Last evening I attended a Soli Deo Gloria concert in Fresno.  They are led by Dr. Julie Carter and accompanied by Kim Schapansky.  The Fresno Pacific University women’s chorus also performed as special guests.  I have attended Soli De Gloria concerts for the past 3 or 4 years.   They have been kind enough to program some of my own music.  They have always been a fine community chorus and I have enjoyed their singing throughout the years, but last evenings’ concert was particularly notable.  It was evident that Dr. Carter and the singers had achieved an even greater level of performance and quality. I was amazed.  They took such great attention to detail in their music, phrasing, and appearance, that I was transformed by their performance.  It was truly a magnificent evening of fine music.  As a performer of choral music for over 25 years, I understand what it takes to achieve such excellence. It takes the combination of a great director with vision, passion, and patience.  It takes the skills of a fine accompanist to seamlessly support the singers.  It also requires that every singer be invested in the communication and execution of the text and music.  I found all of these things to be true last night.  Much of the concert was performed from memory, which I found was quite engaging.  Between the beautiful colors of the singers’ outfits to the eye contact and great facial expressions they gave, it allowed me to be drawn in to their sonic symphony and molded by their tones.  If you have the opportunity to hear them, I would highly recommend it!

Kevin Memley

Accompanist, Clovis East High School choirs

Accompanist, San Joaquin Chorale

Director, Kingsburg Community Church Choir