St. Charles Singers to launch 40th anniversary season

The St. Charles Singers, based in St. Charles, will launch its 40th anniversary season this fall, helmed by founder and Artistic Director Jeffrey Hunt.

“The music throughout this celebratory season highlights what I feel are the special strengths of the St. Charles Singers,” Hunt said in a news release. “Communicating in a genuine way, with integrity and authenticity. Singing that’s energetic, passionate and informed.”

The acclaimed mixed-voice chamber choir will open its 2024-25 season in October with hometown concerts featuring works by three contemporary Illinois composers, including the program’s title work, “Pause, Reflect, and Ponder.” These will be heard alongside choral gems by international classical luminaries Maurice Duruflé, Ralph Vaughan Williams and others.

The choir’s December “Candlelight Carols” program will see the singers sharing the stage with the Metropolis String Ensemble in a program that includes a cappella scores as well as works for choir and strings.

This year’s holiday-season concerts hold special anniversary significance. The St. Charles Singers made its debut in December 1984 as the Mostly Madrigal Singers, with a “Candlelight Carols” concert at the historic Hotel Baker on the Fox River in downtown St. Charles.

The St. Charles Singers will host its second annual “Choral Connections” concerts in February. The ensemble’s community-outreach initiative showcases the choir and choral ensembles from six local high schools, most of whose choral directors also sing with the St. Charles Singers. At each concert, the St. Charles Singers and three different high school ensembles will perform on their own and, for the finale, sing together as a group.

“The goal is to instill, nurture and celebrate a lifelong love of the choral arts,” Hunt said.

The choir will conclude its 40th anniversary season in April in St. Charles with “The Passing of the Year,” taking its title from Jonathan Dove’s song cycle for double chorus and piano that captures the essence of the seasons.

“Pause, Reflect and Ponder” – Oct. 26–27

The St. Charles Singers’ season-opener concert spotlights works by three northern Illinois composers: Marybeth Kurnat of DeKalb, a soprano with the St. Charles Singers; Rockford-based, British-born Donald Fraser (known for such works as “This Christmastide”); and veteran choral director and educator Robert Boyd of Westmont.

Kurnat’s “For the Sake of Your Journey” is a musical setting of a poem mounted in the famous Chapel of Bones in Evora, Portugal. Written by a 19th-century parish priest, it urges visitors to “pause,” “reflect” and “ponder” their own mortality, hence the concert title. Kurnat encountered the poem while visiting the chapel during the St. Charles Singers’ 2023 concert tour on the Iberian Peninsula.

In his “Magnificat,” which premiered in 2018, Fraser interweaves text from Mary’s song of praise, found in the Gospel of Luke, with verses of a 19th-century poem about the Songs of Mary.

Boyd’s contribution is an arrangement of the traditional, tragic British folk ballad “Two Brothers.”

The concert also includes Ivo Antognini’s “Canticum Novum,” Charles Villiers Stanford’s “O for a Closer Walk With God,” Ivor Gurney’s “Since I Believe in God the Father Almighty,” György Orbán’s “Daemon Irrepit Callidus” and Maurice Duruflé's “Sanctus” from his “Requiem,” Opus 9.

In addition, the choir will perform Ēriks Ešenvalds’ “O Salutaris Hostia,” Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “O Clap Your Hands” and Fanny Hensel’s “Lockung,” Opus 3, No 1. Hensel was the sister of composer Felix Mendelssohn.

Concerts are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Ave., St. Charles.

“Candlelight Carols” to resound with songs for voices and strings Dec. 6­-8

For the first time in more than a decade, the St. Charles Singers will enlist a group of string players to perform in their annual “Candlelight Carols” concerts.

Joining the choir will be the 10-member Metropolis String Ensemble.

“Strings will bring an extra touch of holiday magic to the beguiling sounds of our choir and the enchanting melodies of the songs,” Hunt said.

Concertgoers will hear the St. Charles Singers’ first performances of Francis Poulenc’s “Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël,” Mitchell B. Southall’s “In Silent Night” and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on Christmas Carols.”

Hauntingly beautiful, Poulenc’s motet cycle paints four colorful scenes from the Nativity story with music evoking awe, mystery and joy. Hunt will alternate the motets with songs that elaborate on the scenes.

African American composer Southall gave his “In Silent Night” the subtitle “A Christmas Vignette in Pastel.” Hunt calls it “a lovely, gentle, deceptively simple song with a jazz feel.”

Hunt describes Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia” as “a memorable medley of some of the season’s most special tunes.” It’s one of a half-dozen songs in which string instruments will be heard with the choir.

Also on the program are John Rutter’s “Nativity Carol” and “What Sweeter Music,” R.R. Terry’s “Myn Lyking,” Harold Darke’s “In the Bleak Midwinter,” George Frideric Handel’s “For Unto Us a Child is Born” from his “Messiah,” Peter Warlock’s “Benedicamus Domino,” John Tavener’s “The Lamb,” Malcolm Sargent’s “Zither Carol,” based on a Czech folk tune with words by the composer, and David Willcocks’ “Silent Night,” arranged by Boyd.

“These concerts” Hunt says, “will be brimming with music that evokes the warmth, peace and joy of the season.”

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, at St. Michael Catholic Church, 310 S. Wheaton Ave., Wheaton; and at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Charles.

“Choral Connections” to feature choir and six area high school ensembles Feb. 21­-22

The second-annual installment of the St. Charles Singers’ “Choral Connections” concerts Feb. 21 and 22 will comprise two different programs. At each event, the St. Charles Singers will perform a set of songs, as will choruses from three suburban Chicago high schools. For the finale, they’ll all sing together.

Concert details will be announced in early 2025.

The first concert includes the St. Charles Singers and choruses from St. Charles North High School, directed by Michael Molloy; Batavia High School, directed by Peter Barsch; and Fremd High School, Palatine, directed by Christina Collins.

Collins is a soprano with the St. Charles Singers.

The next day’s roster includes the St. Charles Singers and choruses from West Aurora High School, directed by Lydia Walsh-Rock and Brian Smith; Kaneland High School, Maple Park, directed by Bryan Kunstman; and Glenbard North High School, Carol Stream, directed by Laura Johnson.

Walsh-Rock and Johnson are St. Charles Singers sopranos, Kunstman and Smith are tenors.

“This program was a highlight for all who took part last year and promises to be the same this year,” Hunt said.

“Choral Connections” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Charles.

“The Passing of the Year” concludes anniversary season April 12–13

“The Passing of the Year,” the finale of the St. Charles Singer’s 40th anniversary season, borrows its title from British composer Jonathan Dove’s choral song cycle of the same name, scored for double choir and piano.

Dove’s seven-movement work, commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra, traces a journey through the seasons using verses of prominent poets.

Herbert Howells’ “Requiem” is a deeply moving work that will receive its first St. Charles Singers performance. Scored for unaccompanied choir with soloists, it combines texts from the traditional Requiem mass and other sacred texts, including Psalms.

Grammy-nominated American composer Jake Runestad’s “Cello Songs” was commissioned for the St. Charles Singers, which gave the world premiere in October 2021. It’s scored for choir, cello and piano, with text by poet and librettist Todd Boss. The work’s four movements are named for the seasons of the year.

The choir will sing Italian Renaissance composer Giovanni Palestrina’s double “Agnus Dei” movement from his Missa Brevis. The first setting calls for four voices, the second for five.

Lee Kesselman’s “Hymn to Time” is a choral meditation on time, with lyrics by science fiction and fantasy author Ursula K. Le Guin. With soaring lyricism, the piece follows a circular path, with music hinting at ticking clocks and Westminster chimes.

“This concert brings together passion, joy, deeply felt expression and musical innovation,” Hunt said. “These are all aspects of what this choir strives to convey.”

Concerts are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 13, at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Charles.

Tickets and information

Single-admission tickets to the St. Charles Singers’ October, December, and April concerts cost $45 for adults, $40 for seniors 65 and older, and $12 for students. Season subscriptions offer a discount over single admissions. Group discounts are available.

Adult and senior admission to each of the February “Choral Connections” concerts is $25.

Tickets and information are available at stcharlessingers.com or by calling 630-513-5272. Tickets are also available at Townhouse Books, 105 N. Second Ave., St. Charles (checks or cash only at this ticket venue). Tickets also may be purchased at the door on the day of the concert, depending on availability.

St. Charles Singers

Founded and directed by Jeffrey Hunt, the St. Charles Singers is a chamber choir dedicated to choral music in all its forms. Hailed by American Record Guide as “a national treasure,” the mixed-voice ensemble includes professional singers, choral directors and voice instructors, some of whom perform with other top-tier Chicago choirs. Classics Today has called the ensemble “one of North America’s outstanding choirs,” citing “charisma and top-notch musicianship” that “bring character and excitement to each piece.”

Among the St. Charles Singers’ prominent guest conductors have been renowned English composer John Rutter, founder of the Cambridge Singers; Philip Moore, composer and former music director at England’s York Minster cathedral; and Grammy Award-winning American choir director Craig Hella Johnson.