Dubuque Chorale

History

The Dubuque Chorale is a community choral organization composed of singers from Dubuque and its outlying regions. Dennis Williams founded the Chorale in 1971 for the initial purpose of studying and performing choral masterworks with orchestra; appropriately, the first concert season featured Handel’s Messiah and Haydn’s The Creation. Since its inception, the Chorale has performed over 60 major choral works and its mission has evolved to include great choral music from many genres. The group’s 50+ years of performances, over 1,100 singer-alumni, and more than 40,000 audience members can all attest to the accomplishment of this mission.

The Chorale presents concerts every fall and spring as well as performing additional engagements throughout the year. In 1986, they began collaborating with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra during Holiday Concerts. This relationship still endures today, with the Chorale continuing to join the DSO onstage for the holidays and often for
another classical work during the symphony’s season. Many European and North American venues have hosted the Dubuque Chorale since it started touring in 1994, and the group has performed on tour with distinguished singers from various locales.

In the 2010s the Chorale worked to increase its reach and impact, adding a chamber choir, Cadenza, in the fall of 2012. This smaller ensemble gives the Chorale more performance flexibility, increasing its exposure as a community arts leader and advocate, and Cadenza frequently sings at local events as well as at Chorale concerts. In 2013, the Chorale began hosting SongFest, an annual choral festival featuring numerous collegiate and community choirs that promotes cross-generational collaboration among singers in Dubuque and its surrounding areas to this day.'

The 2014-15 season saw the launch of the Dubuque Chorale Children’s Choir, a group of approximately 50 singers in third through sixth grades, and in 2022 a second Children’s Choir was added. The purpose of these choirs is to provide the children of Dubuque and nearby communities with an extracurricular creative outlet, to expose students to music and performance opportunities they may not encounter in school, and to allow them to interact and form relationships with others who are dedicated to choral excellence.

The Dubuque Chorale continues to flourish today under Dr. Amanda Huntleigh, who began her tenure as Artistic Director in 2018. Since its founding, the organization has grown to include singers from a diverse array of occupations, ages, and socio-economic statuses, and its repertoire and artistic programming have expanded to include new collaborations and educational opportunities. The Chorale persists in realizing its mission under Huntleigh’s inspired direction, seeking out innovative community partnerships and broadening its repertoire of classics and contemporary music.

Origin

of the Children's Choirs

The beginning of the of 2014/15 season saw the launch of the first Dubuque Chorale Children’s Choir, a group of approximately 50 singers in grades 3–6. Today there are two groups: the Legati Singers, an intermediate choir conducted by Karmella Sellers, and the Staccati Singers, a preparatory choir conducted by Victoria Bausman.

The purpose of the Children’s Choirs is to provide a creative outlet outside of the regular school day for children of Dubuque and surrounding areas. Our intention is to expose students to new music and performance opportunities they may not have in school and give them the opportunity to interact and form relationships with other children and adults from their community who are dedicated to choral excellence.

The goals of the groups:

  • Empower and mentor children through music by using discipline, teamwork, and creativity to produce works of beauty and art.
  • Help the children to develop an appreciation for both sacred and secular music.
  • Teach music fundamentals such as sight reading, vocal production, and musical interpretation.
  • Offer opportunities to underserved children through a scholarship program made possible by community supporters.

Dubuque

Chorale Cadenza

In the fall of 2012, the Dubuque Chorale added a chamber choir called Dubuque Chorale Cadenza. This mixed-voice group is designed to give the Chorale greater flexibility in booking performance engagements, increasing the Chorale’s exposure as a community arts leader and advocate. The group makes presentations at community service organizations and other community events. It also performs pieces at regular Chorale concerts.

Musically, a “cadenza” is a small section of a solo concerto during which the soloist plays in a particularly virtuosic (and often improvised) manner. The cadenza most often occurs just before the final statement of the main theme of the movement and is considered a tour de force. By analogy, Dubuque Chorale Cadenza is a small group within the full Chorale, offering a choral flourish to the larger performance!