Posted January 1, 2026
A reflection on the year 2025, from Ars Nova Singers’ Artistic Director Tom Morgan
Last February, I was conducting our wonderful singers in the phrase in the title above: a line of poetry by Wallace Stevens, set to music so eloquently by Dominick Argento. We performed Argento’s Peter Quince at the Clavier at two performances with our friend David Korevaar, the brilliant virtuoso pianist on the faculty of CU-Boulder. This is a piece of music that I’ve wanted to perform since the 1980s, but the stars never quite aligned. It requires both an exceptional pianist and a high degree of commitment from the choir, given its significant harmonic and rhythmic challenges.
But such a reward!
After the concerts, I wrote this note to our singers:
“In the prologue to the play-within-the-play, Shakespeare has Peter Quince say: “To show our simple skill, that is the true beginning of our end.”
First and foremost, I want to congratulate and thank each of you for the work you did behind the scenes for this program in just 36 days, from first rehearsal to first performance. You can and should be proud of this. We all had to put extra effort into this, musically, vocally, and mentally. Not such a simple skill! But we grow by challenging ourselves and encouraging each other.
I’ve commented previously on how rich and deep this piece is. I am truly grateful to Elissa Guralnick for her guidance, enthusiasm, and energy in helping us understand and present this work. It made it come alive, both for the audience AND for us, right before we performed it. This is what we NEED to do with new music and challenging works: not just serve them on a silver platter, but invite our audiences INTO the experience. Elissa, we all thank you!”
The year 2025 had a plethora of such experiences for us, with about as wide a range as we’ve ever had in a calendar year: from the poignant Howells’ Requiem and the profound Frank Martin Mass for Double Choir (June); to a resplendent return of VOCES8 to Colorado, including a workshop we sponsored for over 400 local high school students (October); a spectacular retrospective Gala celebration of our 40 seasons, complete with video greetings from friends and colleagues around the world (September); to a very well-received holiday program, featured works by five contemporary women composers (December); and even an entire program inspired by Steampunk, presented in costume (April).
And onward into 2026! We continue to invite you into the experience that is Ars Nova SIngers. Let’s get together in the new year.
My best wishes to you,
Tom