Anton Armstrong
Dr. Anton Armstrong, Conductor
The 2023-24 season is Anton Armstrong’s 34th year as Conductor of the St. Olaf Choir, marking him as the longest tenured conductor in the ensemble’s storied 112 year history. He is the Tosdal Professor of Music at St. Olaf College, becoming the fourth conductor of the St. Olaf Choir in 1990, after ten years in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he served on the faculty of Calvin University. He is a graduate of St. Olaf College and earned advanced degrees at the University of Illinois (MM) and Michigan State University (DMA). He is editor of a multicultural choral series for Earthsongs Publications and co-editor (with John Ferguson) of the revised St. Olaf Choral Series for Augsburg Fortress Publishers. In June 1998, he began his tenure as founding conductor of the Oregon Bach Festival Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy. Dr. Armstrong currently serves as Chair of the national board of Chorus America and also serves on the national board of The Choristers Guild.
During the 2023-24 season Anton Armstrong will lead choral festivals at Carnegie Hall and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. He will also serve as a guest lecturer and clinician at the University of Illinois, Duke University and Baylor University. In October of 2023 he will return as President of the Jury of the Busan International Choral Festival in Busan, South Korea. Additional guest conducting appearances will take place in North Carolina, New Mexico and Virginia. In June 2024 he will lead the St. Olaf Choir on their first tour to South Africa.
Dr. Armstrong has frequently conducted ensembles and appeared before regional, national and international gatherings of the American Choral Directors Association, International Federation of Choral Music, National Association for Music Education, Choristers Guild, American Guild of Organists, Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, Organization of American Kodaly Educators and the Orff-Schulwerk Association. He has collaborated in concert with Bobby McFerrin and Garrison Keillor.
In January 2006, Baylor University selected Anton Armstrong from a field of 118 distinguished nominees to receive the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. In March of 2007 he was the first recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the American Boychoir School and in October of 2009 he received The Distinguished Alumni Award from Michigan State University. In June 2013 Dr. Armstrong received the Saltzman Award from the Oregon Bach Festival. In the Fall of 2014 The St. Olaf Choir and Dr. Armstrong received a Regional Emmy for the PBS television program Christmas in Norway with The St. Olaf Choir. In 2021 Armstrong was named an Honorary Life Member of the National Collegiate Choral Organization. In September, 2022, Dr. Armstrong received the Distinguished Legacy Award from the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
FebFest 2024
FebFest 2024 with Dr. Anton Armstrong
FebFest 2024 was a rousing success!
On February 24, 2024, we welcomed the internationally-known conductor, Dr. Anton Armstrong, to the United Church of Santa Fe, where he worked all day with a festival chorus of singers from around New Mexico to prepare four anthems for a concert the next day. Then, on Sunday afternoon, February 25th, this ad hoc chorus performed, along with the Coro Lux Oratorio Society, as well as our El Faro Youth Chorus (under the direction of Dr. Gabby Dietrich). The final program also included Elizabeth Young, violin; Hovey Dean Corbin, drums; and our pianists Dr. Mary Ann Ybarra and Raul Manjarrez. Readings, chosen by Talitha Arnold, were interspersed with the music, and read by the Rev. Arnold, and Artistic Director Bradley Ellingboe.
The final concert took place in the sanctuary of Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic church in Santa Fe and was attended by several hundred people. A free-will offering was taken to benefit Book Kids in Santa Fe and The Grief Center in Albuquerque. Thanks to the generosity of the audience, we’re pleased to say we were able to send each charity a check for $950.
A link to the final concert, as well as a copy of the readings, is found below. Well done, everyone!
Chorus Administrator Position
Coro Lux is searching for a new Chorus Administrator. To apply for the following position, please send a letter of application, as well as a resume, to: info@abqcorolux.org. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.
Coro Lux (“Chorus of Light”) Chorus Administrator Job Description
Required qualifications
- Excellence in written and oral communication
- Familiarity with QuickBooks software
- Familiarity with Microsoft Office, including Excel
- Familiarity with the needs of non-profit arts organizations
- Well organized
- Ability to help coordinate volunteer activities
Desired abilities
- Comfortable with public speaking
- Familiarity with WordPress website software
- Familiarity with Tickettailor software
- Graphic aesthetic skills
- Familiarity with the particular needs of choral organizations
Duties Include:
Communication
- Managing communication among various constituencies (e.g., artistic director, board of directors, chorus and volunteers, vendors, contracted musicians, guest artists etc.)
- Working closely with the artistic director to help with chorus operations
- Attending monthly board meeting, including accountability to the board for various projects when assigned
- Responsibility for marketing concerts, events, auditions and donation campaigns
- Communicating with St. Paul Lutheran staff to schedule building use
Financial
- Managing ticketing for concerts
- Creating financial reports for concerts, as well as donations
- Depending on qualification, possibly banking and monthly financial reporting to the Board
Clerical
- Organizing, purchasing and managing sheet music
- Creating website or newsletter content (when needed)
- Performing various clerical duties such as copying, etc.
- Keeping the organization current with the NM Dept. of Taxation & Revenue
- Reporting musical performances to ASCAP and BMI
- Assisting with the production of the annual printed program
Salary
- This is a part-time position of approximately 10 hours/week
- Salary is negotiable, depending on whether some or all listed duties are assigned
CLICK HERE for a printable copy of this job description.
FebFest 2023
We Invite YOU to FebFest 2023
with Dr. André Thomas
We Invite YOU to FebFest 2023
Saturday, February 4, 2023 – 9am-5pm (with breaks!) Sing, learn, discuss, grow!
Concert Sunday, February 5, 2023 – 3pm at Basilica of St. Francis in Santa Fe
Join Coro Lux and the United Church of Santa Fe as we welcome our guest clinician, world-renowned composer and conductor, Dr. André Thomas, for our annual event honoring the contributions of African American composers and conductors, FebFest. Dr. Thomas is currently an associate artist with the London Symphony Orchestra, and has spent his career as one of the most sought-after conductors and choral clinicians in the field. Learn more about Dr. Thomas here.
This event is a non-auditioned choral music festival, open to anyone with a passion for singing, and an interest in learning from Dr. Thomas. You do not need to be enrolled in Coro Lux as a member.
Proof of vaccination will be required for the in-person event, and masks will be worn by all in attendance.
This year’s festival will be from 9am-5pm on Saturday, February 4th at the United Church of Santa Fe. The festival will culminate with an afternoon concert at the historically significant and acoustically fantastic Basilica of St Francis at 3pm on Sunday, February 5th.
The cost is $75, which includes Saturday lunch and copies of the music we’ll sing on Sunday. We will continue to offer this event in a virtual form, for the price of $50.
A free-will offering at Sunday’s concert will benefit Habitat for Humanity.
Carnegie Hall 2023
Carnegie Hall 2023
‘A Place Called Home’
Ellingboe/Silvestri (World Premiere)
Bradley Ellingboe, Composer/Conductor
Charles Anthony Silvestri, Poet-in-Residence
Saturday, April 29, 2023
Coro Lux singers and friends are invited to come take part in the World Premiere of Bradley’s Ellingboe’s new work ‘A Place Called Home,’ at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Libretto by Charles Anthony Silvestri and presented a week after Earth Day, the piece is centered on the themes of protecting the environment and promoting good stewardship of our planet.
To hear Movement 3 from the piece, click here:
The Old Oak Tree by Bradley Ellingboe, performed by Albany Pro Musica
To read the entire libretto by Tony Silvestri, click here to see a PDF:
Below are some Frequently Asked Questions that may help you prepare for this exciting trip:
How much will this trip cost?
The fee for participating in the concert and the accompanying rehearsals and after party will cost $860 per person (unless less than 10 singers from Coro Lux sign up, in which unlikely case the cost will be $910 per person). This does NOT include travel accommodations. See below.
How will travel accommodations be organized?
You have 2 options for making your way to NYC for this event:
- You may figure it out yourself, using your own frequent flier miles or hotel points and simply show up to the rehearsals and the concerts. Or,
- You may opt to travel with the group from ABQ to NYC and back. In this case, we will be working with a NYC based travel company to coordinate flights, hotels, etc. If you’re interested in THIS option, please write to Ashley @ ashley.jonkman@abqcorolux.org so she can start compiling a list of who’ll be in our “travel group.”
What are the dates?
While specific rehearsals haven’t been scheduled *quite* yet, plan on being in NYC at least 3 days before April 29th, and leaving on April 30th or after in order to accommodate concert plans.
Can I bring my significant other/best friend/travel buddy?
Yes! If you’d like to bring a non-singing guest, there will be an option for them to pay to be a part of the event, as a VIP guest. Please stay tuned for more information on the cost of the VIP guest package.
Can I invite other singers to join us at this event?
Yes! This is open to interested singers from around the country, not just Coro Lux members.
How much money do I need to pay to hold my spot today?
Please click the link below to pay $200 to hold your spot in the choir for the concert.
To pay by check, please send your check for $200 (please mark “Carnegie Hall” in the memo line) made out to “ABQ Coro Lux” and send it to ABQ Coro Lux, Box 37081, Albuquerque, NM 87176.
Will Coro Lux be performing this work prior to the DCINY concert?
No, the concert on April 29th will be the world premiere!
Also, here is the letter of invitation and information from the concert producers, DCINY
El Faro Youth Chorus
El Faro (“The Lighthouse”) Youth Chorus
El Faro (“The Lighthouse”) Youth Chorus is an outreach program of Coro Lux providing high-quality choral music education and performance experiences to young people of the Albuquerque area. With its unique dedication to both excellence in choral musicianship and trauma informed principles, El Faro is a safe, fun, and inviting space for music-making and voice building for youth ages 7-18.
We sing music in a wide variety of styles, and we learn about many cultures, languages, and historical periods through our repertoire. We also learn about breathing, body awareness, vocal health, and stage presence, and of course, we learn how to read and understand music. Music and singing are wonderful ways of sharing our own stories and the stories of people long ago, far away, right here, and right now. Young people have an amazing capacity to expand their own perspectives and grow their own voices through the music they learn, and that is exactly our intention and our purpose in El Faro.
For El Faro, “trauma informed” means we believe in supporting one another through life’s challenges in the way we learn, teach, communicate, and sing. Our singers come from different backgrounds, and we understand that the story of how we came to El Faro contains both happy and sad, easy and challenging, simple and complicated times. We come to rehearsal as we are, and rehearsal must first be a place of safety and support in order to be a place of learning, growth, and excellence.
If you’re interested in learning more, please email El Faro‘s conductor, Gabrielle Dietrich, at gdietrich227@gmail.com.
Due to the increased risk of respiratory illness transmission through singing, all singers are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at least two weeks before the first rehearsal they attend.
El Faro Youth Chorus rehearses on Thursday afternoons from 4:30-6:00pm at St. Paul Lutheran Church.
Click on the play button below to check out El Faro Youth Chorus’ radio debut on KHFM’s 2022 Music Education Festival.
Click Here to read a story about our El Faro Youth Chorus, and its director, Gabrielle Dietrich, in the University of the Pacific alumni magazine.
Our Youth Chorus, El Faro (“the lighthouse”) has one more performance this spring, a 45-minute concert entitled “Like a Tree Planted by the Water” that will feature well-known protest songs, spirituals, and even a guest appearance by bluegrass trio Strange Holler. This will be held at the Fusion Forum in downtown Albuquerque (708 First St., NW) on Saturday, May 13th, at 2 pm and free tickets can be reserved here: https://abqcorolux.org/tickets/ Come and support our young singers and their conductor, Dr. Gabrielle Dietrich!
Tuition
El Faro Youth Chorus tuition is $75 per semester for each chorister. However, we are committed to NEVER turning away a chorister due to inability to pay. We also recognize that each family’s financial situation is unique, so we are offering a few possible avenues for payment:
$75 one-time payment; Three payments of $25; Ten payments of $7.50. If payment poses a barrier for your family, please reach out to Gabby.
- Instructions
- To be sure tuition is properly credited, please be sure to fill out the form completely (including chorister name and name of person making the payment) in the areas indicated.
- Select your payment option ($75, $25, or $7.50).
- Click “Pay Now” and follow the prompts to pay via PayPal or credit card.
El Faro Youth Chorus -- OLD
El Faro (“The Lighthouse”) Youth Chorus
El Faro (“The Lighthouse”) Youth Chorus is an outreach program of Coro Lux providing high-quality choral music education and performance experiences to young people of the Albuquerque area. With its unique dedication to both excellence in choral musicianship and trauma informed principles, El Faro is a safe, fun, and inviting space for music-making and voice building for youth ages 7-18.
We sing music in a wide variety of styles, and we learn about many cultures, languages, and historical periods through our repertoire. We also learn about breathing, body awareness, vocal health, and stage presence, and of course, we learn how to read and understand music. Music and singing are wonderful ways of sharing our own stories and the stories of people long ago, far away, right here, and right now. Young people have an amazing capacity to expand their own perspectives and grow their own voices through the music they learn, and that is exactly our intention and our purpose in El Faro.
For El Faro, “trauma informed” means we believe in supporting one another through life’s challenges in the way we learn, teach, communicate, and sing. Our singers come from different backgrounds, and we understand that the story of how we came to El Faro contains both happy and sad, easy and challenging, simple and complicated times. We come to rehearsal as we are, and rehearsal must first be a place of safety and support in order to be a place of learning, growth, and excellence.
If you’re interested in learning more, please email El Faro‘s conductor, Gabrielle Dietrich, at gdietrich227@gmail.com. Voice placements will be held by appointment and will include some simple vocal warm-ups. Singers may sing a solo piece if they wish, but it is not required.
Due to the increased risk of respiratory illness transmission through singing, all choristers are required to wear masks over their mouths and noses at all times when indoors, and all are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at least 2 weeks before the first rehearsal they attend.
Tuition for spring 2022 is $75 per singer. However, financial aid is available, and no singer will be turned away due to inability to pay.
El Faro Youth Chorus rehearses on Thursday afternoons from 4:30-6:00pm at St. Paul Lutheran Church.
FebFest 2022
We Invite YOU to FebFest 2022
with Dr. Rosephanye Dunn Powell,
Dr. Richard Antoine White and more!
We Invite YOU to FebFest 2022Saturday, February 19, 2022 – 9am-5pm (with breaks!) Sing, learn, discuss, grow!
Concert Sunday, February 20, 2022 – 2pm
Register below for Coro Lux’s annual FebFest22, (formerly JanFest) featuring the music of our guest composer and conductor, Dr. Rosephanye Powell. Dr. Powell has been hailed as one of America’s premier women composers of solo vocal and choral music. As a choral composer, Dr. Powell has an impressive catalog of works published by some of the nation’s leading music publishers. She is commissioned yearly to compose for university choruses, professional, community and church choirs, as well as secondary school choruses.
Dr. Powell’s works include sacred and secular works for mixed chorus, women’s chorus, men’s chorus, and children’s voices. She has been Professor of Voice at Auburn University since 2001, and holds degrees from The Florida State University, Westminster Choir College and Alabama State University.
An added bonus this FebFest22 will be the inspirational talk and book signing, given by UNM professor of tuba and euphonium, Richard Antoine White. Dr. White is currently the only African-American male full professor of tuba in the country and has performed with the Canadian Brass Quintet, Indiana University Faculty Brass Quintet, and the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Colorado, the Malaysian Philharmonic, the Santa Fe Opera, and at the Spoleto Music Festival USA, among many others.
He recently released an autobiographical book entitled I’m Possible, about his journey from homelessness to becoming an accomplished musician, professor and motivational speaker. He’s been featured on The Today Show, PBS Newshour, CBS Evening News and more, and his positivity, incredible story and deeply inspiring message will be a treat for all who hear it.
This event is a non-auditioned choral music festival, open to anyone with a passion for singing, and an interest in learning from Dr. Powell. You do not need to be enrolled in Coro Lux as a member. You will, however, be asked to show proof of vaccination for this event, and masks will be required for the entirety of the event—including all singing.
Given in conjunction with the United Church of Santa Fe (1804 Arroyo Chamiso, Santa Fe), and held in their sanctuary, FebFest22 IN-PERSON is sure to sell out. With only 90 in-person spots and all of northern New Mexico invited, those places will go quickly! We have added an ON-LINE (VIRTUAL) option as well. The event will take place February 19th and 20th, from 9am-5pm on Saturday, with a concert given on Sunday at 2pm. For IN-PERSON attendees, a light lunch will be provided Saturday and is included in the registration fee of $65, as is sheet music for the event. Sheet music will also be available for ON-LINE (VIRTUAL) attendees to downloada a few days before the event.
We’re looking forward to singing with you!
As part of FebFest22, we are collecting for the New Mexico chapter of NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness), an organization of families, friends and individuals whose lives have been affected by mental illness. Together, we advocate for better lives for those individuals who have a mental illness. Please consider clicking the Donate button below to contribute to this worthy cause. To learn more, visit naminewmexico.org
We are offering FebFest22 either IN-PERSON ($65) or ON-LINE (VIRTUAL) ($50). Please make your choice below — you will be redirected to BrownPaperTickets for payment.
Please click here for the finalized FebFest 2022 Schedule
Staff
Our Staff
George Arthur, Art Director, has been drawing, painting and sculpting his whole life and graduated from the leading School of Visual Arts in New York. He served for 33 years as Executive Design Director at Consumer Reports where he was responsible for the design of the magazine, website, books, and special publications. He was instrumental in the interior and external design of the Consumer Reports headquarters building in Westchester, NY. Before that he art directed the design of Sport Magazine and designed the content and covers for Life Magazine. George is a prize-winning photographer and a designer of many books, posters and websites.
Since its inception in 2015, George has been Board President of Coro Lux and a singer in the bass section. He is the principal at George Arthur Design, located in Placitas, New Mexico, which specializes in graphic design and wood sculpture.
He has been a volunteer docent and graphic designer at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center for 7 years with a special interest in the murals of the native Pueblo artists. George also designed a 12′ mural for the permanent exhibit, “We are of this Place,” celebrating the organization’s 40 th anniversary. George was selected as the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center’s “Volunteer of the Year” in 2017, the first year of the program.
Gabrielle Dietrich, Associate Conductor and Director of the El Faro Youth Chorus, (gdietrich227@gmail.com) has been leading youth choirs since 2000, and she finds incredible joy in helping young people find their voice. A graduate of University of the Pacific, University of Colorado at Boulder, and the Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary, Dr. Dietrich has sung, taught, and conducted across the United States and in Ireland, the UK, Hungary, and Austria. From 2012-2021, Gabrielle was an Associate Teaching Professor of Music at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College, where she also served as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Young People’s Chorus of Erie, northwest Pennsylvania’s only comprehensive youth choral program. She currently serves as the executive director of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) New Mexico. Gabrielle is thrilled to call Albuquerque her new home, and she is grateful and excited to be a part of the Coro Lux team.
Angelynn Gomez, Administrator, was born and raised in Albuquerque and was drawn to music from a young age. She studied piano as a child and played the ‘cello in the Albuquerque Youth Orchestra as a teen, but it was choral music that truly captured her heart. She sang in the Cibola High School Concert Choir, under the direction of Ryan Hatch, and participated in the NMMEA All-State mixed choir for two years, going on to complete her bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of New Mexico. Annie became acquainted with Bradley Ellingboe in college, as he was then UNM’s Director of Choral Activities. She began singing with the Coro Lux Oratorio Society and Chamber Chorus in 2018. Annie directed the choral program at James Monroe Middle School from 2014 to 2022 before becoming a stay at home mom, then joining the Coro Lux staff in 2023 as the Executive Assistant. In her free time, Annie enjoys reading, being outdoors, and spending time with her wonderful husband, Leo, and vivacious daughter, Margo. (annie.gomez@abqcorolux.org)
Raul Manjarrez grew up in Albuquerque and earned a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Raul has been doing music and theatre professionally for 20 years. While living in NC he worked as a collaborative pianist at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and played for many theatre productions.
In Albuquerque he has played for organizations such as Musical Theatre Southwest, Hold the Applause Productions, Opera Unlimited, Opera Southwest, and The Adobe Theater. Mr. Manjarrez has also accompanied middle school, high school, and church choirs in the past. Raul is very happy to be the accompanist for El Faro Youth Chorus this fall.
Mary Ann Ybarra is the pianist for Coro Lux and a favorite of chorus members and audiences alike. Recently she retired from her collaborative work both at UNM and throughout the metropolitan area where she lived out her dreams of performing with faculty and students in recitals, opera and orchestral productions. Now, when she’s not playing with Coro Lux, she keeps herself busy pursuing all those activities and adventures that she could only dream about. Dr. Ybarra hold degrees from Texas Tech, Catholic University, and University of Texas-Austin.
Doing Good While Doing Well
Doing Good While Doing Well
Coro Lux has an unofficial motto that we like “to do good while we do well.” Although we are, of course, a non-profit ourselves, we have often used our concerts as a way to draw attention to other worthy causes in our community and to help raise funds for them, as well. To date our efforts have benefitted:
- The New Mexico Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Health (FebFest 2022)
- The NAACP College Scholarship Fund (JanFest 2021)
- The NM Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind (Fall 2020)
- Paws and Stripes (Fall 2017)
- The Roadrunner Food Bank (JanFest 2020)
- And our own members in need of financial assistance during Covid-19
We look forward to continuing to help when and where we can, as we continue to further our official mission: Coro Lux (“Chorus of Light”) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preparation and performance of great choral music for the enrichment and delight of our audiences and ourselves, and to propagating love of the choral art in the next generation of singers.