“Music and water move in currents,” Rhonda Muckerman said. Preparing for the late March pair of Durango Choral Society concerts, the director is mindful of the healing properties of both.
“I’ve always been captivated by the relationship between nature, specifically water, and music, hence our season theme: Stream of Song,” she said. “Most of the songs on our March program have a connection to water.”
If you go
WHAT: Durango Choral Society, Rhonda Muckerman, artistic director, and Telluride Choral Society, Hal Adler, conductor
WHEN: 7 p.m. March 27 and 1 p.m. March 28
WHERE: Summit Methodist Church, 2917 Aspen Drive
TICKETS: $25 general, $5 students, children younger than 12 free. Available at www.durangochoralsociety.org and at the door
MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.durangochoralsociety.org
From the astonishingly beautiful “Sure on this Shining Night,” by Morten Lauridsen, to “The Seal Lullaby,” by Eric Whitacre, the singers will unspool many recognizable works that remind listeners of the healing connections between music and water.
Two works by composer Dan Forrest will be on the program. Both concerts will open with his “Music of Living.”
“He’s widely recognized as one of the leading American choral composers of our time,” Muckerman said. “Dan’s music spans genres and difficulty, ranging from extended major works for chorus and orchestra and significant concert choral repertoire to more accessible works for church and community choirs.”
The second Forrest work will surface in the middle of the concert, the only piece not related to water, Muckerman said: “The Sun Never Says.”
“It is so beautiful, I couldn’t help myself,” she said. “There’s a wonderful recording on YouTube with the BYU women’s chorus singing it near the Great Salt Lake.”
Given the challenge of organizing a foundational program with the large DCS group and the Durango Women’s Choir then adding the Telluride Choral Society for a Saturday performance, Muckerman said music lovers can expect “a surprise solo or two to be added to Friday’s program.”
Telluride’s spring concert theme is “Remembrance and Reflection,” and Director Hal Adler will select pieces from their larger spring program to perform in Durango, Muckerman said.
“The music itself evokes a certain state of mind,” Adler said about the Telluride selections. “This program invites us to take a look back and look inside. It gives us an opportunity to reflect on who we are, what’s important to us, and how we sit in relationship to the world around us.”
As in years past, a Durango-Telluride combined concert offers a distinct experience for area music lovers. Choral presentations differ in style, interpretation and sound. At some point, it would be interesting to hear parallel performances of a few specific works in one of the combined concerts. In the meantime, the creative offerings by our distinguished regional choral ensembles continue to enlighten us and, this year particularly, reveal the common currents of music and water.
Artistic Director Rhonda Muckerman announced recently that the Durango Choral Society will perform in Carnegie Hall in New York City a year from now – May 2027.
“We will be opening with one of Dan Forrest’s pieces: ‘Arise, Shine!’” she said. “I will have the privilege of conducting that piece, as well as John Rutter’s ‘Gloria.’ And I will share the stage with our previous artistic director, Linda Mack. She will conduct another piece by John Rutter. By programming some of Dan Forrest’s works now, I am ‘aiming the ship’ in the direction of New York City.”
Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theatre Critics Association.
