Nobody celebrates Christmas like the Sacramento Master Singers. The Master Singers, under the direction of Dr. Ralph Hughes, have produced a holiday concert of beauty, musical excellence, and joy each season for the past 26 years. This year’s offering, the first Celtic-themed event in the history of the Master Singers’ Christmas concerts, was delightfully different, and stood up well to the standard of excellence set in years past. An unusual collaboration between the Master Singers and Men of Worth, a Celtic performance duo, set the tone and stirred in the flavor for this lively and charming concert. The Saturday evening performance at St. Francis of Assisi church in midtown Sacr

Laughing and flouncing their way onstage, the Sacramento Master Singers began their final program of the season with the playful "Vamos a Bailar" ("Let's Dance"), complete with fingersnaps, claps and an energetic four-hands piano accompaniment by Heidi Van Regenmorter and Clifford Shockney.  Shifting moods completely, the next piece was a dramatically somber a capella madrigal with subtly sustained dissonance adding to the weight of grief, and ending with a whisper sounding like "loss."  Continuing softly, the next piece, "Come to Me, My Love," began with only the men's muted voices, then added layers of sound like hope returning.  This was followed by "A Boy and a Girl" using poetry b

People will go through a lot to hear beautiful music. Each December, the line of people snaking around St. Francis Church grows. People arrive up to 90 minutes before curtain for the annual holiday performance of the Sacramento Master Singers. Many clutch their seat cushions as they chat with friends and friendly strangers waiting to enter the chilly church. They have braved rain, wind, and cold in years past; this year the autumnal weather lingering on into mid-December was a blessing. Sunday’s matinee performance of “Glory to the Newborn King” once again hosted a near-capacity crowd. People came in groups and alone; multigenerational families crowded into the hard wooden pews. There we

  The American River College Theater was sold out Friday evening as the Sacramento Master Singers presented a wonderful ensemble concert to begin their 26th season. “From Sand to Pearls: A Choral Tribute to Perla Warren” honored the longtime music instructor with an ambitious program involving four choral groups, several supporting instrumentalists and a solo jazz pianist. Many of the musicians were former students of Warren and credited her with the transformation of young voices into accomplished musicians. Dr. Ralph Hughes, artistic director of the Master Singers and a colleague of Warren, is also the director of the 26-voice American River College Chamber Orchestra. He led his youn

The final concert in the Sacramento Master Singers’ season was presented last Saturday and again on Sunday at the First United Methodist Church with guest conductor Vance George.   The program was built around the Requiem by Gabriel Fauré, composed in the 1880’s. SMS performed this durable work beautifully, aided by the Sacramento Children’s Chorus singing the Pie Jesu with angelic purity.   The concert opened with three hopeful selections, energetic and bright: the traditional Appalachian tune “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah,” Finzi’s “My Spirit Sang All Day,” and another Fauré selection. A Mendelssohn motet from “Elijah,” sung in German, followed.   Still, after all of this beautif

The block-long line of music lovers began to form a full hour before the doors of St. Francis of Assisi Church opened, a testament to the popularity of the Sacramento Master Singers’ annual holiday concerts. The expectant crowd settled into the pews and filled the magnificent sanctuary, ladies in sparkly holiday dresses seated next to young people in jeans and hoodies, all brought together to experience the magic and wonder of beautifully sung seasonal music. “Peace, Peace: 25 Years of Holiday Music” marks a quarter century of the inspired direction of conductor Ralph Hughes. Through his tenancy as artistic director, the choir has blossomed in numbers, artistic excellence and popularit

This weekend, the Sacramento Master Singers will perform excerpts from Duke Ellington's "Sacred Concerts." It marks several important homecomings. It will be a homecoming for the Grammy-winning piece, which was played by Ellington and his legendary orchestra in 1965 at Sacramento's Westminster Presbyterian Church. Friday through Sunday, it will be played at the Crest Theater, less than half a mile from the church. It will also be a homecoming for Ardie Bryant, the "Ambassador of Tap," who spent his early years in Sacramento and graduated from Sacramento High School. Saturday, the legendary bebop jazz tap dancer, who has danced with everyone from Ellington to Count Basie, Charlie Parker a