Abbie Betinis - From Behind The Caravan; I. We Have Come

CIRCLES (feat. Bekon)

First Plymouth Congregational Church is home to thoughtful and progressive Christians. We seek to lend aid and give shape to our community through social justice practices and prayer. We encourage and nurture our members to grow in their relationship with God. Our church fosters a creative, diverse, and welcoming environment that supports individuals and families.

3501 South Colorado Boulevard
Englewood, Colorado 80113
Phone: 303-762-0616
info@firstplymouthchurch.org
www.firstplymouthchurch.org

Lent 1 Year A March 1,  2020 Sermon - Rev. Jenny Shultz-Thomas

Lent 2 Year A March 8, 2020 Sermon- Rev. Jenny Shultz-Thomas

Lent 3 Year A March 15, 2020 Sermon -Rev. Sue Artt

First Plymouth Congregational Church is home to thoughtful and progressive Christians. We seek to lend aid and give shape to our community through social justice practices and prayer. We encourage and nurture our members to grow in their relationship with God. Our church fosters a creative, diverse, and welcoming environment that supports individuals and families.

3501 South Colorado Boulevard
Englewood, Colorado 80113
Phone: 303-762-0616
Fax: 303-789-2783
info@firstplymouthchurch.org
www.firstplymouthchurch.org

Lent 4 Year A March 22, 2020 Sermon -Rev. Jenny Shultz-Thomas

New SATB version performed by Kantorei (Joel Rinsema, cond.)

The lyrics for Tundra were written by my frequent collaborator, poet Charles Anthony Silvestri. I asked Tony to write a text based on the title and photos of a part of my native Norway that is very dear to me, the Hardangervidda mountain plateau. It’s pretty close to where my father grew up, in the mountains between Oslo and Bergen. Hardangervidda is quite barren and intensely beautiful—it is easy to feel that you are treading on sacred land, which Tony describes so evocatively in his text:

Wide, worn and weathered, 
Sacred expanse
Of green and white and granite grey; 
Snowy patches strewn, 
Anchored to the craggy earth, 
Unmoving;
While clouds dance
Across the vast, eternal sky.

Kantorei Denver: TUNDRA

Kantorei (Denver, CO USA)
Joel Rinsema, conductor

Sara Michael, soprano
Andrea Ware, alto
Justin Kerr, tenor
Jonathan Gentry, bass

Sarah Whitnah, violin
Richard VonFoerster, cello
Nicole Ewing, piccolo
Kevin Gunnerson, Emily Alexander, percussion
Alicia Rigsby, piano

Václav Nelhýbel - Estampie Natalis (Kantorei, Denver, CO USA)

Joel M. Rinsema joined Kantorei (Denver, Colorado USA) in 2014, becoming the second conductor in its 25-year history. During his tenure, Kantorei has experienced tremendous audience growth, nearly tripled its budget, and launched an ambitious recording strategy. A frequent collaborator and champion of new works for chorus, Joel has commissioned and premiered works by many of today’s leading composers, including Kim André Arnesen, Mason Bates, René Clausen, Jean Belmont Ford, Ola Gjeilo, Jocelyn Hagen, Mark Hayes, Cecilia McDowall, Sarah Quartel, Jake Runestad, and Eric Whitacre. In the summer of 2022, Joel conducted the Central American premiere of Jake Runestad’s El Último Hilo (The Last Thread) in Guatemala City and Antigua, Guatemala with Kantorei and the Guatemalan choir Vocalis. He
will return in May of 2023 to conduct Eric Whitacre’s The Sacred Veil.

Under Joel’s direction, Kantorei has released two recordings on the Naxos label. Sing, Wearing the Sky: Choral Music of Jake Runestad (2020) was the #3 best-selling classical album on iTunes, reached #4 on the Traditional Classical Billboard Charts, and was in the top ten in both the best-selling classical album and new classical release categories on Amazon. Infinity: Choral Works of Kim André Arnesen (2018) climbed to the #2 best-selling classical album on iTunes, #6 on the Traditional Classical Billboard Charts, and #19 on the overall Classical Billboard charts. Santa Barbara Music Publishing Inc., publishes the Joel Rinsema / Kantorei Choral series.

Joel led Kantorei in performances at the 2019 National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association, and he prepared Kantorei as the primary chorus for the Aspen Music Festival with Maestro Robert Spano conducting in the summers of 2021 and 2022. More recently, he conducted Kantorei along with the Canadian Brass in December of 2022, and he commissioned and prepared Kantorei for the world premiere of the string orchestra version of Eric Whitacre’s The Sacred Veil, conducted by the composer.

Joel is a passionate advocate for the professional choral art form and he frequently consults with choral arts organizations around the country. Because of his leadership in his field, he received the Louis Botto Award for “Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal” from Chorus America, the industry’s advocacy, research, and leadership development organization for choruses, choral leaders, and singers. Joel is also an accomplished conductor of major works for choir and orchestra and was one of eighteen conductors chosen nationally through audition to participate in master classes and workshops presented by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association and Chorus America. As a tenor soloist, Joel has performed across the United States as well as in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

Joel serves as Director of Music and Technology in Worship at First Plymouth Congregational Church in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. He was also the North American Choral Promotion Manager for Oxford University Press based in Oxford, England from 2017 to 2020, a tenure during which he worked closely with and represented roster composers John Rutter, Mack Wilberg, Bob Chilcott, Sarah Quartel, Cecilia McDowall, Gabriel Jackson, and Will Todd among
others.

Joel holds music degrees from Arizona State University and Whitworth University and he is a member of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammys), American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and Colorado Music Educators Association (CMEA).

Joel came to Kantorei from the Grammy Award-winning Phoenix Chorale. Throughout his 23-year tenure with the Phoenix Chorale, he served in nearly every capacity with the organization, including his last 15 years as President & CEO and Assistant Conductor. He negotiated an ongoing recording contract with the prestigious U.K.-based Chandos Records, and Phoenix Chorale recordings received a total of eight Grammy nominations and two Grammy awards during his tenure. Joel appears on all Phoenix Chorale recordings and was a soloist on the Grammy Award-winning “Spotless Rose: Hymn to the Virgin Mary.” 

In addition to his work with the Phoenix Chorale, Joel served as the Director of Music at Church of the Beatitudes United Church of Christ in Phoenix for 15 years, and he was the founding chorus master of the Arizona Musicfest Chorus.

He and his wife Sarah Branton (Choir Director at Cherry Creek High School) and stepson Simon Harrison live in Centennial, Colorado along with their miniature Dachshund Lucia. They enjoy all that Colorado has to offer outdoors, including camping, fishing, golfing, and snow skiing.