metropolitan choral festival

2024 Program Order

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Directed by Ricki Vorrath-Moyer

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Alleluia -- Randall Thompson

​    Arrangement for String Orchestra and Chorus by Ricki Vorrath-Moyer

 

Requiem in C Minor -- Michael Haydn  (Click here for Haydn texts and translations)

    Soloists - Pearl Rutherford, LeeAnn Scherlong, James Baumgardner, Steven Taylor 

              Requiem & Kyrie

              Dies irae

              Offertorium

              Sanctus

              Benedictus

              Agnus Dei & Requiem

 

Intermission (15 minutes) -- Joyce Witte, President MCF 

 

Mass No.6 in E Flat -- Franz Schubert  (Click here for Schubert texts and translations)

     Soloists - Pearl Rutherford, LeeAnn Scherlong, James Baumgardner, Cody Laun, Steven Taylor

              Kyrie

              Gloria

              Credo

              Sanctus

              Benedictus

              Agnus Dei

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A Gaelic Blessing -- John Rutter

 

Metropolitan Choral Festival Singers

    *Section Leaders​

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Soprano

Abby Anderson, Georgia Arribau, Lisa Atkins, Annie Bacon, Diana Bright, Cassie Carr, Ashlynne Doidge, Barbara Fahmy, Marie Giefer, Carol High, Janine Hill, Susan Merrick, *Sara Michael, Bonnie Mustoe, Amelia Nilson-Bartlett, Iris Reyes, Julie Rhodes, Kaila Ritchie, Kimberly Söderholm, Kathryn Spritzer, Susan Street, Ann Sturm, *Laura Tribby, Alison Tucker, Sarah Wachtel, Sue Wedaa, Gabriela Wenda-Collier, Wendy Williams, Stacy Worthington

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Alto

Kristel Acre, Jeannette Auman, Barbara Banks, Sarah Bissell, Rebecca Borders, Rebecca Bourgeois, Virginia Brace, Mary Brittain, Vira Brock, Katie Busser, Ruth Culbertson, Sharon Erlarcher, Rosemary Evans, Elaine Flint, KaLee French, Patricia Gaggiani, Susan Grey, Tricia Harmon, Karen Harris, Cara Hart, Sandra Hoyman, Herma Hughes, Sara Jones, Karen Juenemann, Kathy Kilmer, Melinda Kretchmer, Stephanie Lefthand, Maureen Liegl, Ann McCalley, Rachel McGuire, Erin Morris, Noel Morris, Rebecca Murray, Julie Niblock, Brenda Ranck, Evie Schauer, Marsha Scheinhartz, Belinda Smiley, Karin Söderholm,  Barbara Ungashick, Ann Ver Linden, Grace-Ann Westergren, Ellen Wilson, Deborah Woodard

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Tenor

Jordan Antonio, Kaleb Archer, Sue Armour, Jason Atkins, David Bell, Miles Bourgeois, Tyler Corson-Rikert, *Matthew Eschliman, Ken Fordyce, Mark Heneghan, Johnny Nichols Jr., *Seth O’Kegley, Peg Rocklin, Shana Vorhauer, Sandy Wong

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Bass

Jim Banks, Jim Boschert, Stephen Brown, Colin Eagen, Joe Gailey, Tim Griffin, Liam Harty, Wesley Jones, Matthew Kersten-Gray, Matthew Kingham, Mike Lewis, Alan Long, Michael Meresman, Charlie Miller, Nolan Oltjenbruns, Joshua Richards, Rob Rocklin, Anthony Romo, Bruce Rose, Marc Sammartano, Lucas Sorenson, Rick Thorne, John Wright

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Choirs Represented

Festival singers come from all over the metro area, including but not limited to the 5280+ Senior Chorales, Adelphian Concert Choir (Tacoma, WA), Alpine Chorale, Arvada Chorale, Bethany Chancel Choir, Boulder Chorale, Broomfield Civic Chorus, Cherry Creek Chorale, Choir League
Colorado Choir, Colorado Chorale, Colorado Repertory Singers, Colorado Symphony Orchestra Chorus, CU Anschutz Community Choir, DC Singers, Denver Chorale, Denver Gay Men’s Chorus, Denver Women’s Chorus, Epiphany Episcopal Church Choir, First Plymouth Congregational Church Choir, First United Church of Arvada, Foothills Community Chorus, Gaudete Singers, Golden Concert Choir, Grace Presbyterian Church Choir, Grand Chorale, Jefferson Unitarian Church, Jubilate Sacred Singers, Loveland Opera Theatre Chorus, Louisville UMC, Montview Blvd. Presbyterian Church, Musicians of St. Clare Chamber Choir, New Hope Presbyterian Castle Rock, One World Singers, Park Hill United Methodist Church, Rocky Mountain Revels, Sage Singers, Seicento Baroque Ensemble, St. Andrew UMC Highlands Ranch, St. Andrew Presbyterian Church Boulder, St. Andrew Episcopal Church Highlands Ranch, St. James Episcopal Church, St. John's Cathedral Choir, St. Joan of Arc Sacred Music Ministry, St. Marks Roman Catholic Church Choir, Vittoria Ensemble, Voices Rock, Voices West, and Westminster Choir.

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Metropolitan Choral Festival Musicians

• Violin I: Myroslava Bartels, Tena White, Liz Drabkin, Takanori Sugishita

• Violin II: Leena Waite, Heejung Kim, Summer Lusk, Joan Bertoluzzi

• Viola: Phillip Stevens, Leah Kovach, Koko Dyulgerski

• Cello: Sarah Biber, Elle Wells, Eric Bertoluzzi

• Bass: Isaiah Holt, Jason Thompson

• Oboe: Grace Stringfellow, Lisa Read

• Clarinet: Jeremy Reynolds, Heidi Mendenhall

• Bassoon: Tristan Rennie, Anthony Federico

• Horns: Matt Eckenhoff, Michael Sgrecci

• Trumpet: Justin Bartels, Philip Hembree, Patrick Tillery, Adrian Holton

• Trombone: John Sipher, Paul Naslund, Jeremy Van Hoy

• Tipani/Percussion: Mike Tetreault

• Organ: Matthew Kingham

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​Biographies

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Ricki Vorrath-Moyer - Artistic Director & Conductor

Ricki Vorrath-Moyer has been the musical leader of MCF since its inception. She attended Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, then received her Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance at the University of Colorado, Boulder.  She went on to receive her Master of Music degree in Organ Performance, with minor emphases in choral conducting and piano pedagogy. She is currently Organist/Accompanist at First Plymouth Congregational Church, Cherry Hills Village and serves as the Principal Accompanist for the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus. Ricki is a new business underwriter at Pinnacol Assurance.

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Pearl Rutherford - Soprano

Pearl Rutherford is affiliate voice faculty at Colorado Christian University School of Music, and is a voice teacher and vocal coach in Valor Christian High School’s Conservatory program. She is a voice and piano teacher at DoReMi Lessons in Denver, and maintains an active private voice studio in Littleton.

Pearl is a member of the highly acclaimed Denver vocal ensemble, Kantorei. She has sung the roles of Despina in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, Oscar in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, and Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow with the Idaho Falls Opera Theatre in Idaho Falls, Idaho, as well as Maria in a Honolulu production of West Side Story. Pearl has been a regular soprano soloist with the Metropolitan Choral Festival in Denver, and has performed as soloist with Stratus (formerly Musica Sacra) Chamber Orchestra, St. Martin’s Chamber Choir, Orion Wind Ensemble, Colorado Christian University’s University Choir, Hawaii Chamber Orchestra in Honolulu; the Star Valley Arts Council and Star Valley Choral Society in Wyoming, the Snake River Chamber Orchestra and Caritas Chorale in Idaho. She was also a member and soloist with the Idaho Falls Symphony Chorale and Anam Cara, The Chamber Choir of Idaho. She was a soloist with Stratus Chamber Orchestra during their tour of the Czech Republic in June of 2017, performing Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and performed Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne with SCO in Denver. Pearl continues to be an active soprano soloist and recitalist in the Denver area.

Pearl was a Presser Scholar, earning her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Hawaii-Manoa, and has received vocal instruction at the University of Northern Colorado. She currently continues her vocal studies with Andrew Adams in Denver.
 

Lee Ann Scherlong - Alto

Lee Ann Scherlong is a highly sought-after professional director, music director, theatre educator, actor, voice teacher/coach and arts administrator throughout Colorado and the region. Lee Ann’s passion is working with aspiring young actors through educational theatre, instilling the love of all things theatre. She has worked with the award-winning Northglenn Youth Theatre (Henry Award Sound of Music), Ft. Collins Children's Theatre, CYT and CenterStage Theatre Company in Louisville. Lee Ann has music directed or performed in over 75 productions including opera, musical theatre and orchestral performances.

Recognition: Three-time Henry Award nominee for outstanding musical direction for A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (2019) and The Scottsboro Boys (2020), and Once on This Island (2022). Other music direction credits include: Jane Eyre, Camelot, Brigadoon, Annie (Performance Now); Side by Side by Sondheim (Cherry Creek Theatre); Titanic, Man of La Mancha (Augustana Arts).

Performance credits include: Tuck Everlasting (Vintage); Caroline, or Change (Aurora Fox); 42nd Street, Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, Beauty and the Beast, Hello, Dolly! (Performance Now); Sister Act (MidTown Arts Center) Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof (Evergreen Chorale/Ovation West); and appearances with the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra, the Robert Shaw Festival Singers, the William Hall Master Chorale, Opera Fort Collins, Fort Hays College, Colorado Music Festival, and the Metropolitan Choral Festival.

Lee Ann was the founding Artistic Director at Parker Performing Arts School and currently is a theatre educator at Aspen Academy K-8 in Greenwood Village, CO.

Lee Ann received her Masters of Music in Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting from Colorado State University and completed doctoral coursework at the University of Northern Colorado in Vocal Performance/Opera Directing.
 

James Baumgardner - Tenor

James Baumgardner has been performing with the Metropolitan Choral Festival for 10 years! A Colorado native, James built a love for choral music as a student at Columbine High School under the direction of Lee Andres. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from CSU and a Master of Music in Voice Performance from CU Boulder. As a young artist, James performed with many top programs including residencies with Central City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera Education Program. James went on to have a successful career performing around New York City and Europe, particularly specializing in new works and the romantic operas of Verdi and Puccini.

James moved back to Colorado in 2014 and now resides in Fort Collins with his beautiful wife Lindsey and two children, Caleb and Lyla. James continues to perform with local symphonies and chorales as well as with the internationally known Legacy Quartet. James is also an accomplished financial planner in Northern Colorado where his clients know him as “my opera singing advisor”.
 

Cody Laun - Tenor
Dr. Cody Laun is a native of the Denver-metro region. He received his undergraduate training (Colorado State University — Fort Collins) and began his journey as a classical performer and music educator. He received his graduate training from the University of Florida and The University of Southern Mississippi, where he was awarded an MM and DMA. Since completing his graduate work, he has served on the faculty of several colleges and universities, including Colorado State University and Front Range Community College. He is currently on faculty at New Saint Andrews College, where he serves as Head Instructor of Voice and Artist in Residence.

Cody has appeared as a guest lecturer and clinician across the US and is in high demand along the Front Range, where he is frequently seen as a soloist with various opera companies, such as Opera Fort Collins (Roméo), Boulder Opera (Nemorino), and Loveland Opera, among others. Notable regional appearances outside Colorado include Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Mississippi, The Muses Creative Artistry Project, Mobile Opera, Festival South, and the Natchez Festival of Music. In addition to his operatic credits, Cody is often featured with several area chamber music ensembles, including the Colorado Bach Ensemble and Anima Chamber Ensemble. He enjoys collaborating on newly composed works, as well as performing operatic and choral standards.

This season, in addition to his performance with the DPO, Cody is singing the tenor solos in Dan Forrest’s “Requiem for the Living” with the South Suburban Christian Church in Parker and singing Remendado in Carmen for the student matinee with Opera Colorado.

Cody’s competition credits include NATSAA (2018 national semi-finalist), the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (2015 district winner and regional finalist), and the Rose Palmai-Tenser competition (2014 finalist). He is thrilled to make his debut with the Metropolitan Choral Festival. 

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Steven Taylor - Baritone
Known for his beautiful, expressive singing and dramatic interpretations, Steven serves as the Dean of the School of Music at Colorado Christian University. In 2021, Steven was voted Best Performer in a Musical in the Denver Region by Broadway World for his role as Tevye in Fiddler On the Roof with OVATION WEST. His versatile singing career ranges from opera and oratorio, to musical theatre, gospel, and jazz. Steven has appeared as a soloist three times in Carnegie Hall; onstage with Opera Colorado, Central City Opera, Opera Theatre of the Rockies, Boulder’s Dinner Theatre, Opera Ft. Collins, and Ovation West; and in concert with major symphonies and choral organizations throughout the west, including the Colorado Ballet and the Denver Brass. As a member of LEGACY Quartet, Steven has performed concert tours in Canada, Cuba, Australia, and South Korea.

Steven is also sought after as a voice actor and narrator, having most recently portrayed the Apostle Luke, in the Blue Gospels Scripts productions at the Soiled Dove Underground, and narrator for Copland’s Lincoln Portrait with the Denver Brass
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Program Notes

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Randall Thompson was born in New York City in 1899. He was an American composer, particularly noted for his choral works, though he also composed symphonies, string quartets, and other instrumental pieces.

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Thompson attended the Lawrenceville School, where his father was an English teacher. He then attended Harvard University, became assistant professor of music and choir director at Wellesley College, and received a doctorate in music from the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music. He had a long career as an educator, teaching at Wellesley, the University of California – Berkeley, the University of Virginia, Princeton, and Harvard University. His students included Leonard Bernstein and Samuel Adler.

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Alleluia – Thompson’s most popular work - was composed over the first five days of July in 1940, with its world premiere on July 8 of 1940 at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood in Massachusetts.

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The work was written on a commission from Serge Koussevitzky, director of the Tanglewood Festival. Koussevitzky wanted a “fanfare” for voices to be performed at the opening exercises of the new Berkshire Music Center. He asked Thompson to compose that fanfare. Instead of the joyous work expected of him, the composer produced a quiet and introspective piece. According to Thompson, the fall of France to the Nazis just weeks before he wrote the work had dampened his spirits and he felt that to write a festive piece would be inappropriate.

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According to Thompson, “the Alleluia ('praise ye the Lord' in Hebrew) is a very sad piece. The word 'Alleluia' has so many possible interpretations. The music in my particular Alleluia cannot be made to sound joyous. It is a slow, sad piece, and here is comparable to the Book of Job, where it is written, 'The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord'.”

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Fun fact: In the days leading up to the music festival at Berkshire, Thompson was preoccupied with another commission, and submitted Alleluia on the very day of its first performance. When choral director G. Wallace Woodworth finally saw the score, a mere 45 minutes before taking the stage, he noted that it consisted of the oft-repeated word alleluia and the final amen and is said to have told the singers, “Well, text at least is one thing we won’t have to worry about.”

 

Thompson’s choral works were more widely performed than any other American composer up to his time.

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Resource: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Alleluia

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Michael Haydn (1737 – 1806), Requiem in C minor (1771)

Michael Haydn is considered one of the most accomplished Austrian composers of church music in the latter part of the 18th century. He wrote over 360 compositions for the church including instrumental music. Haydn’s sacred choral works are generally regarded as his most important. He was the younger brother of Joseph Haydn. It is said that Michael was a brighter student than Joseph and when Joseph grew out of his soprano voice it was Michael’s singing was the most admired. Like his brother, Michael Haydn became a choirboy at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, receiving his early musical instruction there. He was dismissed from the choir school when his voice broke, and he then earned a precarious living as a freelance musician. Critics of his time, considered him to be a better composer of church music than his brother, Joseph Haydn.

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In 1757 he became Kapellmeister to the bishop of Grosswardein in Hungary and in 1762 he became concertmaster to the archbishop of Salzburg. He remained in Salzburg as concertmaster for the rest of his life and succeeded Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as cathedral organist in 1781. He was an intimate friend of Mozart (who wrote his violin-viola duos to fulfill a commission Haydn was too ill to complete). Haydn was a teacher of Carl Maria von Weber.

 

Haydn wrote this Mass in C Minor on the death of the Prince-Archbishop Siegmund of Salzburg. It almost certainly expresses a more personal grief, as well.  Earlier in that same year, his beloved daughter Aloysia Antonia died before reaching her first birthday. This mass greatly influenced Mozart’s Requiem, Missa Hispanica (1791). The trumpets and trombones give this work of art, a somber and ceremonial color. There are many parallels in musical interpretations with Haydn and young Mozart’s Requiem written 20 years apart.

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Metropolitan Choral Festival is honored to perform this master work in hopes you will be transported in time and inspire your musical experience in the now.

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Franz Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828) Mass No. 6 in E Flat (1828)

​​As a brilliant Austrian composer, Schubert interlaces the Classical styles of composition with Romantic music. He is well known for his lieder and chamber music as well as symphonies, masses and piano works. Schubert was commissioned or rather requested to compose this Mass (classified as a missa solemnis) by his childhood friend and choirmaster of the Holy Trinity (Alserkirche) in Alsergrund, Vienna, a few months before his death. Unfortunately, he never had the opportunity to hear it performed. It was premiered a year after his passing conducted by his brother, Ferdinand Schubert at the same church who had commissioned this masterwork. It was later performed in the Church of Maria Trost (1829).

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Schubert scholars regard this Mass as one of his finest and substantial settings demonstrated in his technical capabilities and knowledge of harmonies of this work. The influence of Beethoven is clearly present. Schubert had been a torchbearer at Beethoven’s funeral (1827) in Alerkirche . You can hear references of Bach’s fugues in the Gloria and Agnus Dei. Schubert showcases the chorus and features a vocal quartet and trio engaging the dialogue with the full chorus without offering a single solo aria. The chromatic fugues and modulations are often part of compositions in the Romantic style. The contrast of loud and soft dynamics in this vast architecture simulates Beethoven’s style of composition. The play between minor and major leaves the listener in a state of mixed feelings between anguish and calm, between grief and hope. It is our desire that while you may be experiencing grief, you are left with a sense of hope.

 

Resources: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_No._6_(Schubert) 

https://londonconcertchoir.org/musical-works/schubert-mass-no-6-e-flat-major-d950 

http://manlywarringahchoir.org.au/files/2011/11/SCHUBERT-Mass-in-E-flat.pdf 

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John Rutter was born in London and studied music at Clare College, Cambridge. He first came to be noticed as a composer during his student years. Much of his early work consisted of church music and other choral pieces, including Christmas carols. From 1975-79 he was Director of Music at his alma mater, Clare College, and directed the college chapel choir in various recordings and broadcasts. Since 1979, he has divided his time between composition and conducting. Rutter’s music has been featured in a number of British royal occasions, including royal weddings. In 1983 he formed his own choir – the Cambridge Singers – with whom he has made numerous recordings, and appears regularly around the world as a guest conductor and choral ambassador.

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Composed in 1978, Rutter’s A Gaelic Blessing was immediately given the mischievous nickname – ‘A Garlic Dressing.’ Commissioned by an American Methodist church, the lush string accompaniment perfectly matches the serene text Rutter chooses to set. Though the words are deeply religious and one might expect the composer to hold deep religious beliefs, Rutter himself describes himself as ‘An agnostic supporter of the Christian faith.’

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A Gaelic Blessing has become the chosen “Benediction” at almost every MCF concert. It’s deeply comforting text and equally tranquil and sensitive music is a beautiful blessing that not only marks the end of our summer of musical fellowship, but also gifts our cherished audience and supporters at the close of a wonderful evening of choral/orchestral music.

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Deep peace of the running wave to you

Deep peace of the flowing air to you

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you

Deep peace of the shining stars to you

Deep peace of the gentle night to you

Moon and stars pour their healing light on you

Deep peace of Christ the light of the world to you

Deep peace of Christ to you

 

Resources: https://johnrutter.com/useful-info/press-resources

https://www.classicfm.com/composers/rutter/music/john-rutter-gaelic-blessing/

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On behalf of the 2024 Board of Directors, we thank you deeply for your patronage and support of our nonprofit organization. Your generosity is essential to to our success.

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Joyce Witte President 

Matthew Kersten-Gray Vice President

Lucas Sorenson Treasurer

David Bell Director

Howard Brand Director

Matt Kingham Director

Charlie Miller Director

Iris Reyes Director

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