PRESS RELEASE: 2025-2026 Season Announcement
THE SINGERS ANNOUNCES 2025-2026 SEASON, “THE FIRE OF OUR SONG”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Matthew Culloton, Artistic & Executive Director
651-917-1948 | info@singersmca.org
From Bach to Bernstein, and Arvo Pärt to Jocelyn Hagen, The Singers and Artistic Director Matthew Culloton announce their 22nd season of impactful and eclectic programs that lift spirits and inspire hearts.
Saint Paul, MN – August 15, 2025 – Launching its 22nd year as one of the country’s finest ensembles, The Singers proudly offers a season true to its vision of bridging communities by sharing programs that speak to an evolving world. “We know that choral music is a vessel for human strength, whether quiet hope or steadfast resilience,” says Artistic Director Matthew Culloton. “Our audience will journey with us this season through courage, resistance, endurance, and renewal, and experience an inner clarion call – THE FIRE OF OUR SONG!”
The 2025-2026 subscription series includes the following:
MAGNIFICAT: BACH, PÄRT, & MORE! [Oct. 11 & 12, 2025]
With The Singers Sinfonia
Celebrate the launch of a new season with J.S. Bach’s Magnificat – as festive and stirring a work as ever written! Be moved by the meditative music of Arvo Pärt (who turns 90 this September), and film composer Ennio Morricone, whose film score for The Mission has become a cherished classic. Minnesota composers (and former Composers-in-Residence for The Singers) Jocelyn Hagen and Timothy Takach are also featured. [Oct. 11, 7:30 pm: Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Minneapolis; Oct. 12, 3:00 pm: House of Hope Presbyterian Church, St. Paul]
WHAT SWEETER MUSIC: CHRISTMAS WITH THE SINGERS [Dec. 7, 13, & 14, 2025]
with Ruth Marshall, cello; Bryon Wilson, piano
A meaningful mix of carols, original works, and tradition – don’t miss our most popular concert of the season. This year, we’re joined by cellist Ruth Marshall and pianist Bryon Wilson on Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols. Canadian music is featured via Healey Willan’s The Three KIngs and Sarah Quartel’s Snow Angel. A tuneful Christmas program as you’ll find in the Twin Cities, we’ll present familiar music of Morten Lauridsen and carols by Matthew Culloton, Stephen Paulus, and Dale Warland. [Dec. 7, 3:00 pm: Westwood Lutheran, St. Louis Park; Dec. 13, 7:30 pm: Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Minneapolis; Dec. 14, 2:00 pm: Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul]
MY SOUL’S REPOSE: ALLEGRI, BERNSTEIN, & PSALMS [Mar. 14 & 15, 2026]
with Aaron David Miller, organ; Min Kim, harp; Erik Barsness, percussion
There are very few more timeless, mysterious choral favorites than Allegri’s Miserere mei, Deus, with its soaring soprano solo, echoes of chant, and sumptuous choral harmonies. More color is employed in Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, which even includes music originally written (and scrapped) from West Side Story. The Book of Psalms, from which boundless choral music flows, is further explored through the musical minds of Caroline Shaw, Abbie Betinis, Anton Bruckner, and Ernani Aguiar. [Mar. 14, 7:30 pm: Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Minneapolis; Mar. 15, 3:00 pm: House of Hope Presbyterian Church, St. Paul]
WORLD ON OUR SHOULDERS [Apr. 26, 2026]
“In the dusk of the river, the wind gone, the leaves grow still —…” Thus begins Alex Berko’s Sacred Place, an ecologically-minded score on texts of Wendell Berry, John Muir, and others. You’ll quickly hear why this has become one of the most-performed works in recent years! Jocelyn Hagen’s A Thank You Note to the Universe, on a poem of Noor Unnahar, says “I breathe the same air as the people I love and the people I lose” – a reminder of our connection to the earth and each other. A world premiere commission from Scott Senko, along with music by Charles Villiers Stanford and Jake Runestad further capture the beauty of nature and the world we all share. [Apr. 26, 3:00 pm: House of Hope Presbyterian Church, St. Paul]
SPECIAL EVENTS – NOT PART OF THE SUBSCRIPTION SERIES
Handel: Messiah with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Dinis Sousa, conductor
December 18 & 19, 7:00 PM – Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis
December 20, 7:00 PM & December 21, 2:00 PM – Ordway Concert Hall, St. Paul
Tickets at www.thespco.org
ABOUT THE SINGERS & MATTHEW CULLOTON
The Singers are a 40-voice professional choral ensemble based in St. Paul, Minnesota. The organization was founded in 2004 by its current Artistic Director Matthew Culloton, and is celebrating its 22nd season in 2025-2026. The Singers deliver compelling and thought-provoking performances and educational opportunities that can bridge cultural differences and invite appreciation of the choral art. The core values that guide the organization as it brings this mission to life are Respect & Openness, Courage, Collaboration, Excellence, and Passion.
Matthew Culloton brings a love of shared community singing, exacting musical standards, and an engaging sense of humor to the podium. He exhibits an uncanny ability to shape and trust in the individual artistry of the musicians in front of him, resulting in stirring moments of musical synergy and soul. Iconic composer Morten Lauridsen wrote to him, “Your glorious performances still resound in my ear and in my heart…it was my great honor to have you do my music, which could not have been in finer hands.”
Season Subscriptions are now available at www.singersmca.org. Single tickets will go on sale in September.
Learn more about The Singers and Artistic Director Matthew Culloton here.
