing 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. and with The Aspen Music Festival, 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 Último Hilo” in Guatemala City and Antigua, Guatemala, along with Guatemalan 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. In January 2025, Kantorei once again joined forces with Grammy-winning producers Soundmirror to record choral works of Grammy-winning composer Christopher Tin, this time on the Decca label.
Kantorei’s vision is “to elevate the human experience through choral excellence.”
“Thank you for the joy you have brought into my life.”
“I've been smiling all day long. I'm so glad I got to experience the beauty of Kantorei's performance. It was truly heartwarming.”
Photo courtesy of Williams Pérez
THE CHOIR
SOPRANO ALTO TENOR BASS
Victoria Bailey
Beryl Fanslow Wilson
Riley Jayne Gallivan
Christina Graham
Heather Gunnerson
Stacie Hanson *
Sara Michael *
Lexie Orvin
Martina Richardson
Alicia Rigsby ◊
Becca Schjodt
Christianna Sullins
Safia Ahmed
Emily Alexander
Lindsey Aquilina
Lyn Berry-Helmlinger
Sarah Branton *
Desiree Deliz-Morales
Erin Greenfield
Chelsea Kendall
Tegan Masoero-Palmer
Melissa Menter
Erin Meyerhoff
Jennifer Moore
Allison Pasternak *
Kaleigh Sutula
Jane Wright
* Section leader ◊ Collaborative Pianist
STAFF MEMBERS
Sarah Branton Assistant Conductor
Alicia Rigsby Accompanist, Collaborative Pianist
Sara Michael Business Manager
Kai Berry-Helmlinger *
Ben Corwyn
Joshua Corwyn
Matthew Eschliman
Keith Ferguson
Mason France
Keith Harrison
Bryce Kennedy
Samuel Low
Alex Menter
Chad Nelsen
Seth O'Kegley *
Jonathan Von Stroh
John Wright
John Bartley
Michael Bizzaro *
Jordan Black
Michael Boender
Adam Cave
Garth Criswell
Scott Horowitz
Brad Jackson
Brad Larson
Bryan Lastrella
John Ludwig
John Schaak
Kirk Schjodt *
Griffin Sutherland
Matt Weissenbuehler
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SEASON MEMBERS!
Becca Hyvonen Social Media Marketing & Communications Manager
Courtney Huffman Director of Community Engagement
Ximena Wheeler House Manager
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Josh Corwyn
President
John Bartley Vice President
Desiree Deliz-Morales
Treasurer
Melissa Menter
Secretary
MEMBERS AT LARGE
Mark Aquilina
Judy Bloomberg Schenkein
Matthew Eschliman
Scott Horowitz
Daniel Paredes
Robert Blauvelt & Michael Corrigan
Judy Bloomberg Schenkein & Ed Schenkein
Leslie & Eric Britton
JIm & Joanie Calhoun
Tom Carlock & Richard Schirrmacher
David & Bonnie Carlson
William & Lisa Chumley
James & Jean Clark
Susan Clasen
Judy Douglass
Elizabeth Duke
Burna & David Dunn
Kaye Edwards
Beverly Fest
Eleanor Finlay
Peter Fogg
Judy Fredericksen
Pamela Grange
Patricia Gunckel
Richard Halgren
Mooey & David Hammond
Lynn Hardcastle
Jennifer Heglin
Marjorie & Preston Hofer
Carolyn & Lanny Hunter
Deanna Johnson
Carol Lanaghen
Susan Lewkow
Terri Link
Pamela Mahonchak
Barbara McLenon
Suzanne McPherson
Elaine Menter
Carrie Nothnagel
Michelle Oliveira
Ruth Peterson
Fred & Rosie Pittroff
Sue Rosenstein
Ann Rosewall & Steven Slotter
Sarah Schenkein
Sue Seiler
Shelly Smith
Barbara Stone
Alfonso Torres & Linda Story
Shari Sullivan
Tim and Chris Sullivan
S Von Stroh
Justin Whitley
Clara Winter
Born in Australia and raised in an immigrant family, Melissa Dunphy herself immigrated to the United States in 2003 and has since become an acclaimed composer specializing in vocal, political, and theatrical music. She first came to national attention in 2009 when her large-scale work the Gonzales Cantata was featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, National Review, Fox News, and on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, where host Rachel Maddow described it as “the coolest thing you’ve ever seen on this show.” Other notable works include Totality, commissioned by The King’s Singers and VOCES8 and premiered at the BBC Proms 2024, song cycle Tesla's Pigeon, which won first place in the NATS Art Song Composition Award, and What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach? which won the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers Competition and has been performed around the country by choral ensembles including Chanticleer, Cantus, and the St. Louis Chamber Chorus.
In 2024, Dunphy was awarded an Independence Foundation Fellowship in the Arts. She received a 2020 Opera America Discovery Grant for Alice Tierney, a commission for Oberlin Opera Theater that premiered in 2023 and received its professional debut at Opera Columbus. She has been composer-in-residence for the Immaculata Symphony Orchestra, Volti, and the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus, and her commissions include works for the BBC Singers, VOCES8, Cantus, Mendelssohn Chorus, Seattle Pro Musica, Chor Leoni, La Caccina, Skylark, Experiments in Opera, and the Kennett Symphony. Dunphy is also a Barrymore Awardnominated theater composer and sound designer, and served from 2014-2024 as Director of Music Composition for the National Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut.
Dunphy has a Ph.D. in composition from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.M. from West Chester University and is on faculty at Rutgers University. She is president of the boards of directors for Wildflower Composers and Lyric Fest. Melissa and her husband Matt are also avid citizen archaeologists and co-hosts of the popular podcast The Boghouse about their adventures in Philadelphia colonial archaeology; they are currently developing the Necessary Museum, which they hope to open in 2026 to showcase their local discoveries.
Ad Manus
Arnuf of Leuven (c. 1200-1250) from “Salve mundi salutare ”
"Quid sunt plagae istae in medio manuum tuarum?"
Salve Jesu, pastor bone
Fatigatus in agone
Qui per lignum es distractus
Et ad lignum es compactus
Expansis sanctis manibus
Manus sanctae, vos amplector
Et gemendo condelector
Grates ago plagis tantis
Clavis duris, guttis sanctis
Dans lacrimas cum osculis
In cruore tuo lotum
Me commendo tibi totum
Tuae sanctae manus istae
Me defendant, Jesu Christe
Extremis in periculis
"Quid sunt plagae istae in medio manuum tuarum?"
“What are those wounds in the midst of Your hands?”
Hail, Jesus, good shepherd, wearied in agony, tormented on the cross nailed to the cross Your sacred hands stretched out. Holy hands, I embrace you, and, lamenting, I delight in you, I give thanks for the terrible wounds, the hard nails, the holy drops, shedding tears with kisses.
Washed in Your blood
I wholly entrust myself to You; may these holy hands of Yours defend me, Jesus Christ, in the final dangers.
“What are those wounds in the midst of Your hands?”
To the Hands
I. Prelude (No text)
II. in medio / in the midst
text from Buxtehude’s Ad manus – Zechariah 13:6 –adapted by Caroline Shaw, with the addition of in medio manuum nostrarum (“in the midst of our hands”) quid sunt plagae istae quid sunt plagae istae in medio manuum tuarum in medio quid sunt plagae istae quid sunt plagae istae in medio manuum nostrarum what are those wounds what are those wounds in the midst of your hands in the midst what are those wounds what are those wounds in the midst of our hands
III. Her beacon-hand beckons text by CS, responding to the 1883 sonnet “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, which was mounted on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in 1903 Her beacon-hand beckons: give give to me those yearning to breathe free tempest-tossed they cannot see what lies beyond the olive tree whose branch was lost amid the pleas for mercy, mercy give give to me your tired fighters fleeing flying from the from the from let them i will be your refuge i will be your refuge i will be i will be we will be we will
Photo courtesy of Mormolyke
MELISSA DUNPHY Featured Composer
IV. ever ever ever text by Caroline Shaw – the final line, in caverna, is from Buxtehude’s Ad latus — the line from the Song of Songs, in foraminibus petrae, in caverna maceriae, or “in the clefts of the rock, in the hollow of the cliff” ever ever ever in the window sills or the beveled edges of the aging wooden frames that hold old photographs hands folded folded gently in her lap ever ever in the crevices the never-ending efforts of the grandmother's tendons tending to her bread and empty chairs left for Elijah where are they now in caverna in caverna
V. Litany of the Displaced
The choir speaks global figures of internal displacement, sourced from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (http://www.internal-displacement.org/global-figures — accessed 01/03/2016). The numbers spoken are the numbers of internally displaced persons by country, in ascending order. These are people, some of whom may have legal refugee status, who have been displaced within their own country due to armed conflict, situations of generalized violence or violations of human rights.
VI. i will hold you text by CS — The final line is a reprise from the Zechariah text i would hold you i would hold you ever ever will i hold you ever ever will i enfold you in medio in medio in medio in medio in medio manuum tuarum
N-400 Erasure Songs
I. Form N-400 Erasures
Niina Pollari
Do you Have awful association s Have you been in total terror
Yes/No
If you EVER claim in writing or any other way to have no country are you confined
II. N-400 (an erasure)
Laurel Chen
i. notice: any immigration notice: hearing notice: see notice: you
ii. to the immigrant: homeland is a process delayed.
iii. fingerprints disposable a number unpermitted immigrants: are all of the above
iv. about the United States: do not support the criminal history
v. you are what you have abandoned
vi.identify: alien copy: self
vii. separate your open wounds in the process
viii. verify: all has been destroyed
ix.naturalization can not capture your free can not level your personal for political
x. this application simplified is persecution of your own safety to ensure social security
xi. reschedule reschedule reschedule reschedule a time time time again time time date and time
xii. resubmit resubmit resubmit
xiii. please xiv. you will never belong
III. Change [y]our Country
Melissa Dunphy
you Are Home thisIS where you live now Home your space Your Time Your History
How many have been persecuted occupied arrested detained charged Have Been Failed lied to removed, excluded deported but you did not f al t e r you are willing you are true release re form prepare S t a n d Firm you are the best of u s you will b re a the free
Songs for the People Songs for the People
Francis Ellen Watkins Harper - from “Poems”, published 1895
Let me make the songs for the people, Songs for the old and young; Songs to stir like a battle-cry Wherever they are sung. Not for the clashing of sabres, For carnage nor for strife; But songs to thrill the hearts of all With more abundant life.
Let me make the songs for the weary, Amid life’s fever and fret, Till hearts shall relax their tension, And careworn brows forget. Let me sing for little children, Before their footsteps stray, Sweet anthems of love and duty, To float o’er life’s highway. I would sing for the poor and aged, When shadows dim their sight; Of the bright and restful mansions, Where there shall be no night. Our world, so worn and weary, Needs music, pure and strong, To hush the jangle and discords Of sorrow, pain, and wrong. Music to soothe all its sorrow, Till war and crime shall cease; And the hearts of all grown tender Girdle the world with peace.
City Called Heaven
Traditional Spiritual
I am a pilgrim, a pilgrim of sorrow I'm left in this wide world, this wide world alone Ain't got no hope, got no hope for tomorrow Trying to make it, make heaven my home Sometimes I'm tossed and I'm driven, Lord Heard of a city, a city called heaven Trying to make it, make heaven my home
DONORS
The
Road Home
Michael Dennis Browne
Tell me, where is the road I can call my own, That I left, that I lost
So long ago?
All these years I have wandered, Oh when will I know
There’s a way, there’s a road
That will lead me home?
After wind, after rain, When the dark is done, As I wake from a dream
In the gold of day, Through the air there’s a calling
From far away,
There’s a voice I can hear
That will lead me home.
Rise up, follow me, Come away, is the call, With the love in your heart
As the only song; There is no such beauty
As where you belong; Rise up, follow me, I will lead you home.
Precious
Lord
Thomas A. Dorsey
Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn; Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light. Take my hand, Lord, and lead me home When my way grows drear, Precious Lord, linger near, When my life is almost gone, At the river, Lord, I stand Guide my feet and hold my hand: Take my hand, Lord, and lead me home
Donors who contributed $100 or more between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025 are recognized in this progam * Singers ^ Board & Staff ~ Volunteers
Congratulations to the 2025 recipients of the Alison N. Roman Memorial Scholarship:
Abril Franco - Denver Children's Choir
Sovereign Walker - Cherry Creek High School
DIAMOND BATON
$50,000 - $99,000
SCFD - Arapahoe County
SCFD - Denver County
GOLD BATON
$15,000 - $24,999
Olson-Vander Heyden Foundation
SILVER BATON
$10,000 - $14,999
Linda & Randall Chilcote
Judy Fredericksen
Lynn Hardcastle
Bryce Kennedy* & Joshua Larson
BRONZE BATON
$7,500 - $9,999
Lindsey* & Mark^ Aquilina
Keith* & Sue Ferguson
SCFD - Adams County
DIRECTOR'S CIRCLE
$5,000 - $7,499
Virginia W Hill Foundation
Pamela Mahonchak
Joel Rinsema^ & Sarah Branton*^
VIRTUOSO'S CIRCLE
$2,500 - $4,999
Susan Lewkow~
Alex* & Melissa*^ Menter
Scott Horowitz*^ & Leah Weinberg
Michael* & Donna Boender
Lindsey Family Charitable Fund
SOLOIST'S CIRCLE
$1,000 - $2,499
William Blyth
Leslie & Eric Britton
Garth Criswell* & Mark Kraft
Dwayne Dickerson
Elizabeth Duke
Matthew Eschliman*^
Heather* & Kevin Gunnerson
Marjorie & Preston Hofer
C. Stephen & Gracie Hooper
Brad Jackson* & Mark Jennison
Eric & Karen Johnson
David Jory
King Soopers Community Rewards
John Ludwig*
David~ & Jennifer* Moore
Kathy Osvog
U.S. Bank Foundation
Patrice Von Stroh
Jennifer & Jonathan* Von Stroh
Jane* & John* Wright
ARIA
$500 - $999
John Bartley*^
Kai* & Lyn* Berry-Helmlinger
Beatriz Bonnet
Constance Branton
Rebecca Caldwell
Colorado Gives Foundation
Linda & Kees Corssmit
Landon Covington & Jason Hindman
Marilyn Dana
Desiree Deliz Morales*^
Deb & Don Felio
Nancy Gallivan
Elaine & Michael Gardner
Larry Graham
Jason Gruhl
Patricia Gunckel
Annette & Jim Gunnerson
Jason & Stacie* Hanson
Alan & Shirley Horowitz
Deanna & Kathryn Johnson
Gordon & Liz Anne Johnson
Chelsea Kendall* & Andrew Quinlan
Marcia Jory & Ray Kennedy
Roberta Larson
Brad Larson*
Mark Leichthammer
Samuel Low*
Ann Ludwig
Elaine Menter
Mary Rollar
Carol Roman & Robert Kihm
Renee McClaugherty & John Schaak*
Judy Bloomberg Schenkein^ & Ed Schenkein
Terry Schlenker
Chris & Keri Sexton
Lois Siegel~
Keith Small
Donald Branton & David Smith
Barbara & Erik Stone
Cynthia & David Susser
Christina Von Stroh
Theresa Wallace
Andrea & Patrick Ware-Medina
Joan Winstein
CANTATA
$200 - $499
Safia Ahmed*
Jennifer Allen
Jason Anderson
John Artley
Nancy Atkinson
Lizabeth Barnett
Jill & Robin Beemer
Boyd & Sharon Berry
Robert Blauvelt & Michael Corrigan
Gordon & Terry Bloomberg
Kathy Bollhoefer
Paul Boulis
Judy Bowman
Tom Carlock & Richard Schirrmacher
Justin Cave
Kate Criswell
Leslie Eber
Randi Ellefson
Scott Elrod~ & Shannon Lemmon-Elrod*
Beverly & Bruce Fest
Don & Lil Filegar
Sara Fischer & John Cannon
Marilyn & Wilbur Flachman
Peter Fogg
Mary Beth & Roger France
Richard & Mary Gallivan
Ann Gallivan
Genentech
Paul Gilbertson
Christina Graham*
Pamela & James Grange
Ankush Gupta
Brenda Bailey-Hainer & Eugene Hainer
Keith* & Julie Harrison
Debora Jerome
Geoffrey Johnson
Edi King
Brett & Tami Krichiver
Anker Lerret
Albert & Terri Link
Mary Luellen
Betsy & Tad Lyle
Eric & Sharon Martin
Eric Matthys
Carol & Jerry Mayer
Laura McCleary
Erin Meyerhoff*
Sara Michael*^
Reuben N
Donald & Sharron Neufeld
Randy Nicholas
Elizabeth & Theodore Obenchain
Allison* & Timothy Pasternak
William Peck
Erin Pettitt
Judd & Linda Rinsema
Michael Rogers
Pearl Rutherford*
Christine Schaefer
Trysten Schlottmann
Lisa Schrader
Dean Schramm
Terri Schwartz
Paul & Cass Seely
Tony Silvestri
Shelly Smith
Kelley Southerland
Noble Spencer
Jayne Sullivan
Peter Sutherland
Karen Sutherland
Christopher Tin
Julia Toll
Sherry & Stephen Treat
Marjory Ulm
Stephen Van Hooser
Deborah & Larry Weinberg
Bequests
Making a gift to Kantorei through your will or estate is a beautiful way to create a lasting legacy and to ensure that our music and our mission will live on well into the future.
A bequest is generally a revocable gift, which means it can be changed or modified at any time. You can choose to designate that a bequest be used for a general or specific purpose so you have the peace of mind knowing that your gift will be used as intended. Bequests are exempt from federal estate taxes. If you have a taxable estate, the estate tax charitable deduction may offset or eliminate estate taxes, resulting in a larger inheritance for your heirs.
For questions, or to request a Bequest Intention Form, please contact Courtney Huffman, Director of Community Engagement, courtney@kantorei.org.
Legacy society
Joel Rinsema
Judd & Linda Rinsema
John Ludwig
Bryce Kennedy and Josh Larson
Andrea Ware-Medina Lynn Hardcastle
See below for organizations that support immigrants & refugees in Colorado:
Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN), which provides free legal services to individuals detained in ICE custody through a network of staff and volunteer attorneys. They also run a children's program for immigrant youth.
Learn more here.
Casa de Paz, an organization that provides emergency shelter and logistical support (travel and communication) for individuals immediately upon release from ICE detention.
Learn more here.
Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC), who do community organizing and lobbying to make policy and legislative change for the benefit of the immigrant community.
Learn more here.
African Community Center, who work with refugees and other immigrants primarily on resettlement/community integration.
Learn more here.
International Rescue Committee (IRC), who provide support and legal services primarily for refugees, asylum seekers, and survivors of torture. They have a Denver office and have been heavily involved in Afghan refugee resettlement.
Learn more here.
Lutheran Family Services, who provide legal services for immigrants already present in the US, as well as refugee resettlement services.
Learn more here.
Catholic Charities, who provide a variety of immigration services, and have a specific Afghan resettlement project.
Learn more here.
Jewish Family Service (JFS), who provide resettlement services for refugees of all backgrounds in Colorado.
Learn more here.
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), who organize immigrants and allies striving for immigrant justice in Colorado.
Learn more here.
DENVER’S HOME MARKET IS MOVING! AREYOU?
Garth Criswell
303.669.0252
garth.criswell@coloradohomes.com
garthcriswell.com
The members of Kantorei are still singing because we were fortunate to have received a solid choral foundation in high school and college. Kantorei’s vision is that one day every music student in Colorado will have this solid foundation. In order to help achieve this goal we have created the Elevate Classroom Grant and the Alison N. Roman Memorial Scholarship Fund.
ALISON N. ROMAN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Alison Roman was a beloved member of the Kantorei family and a fiercely dedicated music educator. She touched countless lives, and for this reason, with the blessing of Alison’s family, the Kantorei board of directors has named the Individual Scholarship the Alison N. Roman Memorial Scholarship.
In this spirit, the Alison N. Roman Memorial Scholarship is dedicated to assisting a talented senior BIPOC, Asian, or Latinx student in pursuing their musical dreams. This scholarship offers a minimum award of $1000 to cover expenses related to choral ensemble participation, such as membership fees, uniforms, and private lessons.
ELEVATE CLASSROOM GRANT
The Elevate Classroom Grant supports underfunded high school choral programs by offering classroom grants to teachers to be used for expenses such as sheet music, uniforms, festival attendance costs, etc.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
KANTOREI UPCOMING CONCERTS
ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL
SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 2025 @ 8:00 PM
KLEIN MUSIC TENT 960 N 3RD STREET, ASPEN
2025-26 SEASON
October 4 & 5, 2025
Dececember 5-7 & 19-20, 2025
February 28 & Mar 1, 2026
May 16, 17 & 30, 2026
Kantorei would like to thank our sponsors for your generous and ongoing support!