B Minor Mass

The Boulder Chamber Chorale has been performing with our area’s finest chamber orchestras over the last few years, and receiving high praise for their passionate and excellent interpretations of the best classical oratorios. Completed just one year before his death, J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor is considered to be one of Bach’s greatest works, and to many, the pinnacle of Western choral music. Bach sets the entirety of the Catholic mass, and the majestic sweep of the piece, with its great complexity and settings of various styles and quotations from music written throughout Bach’s career, creates a world that leaves audiences stunned. We are proud to join our neighbors, the Longmont Symphony, for this performance.

Sunday, April 12
Hosted by Longmont Symphony Orchestra
7:00pm; Vance Brand Civic Auditorium

Voices Rising

Saturday, April 26th at 3:00 PM, at Centaurus High School, hosted by the Boulder Children’s Chorale.

Sunday, April 27th at 12:00 PM, at Macky Auditorium, hosted by the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestra.

A commissioned piece by BCC alumnus Leigha Amick, presented by The Boulder Children’s Chorale with the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestra in honor of BCC’s 15th anniversary

Boulder Children’s Chorale will be performing their first commissioned major work for youth orchestra and chorus; the piece will be the grand finale of the 2024-2025 season, the Boulder Children’s Chorale’s 15th year. Through music, we will lift up the stories of the young voices throughout our region, sharing the authentic lived experiences of their triumphs and their tragedies. All musicians know the power of music to speak beyond what words can achieve on their own. For the students involved, seeing their words and experiences transformed into music will be a healing experience. The performing ensembles will empower young voices by delivering their messages through the music, bringing these stories to a wide variety of communities. Other collaborating non-profit organizations, which will have the opportunity to speak at the concert and be present in the lobby include Boulder MUSE, Colorado FriendShip, Out Boulder County, RISE Against Suicide, and the St Vrain Valley Schools Education Foundation.

Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis

Saturday, April 26th at 3:00 PM, at Centaurus High School, hosted by the Boulder Children’s Chorale.

Sunday, May 4th at 4:30 PM, at Mackey Auditorium, hosted by the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra

The Missa Solemnis was written around the same time as Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.  It was referred to by him in 1822 as “the greatest work I have composed so far.”  It is generally considered one of the composer’s supreme achievements and, along with Bach’s Mass in B Minor, one of the most significant Mass settings of the common practice period. Whereas Mozart’s music seems to descend from heaven, a graceful, breathtakingly beautiful revelation, Beethoven’s music rises up from the earth as an act of sheer will, straining to reach the Almighty by human effort alone. It is Promethean music. 

The Missa Solemnis is rarely performed, as it requires enormous stamina from the chorus and soloists: imagine Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, with its difficult and extended high passages, except three times the length! The full force of the Boulder Concert Chorale and the Boulder Philharmonic will bring this powerful 90 minute work to life. If you love Beethoven (and who doesn’t?), you won’t want to miss the chance to experience this extraordinary performance!