Krueger and St. Martin’s Choir: Thinking Big
A preview by Marc Shulgold
What’s in a name? In the case of Timothy J. Krueger’s first name, apparently not much.
Timothy Krueger, conductor
The choral conductor chuckled as he pointed out that the origins of “Timothy” are related to “timid,” after the Latin word timere, meaning “to fear.”
Well, there’s nothing timid about the season-opener of his St. Martin’s Chamber Choir. On Sept. 16 and 17, Krueger will unveil the St. Martin’s Festival Singers, expanded big-time to 66 voices – and augmented with orchestra, no less.
“We’d sung with orchestras before, but our 24 singers just couldn’t produce enough sound,” he said of the Chamber Choir. So, in collaboration with David Rutherford, conductor of the Stratus Chamber Orchestra, Krueger has created a concept that will nearly triple the size of his group.
The concept began simply enough, he explained. “A year ago, I was at KVOD (where Rutherford serves as an announcer) and David asked me, ‘Which choral piece have you always wanted to do?’ I said right away, ‘Dona Nobis Pacem.’ I’d sung it in college and always wanted to conduct it.”
David Rutherford, conductor
And so plans were launched. Vaughan Williams’ powerful anti-war cantata calls for an orchestra, with Rutherford’s group filling the bill. Dona Nobis Pacem uses texts from Walt Whitman and the Bible, and was written on the eve of World War II.
Krueger knew that the presence of an orchestra demands more singers. “And a larger group would cost more. But then I thought, what if we could hire additional singers on a one-time, volunteer basis?”
Hoping for the best, he sent out word to the Front Range choral community, and to his delight received 50 replies. Of those who auditioned, he selected 45 unpaid singers to join the Chamber Choir. And so, the Festival Singers were born, with hopes of reviving the expanded group once each future season.
Though he’s longed to conduct the Dona Nobis, Krueger will hand the baton over to Rutherford. Continuing this unexpected trade-off, the first half of the program will find Krueger on the podium, as he conducts the Stratas orchestra in Vaughan Williams’ glorious Tallis Fantasia. (Prior to that, he’ll lead a handful of his Chamber Choir singers in the short work by Thomas Tallis that served as the basis for the Fantasia, as well as Vaughn Williams’ Three Shakespeare Songs.)
Ralph Vaughn Williams
“Yes, he takes my people and I take his,” Krueger joked about this conducting switcheroo. Naturally, the bulk of the choral preparation will be handled by the expert, with Rutherford stepping in at the final rehearsal.
As for Krueger leading an ensemble with nary a singer in sight, once again he shows no timidity. “I’ve conducted orchestras before, though I’ve never done the Fantasia.”
To give himself the courage, he recalled his studies years ago with Dennis Keene, noted director of the Voices of Ascension. “He taught me that if you know the work – if it’s part of your body and soul – you cannot fail.”
Nothing to fear but fear itself.
The St. Martin’s Festival Singers and Orchestra will perform a mostly-Vaughan Williams program at 7:30 p.m. Friday, September 16 in St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church, 9203 S. University Blvd., Highlands Ranch, and at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, September 17 in Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 E. Alameda Ave., Denver. Information: (303) 298-1970 or stmartinschamberchoir.org.
St Martin’s Chamber Choir
