In 1986, Founding Artistic Director Thomas Edward Morgan recognized the need for a new auditioned choral group in the Boulder area. In the years since, Ars Nova has gained a national reputation for its rigorously cultivated celestial sound, boundary-pushing programming, imaginative collaborations, and intimate performance experiences.
History
Early Music (’86-’99)
- 1986 – Ars Nova Singers is founded and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
- 1987 – Ars Nova joins the Dale Warland Singers for a performance at the Colorado Music Festival.
- 1988 – Ars Nova begins a three-year project to sing all of the sacred works of Carlo Gesualdo, an Italian composer known for his intensely expressive madrigals.
- 1989–91 – Ars Nova collaborates with the Colorado Mahlerfest and the Boulder Sinfonia, and embarks on its first Southwest tour.
- 1993–94 – Ars Nova releases its first album, A Floweret Bright: Christmas Music from the Renaissance and the 20th Century. The group receives its first funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
- 1995 – Ars Nova celebrates its 10th Anniversary Season and releases two albums with Boulder-based composer Bill Douglas, Circle of Moons and Deep Peace.
- 1997 – Ars Nova performs masses by Pärt and Mozart in collaboration with the Boulder Philharmonic.
- 1998 – Ars Nova travels to Berlin, Prague, Vienna, and Budapest during its first tour of Eastern Europe.
- 1999 – Ars Nova performs at the public memorial service held to honor the Columbine High School victims.
The Nova Millenium (’00-’09)
- 2000–01 – Ars Nova hosts its first Colorado Composers Competition.
- 2002 – Ars Nova performs at the Chorus America National Convention, held that year in Denver.
- 2003 – Ars Nova collaborates with Mixed-Media Artist Lesley Dill on a performance project titled I Heard a Voice, presented at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam, British Columbia. Ars Nova also performs in Albuquerque and Santa Fe that year, and receives funding from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.
- 2004 – New World Renaissance Project
- 2006 – Ars Nova performs in Washington, DC, including at the studios of National Public Radio. Ars Nova collaborates with Frequent Flyers, an aerial dance company, on German composer Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.
- 2007–08 – Ars Nova collaborates with Pro Musica Colorado and performs with the Kronos Quartet at the Colorado Music Festival.
- 2009 – Ars Nova is selected as a semi-finalist for The American Prize in Choral Performance.
The Ars Futurae (’10-’20)
- 2010 – Cellist David Darling’s Prayer for Compassion, featuring Ars Nova Singers on multiple tracks, wins a Grammy for Best New Age Album.
- 2011 – Ars Nova celebrates its 25th Anniversary Season, collaborating with the Boulder Philharmonic on American Composer Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna.
- 2012–13 – Ars Nova presents the U.S. premiere of Arvo Pärt’s Salve Regina with the Sphere Ensemble, and later collaborates with the Colorado Saxophone Quartet.
- 2014 – Ars Nova performs with British Violinist Edward Dusinberre, and presents the world premiere of Canadian Composer Peter-Anthony Togni’s Warrior Songs with legendary Jazz Percussionist Jerry Granelli.
- 2015–16 – Ars Nova celebrates its 30th Anniversary Season with two performances at Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium, and launches its first Shared Visions program incorporating the works of Colorado-based visual artists, poets, and composers.
- 2017–18 – Ars Nova performs French Composer and Organist Maurice Duruflé’s Complete Choral Works, collaborates with Classical Guitarist Nicolò Spera, and performs British Composer Will Todd’s jazz-sacred choral fusion piece, Mass in Blue.
- 2019–20 – Ars Nova collaborates with contemporary dance company 3rd Law Dance/Theater and Stratus Chamber Orchestra, and performs French Composer Antoine Brumel’s Earthquake Mass – a colossal, 12-part work that couldn’t help but feel prescient just before the COVID-19 Pandemic laid us low.
The Ars Potentia (Onward!)
- 2021 – In the wake of our collective COVID-19 isolation, Ars Nova Singers blazes a bold path forward: longtime Artistic Director Thomas Edward Morgan joins the organization full-time to meet the moment, bringing listeners more concerts, more collaborations, and more outreach at a time when audiences are most seeking inspiration.