upcoming Events
Cycle Three: Wild Things
Wild Things is a harmonic meditation on the beauty of the natural world. For this concert, we will be joined by singer/composer, wild woman extraordinaire, Moira Smiley, who has arranged and recorded many of her beloved heart-forward songs for choir and string quartet.
Premiering this concert is a piece by Jody Redhage-Ferber, NY based cellist, composer, and friend, who has set Wendell Berry’s poem, The Peace of Wild Things, for choir and string quartet.
Other pieces on the program include the unbelievably beautiful Earth Song by Frank Ticheli, and two excerpts for choir, percussion and hammered dulcimer from Malcolm Dalglish’s Hymnody of Earth.
- Date: Sunday, April 21, 2024
- Location: The Oriental Theater
- Singer call time is 11:00 am
- Doors open at 12:00pm
- Concert begins at 1:00 pm
Past Events
Cycle Two: Go Tell It On The Mountain
Go Tell It On The Mountain is a celebration and meditation on the Christmas season. This concert will have you shouting from the mountaintops and provide moments of quiet heart-singing. The pieces rage from an exuberant Engelhardt setting of the great spiritual Go Tell It On The Mountain to an arrangement of Joni Mitchell's, River for choir and brass quintet. This collection of music will be sure to linger on and accompany you into the rest of your holiday season. Of course, we are joined by some of Denver's finest musicians!
Cycle One: Wide Open Spaces
Wide Open Spaces is a nod to purple mountain majesties and wide open American spaces that have inspired Indigenous Americans, pioneers, artists and composers for ages.
Highlights from the program include Copland's "The Promise of Living", Dolly's "Light Of A Clear Blue Morning", "Going Home" arranged by Rollo Dillworth, an arrangement of one of Kali’s favorite Simon & Garfunkel tunes, among other delicious surprises.
The repertoire is singable, oh so beautiful, and serves as a reminder of the beauty of the land on which we live. We'll be joined by some wonderful guest artists: Natural Bridge!
The concert will be held at 1:00 pm on October 22nd at The Westfield Project at the Mission Ballroom Complex (4180 Wynkoop Street, second floor).
Summer Sing 2023
Remember sing-a-longs at summer camp? S’mores by the fire and new friendship bracelets on your wrist? Join Choir League folks for a community sing on Tuesday, July 25th, and rekindle some of that sweet, summer feeling. We’ll sing from 6pm to 8pm at Western Sky Bar and Taproom, hanging out on their back patio and generally enjoying each other’s company. Songs will include something old, something new, and at least a couple of songs we’ll learn “campfire style.”
Early bird registration is now open. Hopefully we’ll be able to offer walk-ins the day of, but don’t count on it. Bring along your shy friend who has always wanted to sing, and Lizabeth will buy you a beer. Hope to see you there!
Cycle Three: SHE
Choir League is excited to announce our final concert of the season: SHE. Inspired by singer Laura Mvula’s song of the same name, this concert celebrates the music of female composers and arrangers. In addition to Mvula’s “Sing to the Moon,” the concert will include “Sing My Child” by Sarah Quartel as well as pieces by Rosephayne Powell and Abbie Betinis.
The concert is Sunday, April 30th at 4180 Wynkoop Street (adjacent to Mission Ballroom) on the second floor. After the concert, join us for food and drinks at Left Hand Brewing’s RiNo location on the first floor! Doors open at noon, and the concert begins at 1:00. Hope to see you there!
Cycle 2: Bring Us In Good Ale!
Cycle Two registration is now SOLD OUT.
Our concert is scheduled for Sunday, December 18th at 1 pm.
This cycle is inspired by the quiet and boisterous moments that are the mixed bag of the Holidays! We’ll be joined by the mighty LaDamion Massey who will sing two favorites: “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” and Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas.” A cadre of musicians from the Denver Municipal Band will bring the party and make us shine! Also on the program are choral pieces by Gustav Holst, Ola Gjielo, Phillip Stopford; an arrangement of the great spiritual, “Over My Head;” as well as some holiday classics. Grab your bells, get a good ale, and come sing with us!
Cycle One: Folk Yeah!
Inspired by Kali’s love of welcoming in all things fall, Folk Yeah! will be an afternoon filled with American Folk Music. The great local fiddle player, Enion Pelta, will join us on a few pieces, then play a set with her string band, Taarka.
Gems on this concert cycle include: Bright Morning Stars, Poor Wayfaring Stranger, and Bring Me Little Water, Sylvie. Additionally, a friend is arranging Paul Simon's most beautiful American Tune for Choir League and fiddle band. Finally, we’ll round out the concert with a powerful arrangement of Bridge Over Troubled Water. I'm very excited to sing every one of these magnificent folk tunes with you this cycle. Looking forward to seeing you all.
Registration for this cycle is now full. Email us at info@choirleague.com to join the wait list.
Please join us at our concert, Sunday, October 2nd, 3:00 pm, at Bierstadt Lagerhaus.
Our Virtual Choir Project is Live!
Denver Choir League
Katy Maguire Lushman, Founding Artistic Director
Pledging Allegiance
Movement V from Amendment: Righting Our Wrongs
Music by Melissa Dunphy
Texts by Francis Bellamy, Astrid Silva, and Mary Church Terrell
Featuring Denver Choir League Singers
with Matthew Kingham, cello
Sopranos: Victoria Bailey, Valerie Epstein-Johnson, Cara Faliano, Mira Guha, Amy Hamill, Maggie Masciarelli, Elizabeth Speigle, Lesleigh Stabo, Lisa Stump
Altos: Whitney Bradford, Laurie Finnegan, Shawna Kelly, Katie Sakanai, Hadley Toth
Tenors: Phil Drozda, Marti Wedewer
Basses: Joe Edwin, Taylor Hamill, Matt Kingham
Amendment: Righting Our Wrongs by Melissa Dunphy was commissioned in 2020 by Denver Choir League as a member of the Votes for Women Consortium under the founding commissioning choirs: Chorosynthesis Singers, Santa Monica College, and Connecticut College under the direction of Wendy Moy and Jeremiah Selvey.
Post-production audio and video editing by Victoria Lipscomb
Cycle Three: Choral Bangerz with Strings Attached
Are you ready for this? We’ve been waiting all season to bring back our greatest hits! Read on to learn more about our 3rd cycle from Artistic Director, Kali Paguirigan:
“The repertoire for our 3rd and final cycle was inspired by a playlist titled Choral Bangerz, created by some singers in the group. Two pieces from the bangerz playlist, Down to the River to Pray and Ola Gjielo's The Lake Isle of Innisfree, will be on the program. The instrumentation of the latter: guitar, piano, and string quartet sent me off on a hunt to find other pieces with strings, and brought me to an amazing work by Caroline Shaw called To the Hands. Shaw’s piece consists of six movements with string quartet, and will also feature dancer and choreographer, TJ Jaworski. Also on tap are two bangerz that are likely new to many of you: Sarah Quartel's God Will Give Orders/Sweet Child, and Denver's own Paperbird's As I Am. Our string quartet is made up of players from the Colorado Symphony, and we are very lucky to have Dave Devine joining us on guitar. Can you tell I'm excited?!? I can't wait to see you all, drink some beerz, and get to work on these new and old Bangerz With Strings Attached.”
This concert is also an exciting collaboration with guitarist Dave Devine, a string quartet from the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and dancer/choreographer TJ Jaworski.
Be sure to join us at the concert on April 24th, 5:30 PM at The Hangar at Stanley Marketplace! Tickets on sale now.
Cycle Two: Time for Peace, Time for Joy
Come celebrate the holidays with us! Experience both contemplative and joyful pieces of the season with traditional favorites like “Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming,” and “Silent Night,” as well as more contemporary compositions including Abbie Betinis' “Song of The Pines,” Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas,” Joni Mitchells’ “River,” and “Joyful, Joyful” from Sister Act II.
We are also excited to announce a collaboration with a brass quintet from the Denver Municipal Band and an old friend and wonderful singer, Joslyn Ford Keel.
Tickets for our concert at Bierstadt Lagerhaus on Sunday, December 19th are on sale now!
Stay tuned for more details by joining our mailing list at the bottom of the page.
Cycle One:
Sing to Know That Love Is Near
We are so very thrilled to welcome singer, composer, and arranger, Moira Smiley to with us at our opening concert on September 26th. If you are not familiar with Moira’s music, you are in for a treat. Her compositions are warm, and wonderful, with lyrics that remind us why singing and community are invaluable. It seemed like a fitting theme as we return to something that we love so much--singing in community.
The concert was held at 3:00 on Sunday, September 26th, at The Denver Turnverein Dance Hall. Check out the official Choir League Facebook page to watch the replay of the livestreamed performance.
CYCLE THREE: STORIES IN SONG
CYCLE TWO: LAUGHING ALL THE WAY
CYCLE ONE: TURNTABLES & TUNES
Season one: 2018/2019
CYCLE THREE: ILLUMINATE
CYCLE TWO: TURN OF THE CENTURY
CYCLE ONE: SWEETS & SOUNDS
