Dale Warland Singers
Encyclopedia
The Dale Warland Singers was a 40-person choral
group in the United States
, based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis
and St. Paul, Minnesota
. Founded in 1972 and conducted by Dale Warland
, the ensemble tackled a repertoire of difficult, complex, and beautiful polyphonic works for both a cappella
and accompanied choir
. Their repertoire consisted primarily of twentieth-century composers and arrangers, including works by Arvo Pärt
, Samuel Barber
, Charles Ives
, Joseph Ott, Stephen Paulus
and others. They also performed well-known works by the composers such as Allegri
and Mendelssohn
. The ensemble's farewell concert was held on May 30, 2004.
They were the first recipient of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for choral excellence (1992). They have also received ASCAP awards for Adventurous Programming (1992, 1993, 1996 and 1999). Their 2003 compact disc Walden Pond was nominated for a Grammy Award
for Best Choral Performance. They have also received the ASCAP Victor Herbert Award (2003), the Distinguished Master Artists Award (University of South Florida
) (2004), the Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Vision (2003), and others
The Dale Warland Singers album Lux Aurumque was named a top ten classical album by National Public Radio in 2007 Their previous album, Harvest Home, reached number 11 on the Billboard Top Classical Albums in November 2005.
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
group in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
and St. Paul, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Founded in 1972 and conducted by Dale Warland
Dale Warland
Dale Warland is an American conductor, composer, founder of the Grammy-nominated Dale Warland Singers, scholar, teacher, choral consultant, and renowned champion of contemporary choral composers.-Professional Biography :...
, the ensemble tackled a repertoire of difficult, complex, and beautiful polyphonic works for both a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
and accompanied choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
. Their repertoire consisted primarily of twentieth-century composers and arrangers, including works by Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
, Samuel Barber
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
, Charles Ives
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
, Joseph Ott, Stephen Paulus
Stephen Paulus
Stephen Paulus is an American composer, best known for his operas and choral music. His best-known piece is his 1982 opera The Postman Always Rings Twice, one of several operas he has written for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, which prompted The New York Times to call him "a young man on the road...
and others. They also performed well-known works by the composers such as Allegri
Gregorio Allegri
Gregorio Allegri was an Italian composer of the Roman School and brother of Domenico Allegri; he was also a priest and a singer. He lived mainly in Rome, where he would later die.-Life:...
and Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
. The ensemble's farewell concert was held on May 30, 2004.
They were the first recipient of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for choral excellence (1992). They have also received ASCAP awards for Adventurous Programming (1992, 1993, 1996 and 1999). Their 2003 compact disc Walden Pond was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Choral Performance. They have also received the ASCAP Victor Herbert Award (2003), the Distinguished Master Artists Award (University of South Florida
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
) (2004), the Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Vision (2003), and others
The Dale Warland Singers album Lux Aurumque was named a top ten classical album by National Public Radio in 2007 Their previous album, Harvest Home, reached number 11 on the Billboard Top Classical Albums in November 2005.
External links
- Dale Warland Singers official site
- Dale Warland Singers Archive
- Art of the States: Dale Warland Singers performing Without Words (2002) by Huang Ruo
- 1980performance featuring movement by Joseph Ott]