Concerts & Events — Dolce Canto

Past Concerts & Events

The Peace of Wild Things

Saturday, May 13, 2023
Mary Stuart Rogers Performing Arts Center, 425 4th Avenue, Victor, MT
Special guests: Corvallis High School Choir, Heidi Schnarr, Director

Sunday, May 13, 2023: Missoula, MT
St. Anthony Catholic Church: 217 Tremont Street, Missoula, MT
Special Guests: Big Sky High School Aesirian Choir, Nancy Labbe, Director

Love in December

Sunday, December 11, 2022
University of Montana Music Recital Hall, Missoula, MT
Special guests: Hellgate High School Chamber Choir and Chevaliers, Ellen McKenzie, Director

Tributaries

April 21, 2022, 7:00 p.m. | Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Kalispell
April 22, 2022, 7:00 p.m. | Lincoln County High School, Eureka
April 23, 2022, noon | St. Ignatius Mission, St. Ignatius
April 23, 2022, 7:30 p.m. | St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Missoula

As rivers and springs flow into the oceans, and mountains rise from the plains, nature inspires and reminds us of our humanity and humility. Come travel these sound tributaries with us and experience the warm breath of Spring flowing towards us.

Conductor Yong Mao weaves music by Edward Elgar, Eriks Esenvalds, & Vivaldi with Mongolian, Japanese, & European laments and ballads to enable our journey.

Dawn

December 12, 2021, 7:00 p.m. | UM Music Recital Hall

We hope you will join us for a program that leads us from darkness to light through choral pieces from all eras. This program features stunning improvisational, Renaissance, and modern pieces reminding us that love and spirit remain constant in our lives.

Over the past 18 months, Dolce Canto's singers remained connected and rehearsed virtually via JackTrip on a weekly basis. We are grateful for all the support our sponsors and community have given us this past year, and we can't wait to perform for you again!

Eternity

Saturday, November 23, 2019, 7:30 p.m. | UM Music Recital Hall
Special Guests: Big Sky High School Sky Blues, Nancy Labbe, Director

For those who grieve, time and love are eternity.
For those who endure, light is eternity.
For those who seek out color, nature is eternity.
For those who praise, hallelujah is eternity.
For those who suffer, heaven is eternity.
For those who play, wine and beer are eternity!

Please join Dolce Canto and Big Sky High School Sky Blues as we sing repertoire spanning centuries and genres.

This concert generously sponsored by Northern Rockies Orthopedics

Whispers of Nature

Saturday, April 27, 2019, 7:30 p.m. | St. Francis Xavier Church
Special Guests: MCC Chamber Chorale, Dr. Ronald Wilcott, Artistic Director

When we attempt to discover our love and insight for nature through her emotions, we find water, earth, air, as well as calm, beauty, and power. Through her deprivation and destructive power, we suffer from tragedies; however, in this human-centered world, her healing power is usually utterly forgotten. If you are seeking whispers of nature, let our musical poetry speak to your heart, inspire you to reinterpret nature, revitalize your life with her magic, and encourage you to ponder how we relate to the nature in which we were born. Humanity is living in nature! Isn't it true that we, human beings, are part of nature?

We are thrilled to present this six-movement, novel-like work, "Whispers on the Prairie Wind," composed by one of the most sought-after choral composers of our time, Eriks Esenvalds, as well as a selection of choral music that explores nature and humanity with close harmonies and soaring melodies. At the same time, Missoula Community Chorus Chamber Chorale, led by Dr. Ron Wilcott, will participate in the concert and share with us their perspectives on nature and humanity.

This concert is supported in part by a grant from the Montana Arts Council, an agency of the State Government

Unheard Voices

Saturday, December 8, 2018, 7:30 p.m. | UM Music Recital Hall

For seventeen years, Dolce Canto has explored almost 350 choral works from the Renaissance period to the present, bringing musical imagination and inspiration to our audiences. After leading an engineering student choir to win several awards in the 14th China International Chorus Festival and the 7th Bali International Choir Festival in July 2018, Yong Mao has taken over as the artistic director for this season, gathering together an assembly of dedicated musicians with a unique program uncovering unheard choral music.

If music history is considered as a subjective composer competition, only the luckiest winners’ music is recognized and performed. Perhaps, the vision of the past is better revealed by focusing on the remembered and the forgotten, the heard and the unheard. It is all about the human spirit.

Dolce Canto will offer audiences the chance to discover unheard voices from forgotten figures of the seventeenth century, including a complete Mass Ordinary by an Italian nun composer Chiara Margarita Cozzolani and two motets by Bach Family geniuses. Dolce Canto will also perform environmental choral music from the United States, Australia, and China, as well as other contemporary works from the United Kingdom, Canada, Estonia, Lithuania, and Germany.

Light, Beauty, Peace

Saturday, December 9, 2017, 7:30 p.m. | UM Music Recital Hall
Sunday, December 10, 2017, 7:00 p.m. | St. Ignatius Mission

"If you have a light, share it with people; if you have a darkness, share it with the Sun!"
– Mehmet Murat ildan

"Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

"There's a sorrow and pain in everyone's life, but every now and then there's a ray of light that melts the loneliness in your heart and brings comfort like hot soup and a soft bed."
– Hubert Selby Jr.

This program encourages listeners to meditate on the notion of hope and reflect on life's beauty. These compositions have been carefully chosen to ease the spirit and enrich the soul.

Featuring Special Guests: Lawrence Duncan, soprano saxophone & recorder, Anne Bashor, piano

Reformation 500

Saturday, September 30, 2017, 4:00 p.m. | Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Kalispell

2017 marks the 500th anniversary of The Reformation, and Dolce Canto looks forward to performing one of J.S. Bach's most famous cantatas in celebration of this historic event. "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" (A Mighty Fortress is our God), is an impressive contrapuntal masterpiece that demonstrates both Bach's skill and devotion. We invite you to join us for this joyous collaboration!

Featuring soloists: Caitlin Cisler, soprano | Angela Joy Dailey, alto | David Cody, tenor | Micah Hunter, bass

It Takes a Village

Saturday, March 18, 2017, 7:30 p.m. | UM Music Recital Hall

It takes a whole village to raise our children, it takes a whole village to raise one child.

We all everyone must share the burden, we all everyone will share the joy.
― Joan Szymko, adapted from a West African proverb

See your reflection in the eyes of a child, free of the shadows of your innocence and beauty.
― Julie Flanders

Children may not obey, but children will listen.
Children will look to you for which way to turn, to learn what to be.
Careful before you say, “Listen to me.” Children will listen.
― Stephen Sondheim

Themed on childhood, parenthood, and community, this concert celebrates the innocence and joy of youth, ponders the wonderment and challenges of being a parent, reflects on the beauty that children bring to the world, and express the hope that tomorrow’s children will choose wisely and positively impact the future.

Featuring Special Guests: The C.S. Porter Varsity Porterliers & Portamentos, Christopher Whiteman, director

The Concert Across America to End Gun Violence

Sunday, September 25, 2016, 7:30 p.m. | University Congregational Church, Missoula

Dolce Canto has been invited by Faiths United to End Gun Violence to join singers and instrumentalists from the Missoula community to memorialize the victims of America’s gun violence epidemic, raise social consciousness, and encourage good citizenship in order to reduce the loss of life.

This concert is part of a national concert series involving thousands of artists and activists across the country who are connected through social media. There are two hundred concerts taking place across the United States on the same day; this concert at University Congregational is the only one in a five-state region. Featured performers include Dolce Canto, special guest bass-baritone Carl DuPont, the Missoula Gay Men’s Chorus, student musicians from the University of Montana, and a choir composed of members of various Missoula faith communities.

University Congregational Church is a gun-free zone.

Stars Over Snow

Saturday, December 10, 2016, 7:30 p.m. | St. Anthony Parish, Missoula
Sunday, December 11, 2016, 7:00 p.m. | St. Ignatius Mission, St. Ignatius

“Look at the stars. See their beauty. And in that beauty, see yourself.”
― Draya Mooney

“In a world turned upside-down, where everything was wrong, bizarre, you could at least look up at the sky and see normality. Stars that shone regardless of who won a civil war, or who should or should not be a president. Their light was billions of years old. They didn’t have a care...”
― Alex Scarrow, The Eternal War

“Each star is a mirror reflecting the truth inside you.”
― Aberjhani, Journey through the Power of the Rainbow: Quotations from a Life Made Out of Poetry

Our December concert offers a musical meditation on stars. For as long as humankind has been gazing at the night sky, we have been enchanted by their glistening light. Ancient people looked upon stars as gods and created legends about them. Modern Christianity continues to utilize the star as a key icon in its Christmas story. Stars can provide guidance, both literally and metaphorically, as well as symbolize wonderment (“as infinite as the stars”), self-fulfillment (“reach for the stars”), aspirations of greatness (“be a superstar”), hope (“stars in our eyes”), and good fortune (“if the stars align”). Their great distance from us puts our own mortality in perspective, while their brightness can be associated with enlightenment. We invite you to contemplate the significance of stars with us this holiday season and remain fascinated by their eternal mysteries.

Featuring Special Guests: Frenchtown High School Chamber Chorale & Members of the FHS Percussion Ensemble, Troy Bashor, director

Elemental Harmony

Saturday, March 19, 2016, 7:30 p.m. | St. Francis Xavier, Missoula

This exciting concert celebrates our connection to nature, with programming inspired by the four classical elements of earth, air, fire & water. The concert will include music from the Renaissance to modern times that explores connections between the elements and the human experience. A highlight of the evening will be the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by John Muehleisen and lyricist Charles Anthony Silvestri made possible by the 2014 Dale Warland Singers Commission Award.

Featuring Special Guest: John Muehleisen, composer

A Spotless Rose

Saturday, December 12, 2015, 7:30 p.m. | St. Anthony Parish, Missoula
Featuring Special Guests: Hellgate High School Chamber Choir & Chevaliers
Thursday, December 17, 2015, 7:00 p.m. | Superior LDS Church, Superior
Presented by the Mineral County Performing Arts Council

This year's holiday concert will feature music themed around the Virgin Mary as a universal symbol of perfect love and motherhood. This compelling program will feature music from a variety of traditions and ideologies.

O Primavera - A Spring Choral Concert

Monday, April 27, 2015, 7:30 p.m. | Hope Lutheran Church, Bozeman

Following two wonderful previous collaborations, Dolce Canto is honored to join the fine choirs of Montana State University once again for a festive evening of magnificent music. This shared program will feature a wide variety of songs that lovers of choral music are sure to enjoy. Four choirs will be showcased individually and, to conclude the concert, all voices will join together in uplifting, harmonious song.

Featuring:
The Montana State University Youth Chorale: Kristin Harney, director
The MSU Chorale & Montanans: Kirk Aamot, director
Dolce Canto: Peter Park, director

The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass

Saturday, July 25, 2015, 7:00 p.m. | First Presbyterian Church, Coeur d'Alene, ID
Sunday, July 26, 2015, 4:00 p.m. | St. Timothy’s Memorial Chapel, Georgetown Lake, MT
Tuesday, July 28, 2015, 7:00 p.m. | Snowbowl Ski & Summer Resort, Missoula
Featuring Special Guests: Monroe Crossing

Join us as we share Minnesota composer Carol Barnett’s unique work, “The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass” which weaves together the traditions of the Catholic liturgy and classical choral singing with contemporary poetry and traditional bluegrass instrumentation. The result is an exhilarating musical experience! The composer says of the work, “My highest hope is that listeners coming from one tradition—classical or bluegrass (and perhaps dubious about the other)—might discover something new and wonderful in the combination.” The concert will also include a collection of a cappella pieces by Dolce Canto and an energetic bluegrass set by Monroe Crossing.

Journey Home

Saturday, March 21, 2015, 7:30 p.m. | St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Missoula

Explore life's journey through music with Dolce Canto as they perform music of love, faith, inspiration, and discovery.

Wonderful Peace

Friday, December 5, 2014, 7:30 p.m. | St. Anthony Parish, Missoula

Featuring Special Guests: The University of Montana Chamber Chorale

Celebrate the holiday season with Dolce Canto! This diverse program will feature familiar compositions and arrangements of carols alongside gorgeous new works by some of today's finest choral composers.

Summits & Shores

Thursday, April 10, 2014, 7:30 p.m. | UM Music Recital Hall, Missoula
Featuring Special Guests: Nicholas Phillips, piano | Gina Lapka, soprano
Sunday, March 23, 2014, 4:00 p.m. | MSU Reynolds Recital Hall, Bozeman
Featuring Special Guests: The Montana State University Youth Chorale, Kristin Harney, director

Join us for a unique musical reflection on mountains and water. Throughout the ages, both have inspired poets and composers as icons of beauty, hope, endurance and growth. This concert shares songs that comfort, inspire and celebrate the human experience as we quest to reach higher and overcome obstacles.

Luminescense

Wednesday, December 11, 2013, 7:30 p.m. | St. Anthony Parish, Missoula
Featuring Special Guests: The Missoula Community Chorus Chamber Chorale
Monday, December 16, 2013, 7:30 p.m. | Stevensville United Methodist Church, Stevensville
Featuring Special Guests: The Stevensville High School Chrysolian Choir

The theme of light radiates throughout this international choral program celebrating the joy of the holiday season. We will feature arrangements of familiar carols alongside gorgeous new works by some of today's finest young choral composers.

UM Composers’ Showcase

Tuesday, April 23, 2013, 7:30 p.m. | UM Music Recital Hall

Featuring performances of new music by guest composer Ola Gjeilo and students of the UM Composition program.

Northern Lights: The String Orchestra of the Rockies with guests Dolce Canto & Ola Gjeilo

Sunday, April 21, 2013, 7:30 p.m. | UM Music Recital Hall
Featuring music of composer Ola Gjeilo

Dolce Canto is excited to once again share the stage with the String Orchestra of the Rockies. As part of this concert, the two groups will combine to perform several works by Ola Gjeilo, including "Luminous Night of the Soul" and a striking new commission, "Dreamsong."

Bluegrass and Bobcats

Tuesday, March 5, 2013, 7:30 p.m. | St. Anthony Church, Missoula
Featuring Special Guests: Monroe Crossing, The Montana State University Chorale & Montanans

Join us as we share Minnesota composer Carol Barnett’s unique work, “The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass” which weaves together the traditions of the Catholic liturgy and classical choral singing with contemporary poetry and traditional bluegrass instrumentation. The result is a memorable musical experience!

Serenity and Stillness

Thursday, December 13, 2012, 7:00 p.m. | Superior LDS Church, Superior
This concert is presented by the Mineral County Performing Arts Council
Saturday, December 15, 2013, 7:30 p.m. | UM Music Recital Hall, Missoula
Featuring Special Guests: The Missoula Mendelssohn Club, Fern Glass Boyd, cello

Celebrate the spirit of the holiday season with us as we sing music from the sublime to the hilarious that will inspire, warm the soul, and (hopefully!) make you smile. Familiar carols will be featured alongside gorgeous new compositions and arrangements by our friend Ola Gjeilo.

Caritas et Amor: Songs of Love and Hope

In the season which emphasizes hope and love, Dolce Canto offers musical selections that will inspire you and fill your heart for the holidays. We hope you can join us!

Saturday, December 16, 2023, 3:00 p.m.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
151 Moats Lane, Superior, MT
Sponsored by Mineral County Performing Arts Council

Tickets: Our concert in Superior is a freewill donation at the door and is open to the public
- Our Missoula concert is a ticketed event. Please see below for more info.

Sunday, December 17, 2023, 4:00 p.m.
UM Music Recital Hall, 32 Campus Dr., Missoula, MT 59812

Tickets: $11-25
- Tickets available online until 10:00 a.m. December 17 (NO additional fee for online purchase)
- Tickets available at the door at 3:00 p.m.

Winter Preview Concert

Sunday, December 9, 2012 10:00 a.m. | First Lutheran Church, Missoula

Performance takes place between morning services
Cost: Free and open to the public

Upcoming Concerts & Events

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