Te Deum Inc

PERFORMING SIX TO TEN SPIRITUALLY COMPELLING CHORAL MUSIC CONCERTS EACH YEAR, TE DEUM OFFERS CONCERT EXPERIENCES THAT INSPIRE THE LISTENER AND FOSTER COMMUNITY. TE DEUM WAS FOUNDED IN 2008 TO FULFILL AN EXPRESSED NEED BY BOTH SINGERS AND AUDIENCES IN THE KANSAS CITY AREA TO PRESENT SACRED CHORAL MUSIC CONCERTS OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY. SINCE THEN, THE CHAMBER CHOIR HAS BUILT AN IMPRESSIVE AND VARIED REPERTOIRE THAT SPANS CENTURIES OF TIME AND A WIDE RANGE OF COMPOSITION STYLES. TE DEUM INVOLVES MORE THAN 30 ARTISTS EACH YEAR AND PERFORMS FOR MORE THAN 2,000 PATRONS ANNUALLY. THE 2022-2023 SEASON WAS A MILESTONE FOR TE DEUM. IT WAS THE ENSEMBLE'S 15TH SEASON OF PRESENTING A DIVERSE SACRED CHORAL REPERTOIRE IN A UNIQUELY RELEVANT CONTEXT, TO CREATE A MUSICALLY INSPIRING, SPIRITUALLY STIRRING EXPERIENCE. TE DEUM PRESENTED FOUR CONCERTS WITH TWO PERFORMANCES EACH, AND A CHANTED VESPERS SERVICE, FOR NINE TOTAL CONCERT ENGAGEMENTS. THE SEASON WAS A RESOUNDING SUCCESS IN TERMS OF THE QUALITY OF THE WORKS PERFORMED, ATTENDANCE, AUDIENCE EXPERIENCE, AND FUNDRAISING. AS TE DEUM'S 14TH SEASON MARKED ITS FULL EMERGENCE FROM THE UNCERTAINTY OF THE PANDEMIC, THE 15TH SEASON CEMENTED THE ENSEMBLE'S STATUS AS ONE OF KANSAS CITY'S PREMIERE CHORAL GROUPS. TE DEUM BEGAN THE SEASON WITH ONE OF THE GREATEST WORKS OF WESTERN MUSIC, MOZART'S REQUIEM. IT IS IN THE REQUIEM THAT MOZART'S GENIUS IS MATCHED BY VULNERABILITY AND EMOTION. THE ENSEMBLE PERFORMED THIS MONUMENTAL WORK ON SEPTEMBER 17TH AT GRACE AND HOLY TRINITY CATHEDRAL AND SEPTEMBER 18TH AT VILLAGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH TO 484 TOTAL AUDIENCE MEMBERS. TE DEUM PUT TOGETHER 19 ORCHESTRA MEMBERS AND FOUR GUEST SOLOISTS FOR THE WORK. SOLOISTS INCLUDED JENNAYA ROBINSON, DIRECTOR OF CHORAL STUDIES IN THE CONSERVATORY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY; PATRICIA THOMPSON, A SOLOIST WITH MANY BACH SOCIETIES THROUGHOUT THE U.S. AND A FOUNDING MEMBER OF LUMINOUS VOICES, A PROFESSIONAL CHOIR IN CALGARY, CANADA; JONATHAN RAY, A VETERAN LF THE LYRIC OPERA OF KANSAS CITY AND FOUNDING MEMBER OF LANDLOCKED OPERA; AND DAVID NEWMAN, WHOSE PREVIOUS COLLABORATIONS INCLUDE THE CARMEL BACH FESTIVAL, THE PORTLAND BAROQUE ORCHESTRA, THE BACH SOCIETY OF ST. LOUIS, AND MANY OTHER WORLD-CLASS GROUPS. THE CONCERT ATTRACTED MANY FIRST-TIME AUDIENCE MEMBERS WHO WERE EAGER TO HEAR THIS WORK IN PARTICULAR. O MAGNUM MYSTERIUM WAS TE DEUM'S FIFTH ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CONCERT. THE CONCERTS WERE HELD ON DECEMBER 19TH AT VILLAGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND DECEMBER 20TH AT ST. MARY'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH TO 501 TOTAL AUDIENCE MEMBERS. THIS WAS THE LARGEST COMBINED ATTENDANCE SO FAR FOR A TE DEUM CHRISTMAS CONCERT. THE CONCERT WAS STRUCTURED AROUND FOUR DIFFERENT MUSICAL SETTINGS OF THE FAMOUS CHRISTMAS TEXT O MAGNUM MYSTERIUM, PROVIDING A DIVERSE CONTEXT IN WHICH MEANINGFUL ASPECTS OF THE SEASON WERE EXPLORED AND CELEBRATED. SPANNING MORE THAN 10 CENTURIES, THE MUSIC EXPRESSED THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS FROM GENERATIONS PAST AND PRESENT, INCLUDING WITH A NEW COMMISSION BY OUR FORMER COMPOSER IN RESIDENCE JAMES EAKIN III AND A NEWLY COMMISSIONED TEXT BY FAMED POET CHARLES ANTHONY SILVESTRI. AUDIENCE MEMBERS SHARED THE FOLLOWING REFLECTIONS AFTER THE DECEMBER 2022 O MAGNUM MYSTERIUM CONCERT: "WE HAD A DELIGHTFUL TIME ON TUESDAY'S CONCERT. I THOUGHT IT WAS A LOVELY CONCERT THAT WAS MASTERFULLY EXECUTED. NEEDLESS TO SAY THAT I FELT SO PRESENT WITH PEACE AND JOY." (FROM A TE DEUM SINGER): "ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS WAS ABLE TO COME LAST NIGHT, AND SHE SAID THAT IT EQUALLY FELT LIKE AN HOUR OF BEAUTIFUL MUSIC AND AN HOUR OF BEAUTIFUL PRAYER. SHE SHARED WITH ME HOW OUR MUSIC, AND THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE TEXT, ALLOWED HER TO DIVE DEEPER INTO MEDITATION ON THE MANGER, ON THE PRECIOUS NATIVITY SCENE, AND WAS A BEAUTIFUL WAY TO END THIS ADVENT SEASON!" "THIS IS AN ENSEMBLE THAT SHOULD BE HEARD AGAIN AND AGAIN. THEY HAVE NEVER FAILED TO INTRODUCE A MOMENT OF PURE BEAUTY IN ANY EVENING THAT I'VE BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HEAR THEM." "SUBLIME, A FASCINATING AND BEAUTIFUL PROGRAM MASTERFULLY SUNG." ON JANUARY 21ST TE DEUM PRESENTED ITS ANNUAL ANTIQUA SERIES PERFORMANCE AT VISITATION CATHOLIC CHURCH. A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN PRESENTED SOME OF THE 16TH CENTURY'S MOST INSPIRING RENAISSANCE TREASURES BY TALLIS, BYRD, PALESTRINA, LASSUS, JOSQUIN, AND MORE TO 228 AUDIENCE MEMBERS. THIS WAS THE LARGEST ATTENDANCE FOR AN ANTIQUA CONCERT SINCE TE DEUM STARTED THIS EARLY MUSIC SERIES IN 2013. TE DEUM ALSO PERFORMED THIS CONCERT AT GRACE CATHEDRAL IN TOPEKA, KS ON JANUARY 22ND. TE DEUM WAS INVITED TO PERFORM AS PART OF THE CATHEDRAL'S GREAT SPACES MUSIC AND ARTS SERIES. TE DEUM CONTINUED ITS TRADITION OF PERFORMING A CHANTED VESPERS PRAYER SERVICE ON MARCH 12 AT ST MARY'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH. VESPERS IS A PRAYER SERVICE OF THE DAY IN THE CHURCH'S ANCIENT PRAYER CIRCLE, AND THIS CONCERT SPECIFICALLY WAS TO MARK THE OCCASION OF LENT, THE 40 DAYS PRIOR TO EASTER. TE DEUM IS COMMITTED TO THE STUDY AND HISTORICALLY INFORMED PRESENTATION OF GREGORIAN CHANT, ONE OF THE WORLD'S OLDEST FORMS OF WRITTEN MUSIC. TE DEUM USES A FORM OF CHANT NOTATION KNOWN AS SANKT GALLEN, WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE EARLY 10TH CENTURY AND INCLUDES A GREAT DEAL OF RHYTHMIC SOPHISTICATION NOT FOUND IN MODERN CHANT NOTATION. THIS CONCERT OFFERED BOTH AN ANCIENT LOOK AT THE PRACTICE OF CHRISTIAN MONKS AS WELL AS A MODERN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE THE SERENITY AND SPIRITUALITY OF CHANT. ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FOUR (184) PEOPLE ATTENDED THE PERFORMANCE. THE FINAL CONCERT OF TE DEUM'S MILESTONE 15TH SEASON WAS AN HISTORIC EVENT FOR THE ORGANIZATION. MONTEVERDI'S VENETIAN VESPERS OF 1641 WAS THE LARGEST ATTENDED CONCERT SERIES IN TE DEUM HISTORY WITH MORE THAN 550 ATTENDING ON JUNE 2ND AT ST. MARY'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND JUNE 3RD AT VILLAGE PRESBYTERIAN. THESE PERFORMANCES FEATURED A COLLABORATION WITH THE KANSAS CITY BAROQUE CONSORTIUM, INCLUDING FIVE MUSICIANS PERFORMING WITH PERIOD INSTRUMENTS ALONG WITH EIGHT SOLOISTS FROM THE TE DEUM ENSEMBLE. THE MUSIC PRESENTED AT THIS CONCERT HAD NEVER BEEN HEARD IN KANSAS CITY IN THIS ARRANGEMENT. TE DEUM'S ARTISTIC DIRECTOR SELECTED THE PIECES FROM MONTEVERDI'S SELVA MORALE ET SPIRITUALI TO RECONSTRUCT THE FORM OF A TRADITIONAL VESPERS SERVICE. THE SELVA MORALE ET SPIRITUALI WAS THE ONLY BOOK OF SACRED CHORAL MUSIC MONTEVERDI PRODUCED DURING HIS 30 YEARS AS MAESTRO DI CAPPELLA OF ST. MARK'S BASILICA IN VENICE. MONTEVERDI HIMSELF CHOSE THE PIECES TO REPRESENT THE BEST OF HIS ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER. TE DEUM'S 15TH SEASON WAS A SUCCESS BY ALL MEASURES. OUR ARTISTIC QUALITY REMAINS THE CORNERSTONE OF WHAT MAKES TE DEUM GREAT. WE CONTINUE TO EFFECTIVELY RECRUIT TALENTED SINGERS AND RETAIN SINGERS WHO HAVE FOUND AN ARTISTIC HOME WITH TE DEUM. OUR CONCERT ATTENDANCE FOR 2023 TOTALED 1,947, ONE OF OUR STRONGEST ATTENDANCE FIGURES IN OUR 15-YEAR HISTORY. OUR ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR SUPPORTERS AND OUR FUNDRAISING CONTINUE TO DEEPEN OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH FANS AND MEET OUR FINANCIAL GOALS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT 15 YEARS OF TE DEUM, BEGINNING WITH THE 2023-2024 PERFORMANCE SEASON.