“A sigh rippled through the pews… a sigh of pleasure at the blending of beautiful harmonies coming from the voices on stage…. [the] choir gave much attention and affection to the songs…adding dimension to the subjects through well-developed and controlled expression and dynamics.
- The Capital Times, February 2005
“The Festival Choir of Madison closed its season…with a typical display of expertise: finely honed precision, excellent blends within and balances among sections.
- Isthmus, May 2004
Festival Choir is an auditioned, mixed-voice choir of 30 to 40 singers who come from all walks of life to make music together. This dedicated group of singers, some of whom travel from far outside of Madison, gather every week to rehearse the varied music you hear during their regular season concerts. They do so because they love singing and because there is nothing quite like the experience of collective artistry. They seek to fulfill the mission of the Festival Choir, which is to “provide a broad musical experience for [the] audience and singers which educates, illuminates and uplifts through engaging performances of culturally significant, historically relevant and artistically excellent choral music.”
The Festival Choir has long championed living composers by commissioning and performing new works. Recent Composers-in-Residence have included Stephen Paulus, Elizabeth Alexander, Paul Carey, Eric Whitacre, and Scott Gendel (2009-2011). We are pleased to announce that our Composer-in-Residence for 2011-2012 will be Dwight Bigler. We look forward to presenting his compositions in the upcoming season.
The Festival Choir is excited to present its upcoming season to you under the leadership of its new Artistic Director, Bryson Mortensen. Bryson is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at UW-Rock County.
In addition to its regular subscription season, the Choir has performed live broadcasts from the Elvejhem (now Chazen) Museum for Wisconsin Public Radio, appeared as part of Overture Center’s Grand Opening Festival, and toured across the state and abroad. In 1999, the Choir traveled by invitation to Austria as the first choral ensemble ever asked to participate in the prestigious Ost-West Musikfest.
Committed to innovative programming and broadening the choral repertoire, the Choir has also commissioned, premiered, and recorded new choral works by Steven Paulus, Jean Belmont, Elam Ray Sprenkle, Daron Hagen, Elizabeth Alexander, Ann Heider, and Brent Michael Davids. Their recording of Belmont’s “Sand County” was broadcast nationwide on National Public Radio’s “First Art” program, reaching more than 650,000 listeners. To date, the Choir has released three CDs: Prairie Songs, Wisconsin Sings – music for Wisconsin’s Sesquicentennial, and Celebrate the Season – holiday carols and songs.
The Choir has performed several times with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra for Concerts on the Square®, Masterworks, and Sing-Out Messiah performances, receiving critical acclaim:
“The Festival Choir of Madison, in a shimmering performance alongside the orchestra, imparted a light of its own …the first performance to bring a tear to this critic’s eye in a very long time.”
– The Capital Times, March 2006
Founded in 1973 as the Diocesan Choir by Vernon Sell, the Festival Choir was led by David Lewis Crosby from 1975 to 1993, by Eric Townell from 1993 to 2006, by Drew Collins from 2007 to 2008, and by Dr. Bruce Gladstone from 2009 through 2011.
