Boulder a cappella ensemble refuses to let its “making” be sidelined by pandemic, announces five in-person event programs through June 2022
Please note: Due to fluctuating rates of COVID-19 in our area, some performances within our 2021-2022 Season have been rescheduled or temporarily postponed. Please be sure to review any ticket purchases and published schedules, and contact us with any questions.
BOULDER, CO – Ars Nova Singers, Boulder’s nationally acclaimed a cappella ensemble, is proud to announce its 2021-22 season, a nine-month celebration of “making” featuring contemporary works and Renaissance treasures.
The season opens in a few short weeks with Made Perfect, a one-hour program centered around Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s otherwordly Missa Brevis, flanked by several of Palestrina’s motets and the late British composer John Tavener’s For the Fallen (drawn from his Exhortation and Kohima). Both Palestrina’s towering, yet deeply intimate, Brevis and Tavener’s Fallen give voice to the kind of shared grief many are feeling these days, and the desire to make order out of chaos. In-person performances will take place on Friday, October 15 at 7:30pm at St. Paul Community of Faith (1600 Grant Street, Denver) and Saturday, October 16 at 7:30pm at First United Methodist Church (1421 Spruce Street, Boulder). Friday’s performance will also be livestreamed. $25 tickets for these two in-person performances and the single livestream performance are available now at this link.
“There’s no getting around the fact that we continue to live in unusual times,” noted Artistic Director and Conductor Thomas Edward Morgan, “but the Singers have found joining together in song to be a refreshingly cathartic experience, and we expect our longtime listeners and new audience members will feel the same. We won’t let the collective trauma of the country, and indeed our own personal traumas of the last year and a half, keep us from ‘making,’ and making beautifully together.”
As winter approaches, Ars Nova will return to its festive ritual of a holiday program of traditional tunes and new favorites. Made Merry will offer listeners a chance to rejoice in song and refill their creative reservoirs before the wintery weather settles in. Catch live performances on December 10 (7:30pm, St. Paul Community of Faith, 1600 Grant Street, Denver), December 12 (4:00pm, United Church of Christ, 1500 9th Ave, Longmont), December 16 (7:30pm, First United Methodist Church, 1421 Spruce Street, Boulder), and December 17 (7:30pm, First United Methodist Church, 1421 Spruce Street, Boulder). All tickets are $25 and will soon be available at this link.
Due to the omicron outbreak, Ars Nova rescheduled its Spring concerts. The group will return to the concert hall in April with Made Fragile, a concert that honors the uncertainty of our shared experiences and the trust we place in one another. Inspired by the melodic frameworks of traditional Indian classical music, Indian-American composer Reena Esmail’s sinuous, hauntingly beautiful sounds are paired with the quivering faith of Gabriel Fauré’s beloved Requiem. Catch Fragile, with featured guest artists Matthew Dane, viola and Christina Jennings, flute, on Friday, April 1 (7:30pm, Central Presbyterian Church – Antonia Brico Stage, 1660 Sherman Street, Denver) and Saturday, April 2 (7:30pm, First United Methodist Church, 1421 Spruce Street, Boulder). All tickets are $25 and will soon be available at this link.
In the ensemble’s final program of the season, Made Real, they turn to a longtime creative partner—the brilliant featured guest artist Nicolò Spera, guitar, to help premiere a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Christopher Theofanidis. Often celebrated for his colorful, inventive, and magnetic compositions, Theofanidis turns his musical spotlight on the dark reality of earth’s changing climate with new work for solo guitar and chorus, Door Out of the Fire. Performances will take place on Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 4. $25 tickets and additional program and venue details will be posted in coming months at this link.
Out of an abundance of caution, attendees for all in-person performances will be required to acknowledge COVID-19 expectations during the course of online ticket purchasing, provide proof of vaccination (myColorado™ accepted) before taking their seats, and wear masks throughout the duration of performances. Ars Nova Singers and Artistic Director/Conductor Thomas Edward Morgan will also be masking up as they perform. For additional information about our COVID-19 policies, tap this button:
Recognizing the uncertain state of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ars Nova Singers may adjust schedules and program formats as needed to ensure the health and safety of its performers and listeners. The group also plans to livestream at least one performance of each program this season. Please visit arsnovasingers.org regularly to stay up-to-date, and sign up for the group’s (rare) email newsletter here.
