Dear friends,
As we prepare for the fall, we’re making plans for our celebratory 10th anniversary season. Statistics show that most non-profits do not succeed past a few years, but we’re delighted to report we’re thriving and growing! Look to the right of this note for a glimpse at the coming season, and please consider buying season tickets.
Last season the Coro Lux “family of choruses” performed 14 concerts of 10 repertoires in 9 different locations. Our 10th anniversary season looks to be even more exciting.
One thing we’re particularly enthused about is that we’ve begun to commission new music. Please note the world premieres of This Breath, This Life, This Song by the London-based composer Will Todd, and Luminous Night by Albuquerque’s own Z. Randall Stroope. Mr. Todd’s new piece was written to honor our long-time singer and former board treasurer, Paul Bushnell, and will be premiered at our October 6th “Serenade to Music” concert. Dr. Stroope’s new piece was commissioned to honor our 10th anniversary and will be premiered at our December 14th concerts, titled “The Feminine Divine.”
It’s our goal to not only provide high quality programs at a good ticket price, but to be a cultural force in the city, state and country. Hence, the creation of new music. And as we strive to “do good as we do well,” we’re overjoyed to announce two new grants to help foster the work of our El Faro Youth Chorus and to bring their unique trauma-informed educational philosophy out into some underserved schools in our community.
Finally, we’re thrilled to have our first-ever concert sponsor, Nexus Brewery and Restaurant. Ken Carson and the good folks at Nexus are helping us put on our second annual concert of Spirituals and Gospel music at the African-American Performing Arts Center next February.
Hurray! So much to sing about.
Brad
Bradley Ellingboe
Founder and Artistic Director
Coro Lux — an auditioned chorus — has a generous scholarship program meant to help ALL who need financial help to participate, particularly those who are in the midst of, or who have recently finished, their schooling.
For information about joining our chorus or contributing to our 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, please email info@abqcorolux.org.
EL FARO YOUTH CHORUS RECEIVES TWO GRANTS!
El Faro, the first-ever trauma informed youth chorus in the country, has been awarded a $45,000 Music Education Partnership Grant from Chorus America to support a new collaboration with Albuquerque schools! With its dedication to both choral musicianship and trauma informed principles, El Faro Youth Chorus will welcome more youth ages 7-18 into its inviting space for music-making and voice building.
El Faro also received a $5,400 grant from the New Mexico Music Guild to similarly support these outreach efforts. These grants will help fund a two-year effort for Coro Lux and El Faro to make an impact in youth music education in our city. Congratulations to Dr. Gabrielle Dietrich and the singers of El Faro!
A PARTIAL LISTING OF OUR 2024-2025 SEASON
October 6 – Serenade to Music, including the world premiere of a new piece commissioned by Coro Lux in honor of Paul Bushnell: “This Breath, This Life, This Song” by Will Todd. 3 pm, Saint Paul Lutheran Church, Albuquerque
November 3 – Duruflé‘s Requiem, an All Saints’ Day observance. 3 pm, the Episcopal Cathedral of Saint John, Albuquerque
December 14 – The Feminine Divine – Coro Lux’s annual holiday celebration, including Bach’s Magnificat and the premiere of Z. Randall Stroope’s Luminous Night, commissioned to honor the 10th anniversary of Coro Lux. 2 pm and 5 pm, Saint Paul Lutheran Church, Albuquerque
December 20 & 21 – Handel’s Messiah – the Coro Lux Chamber Chorus with the New Mexico Philharmonic. (See the NM Philharmonic’s website for tickets to these concerts.)
January 18 – Mozart & Salieri – (Mozart’s Requiem) with the New Mexico Philharmonic. (See the NM Philharmonic’s website for tickets to this concert.)
February 8 & 9 – FebFest with Dr. Brandon A. Boyd, composer and conductor. Co-sponsored by the United Church of Santa Fe. Sunday 3 pm concert at Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic Community, Santa Fe
February 16 – Spirituals and Gospel Songs – our 2nd annual celebration of Black History Month, 3 pm at the African American Performing Arts Center, sponsored by Nexus Brewery and Restaurants.
April 12 – Ellingboe’s A Place Called Home – New Mexico premiere, 7 pm at the Lensic Theater, Santa Fe (Coro Lux and the Sanctuary Choir of the United Church of Santa Fe)
May 3 – 10th anniversary Gala and Fundraiser – Animante de Rondeña, details TBA
May 10 – El Faro Spring Concert 2 pm, location TBD
Click the link below to watch KOB’s “Heart of New Mexico” feature on the El Faro Youth Chorus.
Special thanks to Ryan Laughlin and Willow Locke for their beautiful work on this piece.
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/heart-of-new-mexico-trauma-informed-chorus-director-helps-youth-with-music/
Click the link below to watch the world premiere of “Ring Out, Wild Bells” by Taylor Scott Davis, performed during the Coro Lux Seasons of Love concert on December 15, 2022
Ring Out, Wild Bells
LAND USE STATEMENT
With profound respect, Coro Lux acknowledges that the city of Albuquerque where we sing is the traditional homeland of the Tiwa-speaking pueblos, and that the larger state of New Mexico is the ancestral homelands of the indigenous members of the Pueblos, Apache, and Navajo (Dine), and is the adopted homeland of many other indigenous tribal members who have made New Mexico their home. Coro Lux sings for a better world, and we honor the land on which we sing and those who lived here before us.
CORO LUX STATEMENT ON INCLUSIVITY
Coro Lux is built on the ideal of “doing good as we do well.” We believe that in diversity there is strength. We believe the voices of the world should be heard, regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation. In the past we have used our concerts to call for peace and to benefit charitable causes, and we will redouble our efforts going forward. Through our art we sing for a better world.
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