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Please follow this procedure when creating or editing content for opus7.org.  You will need to have a user account with “contributor” or higher privileges; Dan Wilson or Dave McGee can help you with this.

Typical WordPress web pages provide a framework which dynamically displays content contained in posts. The opus7.org site generally adheres to this practice. Since most of the site content is contained in posts, the web pages will rarely need to be edited. Therefore, this discussion is limited to creating and editing posts. Editing posts is fairly easy; if you’re familiar with blogs, you’ll feel right at home.  Read more…

There is Sweet Music

Please visit our Facebook page Opus7Seattle, or our instagram page @opus7vocalensemble for more information.

Grant Us Peace

Opus 7 performs a Lenten concert of profound music for choir and orchestra by Eastern European and Scandinavian composers as a musical prayer for hope and perseverance; comfort for those who grieve and those who are fearful; and peace and justice in Ukraine.

Please visit our Facebook page Opus7Seattle, or our instagram page @opus7vocalensemble for more information

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Construction on the Portico Project will close the Marion and Terry entrance and the restrooms there from January 6 through early April. During this time, the box office will move to the south Columbia Street/Archbishop Murphy Courtyard entrance, which is ADA accessible. To minimize congestion at the south entrance, we ask those who purchase tickets in advance and who are able to navigate stairs to please enter through the west 9th Avenue entrance. During concerts, an ADA-accessible restroom will be available in the west vestibule of the Cathedral, and additional facilities will be available outside of the south entrance of the Cathedral and in an adjacent building. Thank you for your patience as we complete this exciting project!

O Rising Dawn

Our Common Ground

 

Opus 7’s 32nd-Anniversary Season opens with a varied collection of choral music examining and celebrating America through past and present themes. The concert will begin with humorous settings of quotes from presidents Lincoln, Coolidge, Roosevelt, and others; thought-provoking works about external and internal threats to democracy—including Advance Democracy by Benjamin Britten; and “Welcome Song” from Borders by John Muehleisen. The second half will feature the major work American DREAMers by Melissa Dunphy, based on text by young immigrants, as well as several odes to our nation’s heritage including Hymn for America by Stephen Paulus.
 

Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble
 

Loren W. Pontén, founder & artistic director
 

Christina Siemens, piano
 

7:30 p.m. concert
 

Preferred Seating: $40 in advance
 


General Seating: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
 


Seniors: $20 in advance, $24 at the door
 


Students: Pay as able at the door with student ID
 

 

 

Parking information:

• There is limited parking available in the church parking lot directly across from the church on 16th Ave NE
• Free parking is available after noon on Saturday in the north University of Washington lots (N01 & N05), and in the UW Meany Garage at 15th Ave NE and NE 41st St

Please visit our social media platforms for more information.

Facebook page:
Opus7Seattle
Instagram Page: @opus7vocalensemble

All Northwest

Please join Opus 7 as we celebrate the musical contributions of some of our region’s most prominent choral composers, including five world premieres. This popular biannual concert of choral works by Northwest composers features pieces by Morten Lauridsen, Joan Szymko, Bern Herbolsheimer, Jessica French, Reginald Unterseher, Karen P. Thomas, and Opus 7’s Composer-in-Residence John Muehleisen. Opus 7 will also perform the winning compositions from our Robert Scandrett Memorial Student Composer Competition. 

Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble
Loren W. Pontén, founder & artistic director

Christina Siemens, piano
Soren Hamm, soprano saxophone

7:00 p.m. pre-concert talk
8:00 p.m. concert

Preferred Seating: $40 in advance 
General Seating: $25 in advance, $30 at the door 
Seniors: $20 in advance, $24 at the door 
Students: Pay as able at the door with student ID 

Please visit our social media platforms for more information. Facebook page: Opus7Seattle Instagram Page: @opus7vocalensemble

Hear My Prayer

Opus 7 presents an inventive and powerful concert of choral settings for the Lenten season, presenting psalms and spiritual songs on themes of individual and of community petitions, thankfulness for being remembered, and confidence in God’s saving help.

Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble
Loren W. Pontén, founder & artistic director

Preferred Seating: $40 in advance 
General Seating: $25 in advance, $30 at the door 
Seniors: $20 in advance, $24 at the door 
Students: Pay as able at the door with student ID 

Please visit our social media platforms for more information. Facebook page: Opus7Seattle Instagram Page: @opus7vocalensemble

There is Sweet Music

Dear Opus 7 Friends,
We regret to announce that due to positive Covid-19 cases, our concert on Saturday, January 20th, There is Sweet Music, will be canceled. The health and safety of our audience members, volunteers, singers, and guest performers remains our number one priority and is what has led us to the decision of cancelation.


For all who have purchased a ticket, please either keep your ticket and use it for either our March or May concert, consider the ticket price as a donation to our choral organization, or contact us at tickets@opus7.org for instructions on how you can return your ticket for a refund. We thank you for your patience and understanding at this time and we hope to see you at a future concert.

Please visit our Facebook page: Opus7Seattle for more information.

Please stay tuned for announcements regarding the rescheduled date of the concert. Thank you.

The Flower of Peace

Opus 7 welcomes the holiday season with a stunning program of choral music for Advent and Christmas. Celebrate the Joy and Mystery of the season and enjoy moments of quiet reflection and soaring grandeur—all shimmering in the heavenly acoustics of St. James Cathedral. This program includes Pierre Villette’s Hymne á la Vierge, Ola Gjeilo’s Serenity, and a rich selection of music by Pacific Northwest composers, including Morten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium,  Jessica French’s Fix Your Eyes Upon the Star, and John Muehleisen’s Invocation. As we close out this year, may the beauty of these choral works bring you a sense of peace and hope. 

Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble 
Loren W. Pontén, founder & artistic director 
Cecilia Archuleta, violin 

Preferred Seating: $40 in advance 
General Seating: $25 in advance, $30 at the door 
Seniors: $20 in advance, $24 at the door 
Students: Pay as able at the door with student ID 

Please visit our social media platforms for more information. Facebook page: Opus7Seattle Instagram Page: @opus7vocalensemble

POSTPONED – There is Sweet Music

Dear Opus 7 Friends,
We regret to announce that due to positive Covid-19 cases, our concert on Saturday October 14th, There is Sweet Music, will be postponed until mid-January. The health and safety of our audience members, volunteers, singers, and guest performers remains our number one priority and is what has led us to the decision of postponement.

For all who have purchased a ticket, please either keep your ticket and use it for our rescheduled concert date, consider the ticket price as a donation to our choral organization, or contact Opus 7 Board Member, Bridget Malpocker, at bridget.malpocker@opus7.org for instructions on how you can return your ticket for a refund.

Please stay tuned for announcements regarding the rescheduled date of the concert. Thank you.

Please visit our Facebook page: Opus7Seattle for more information.

Pilgrim Beatitudes

Pilgrim Beatitudes
30th Anniversary Season Year of Celebration Concert Finale

Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble
Loren W. Pontén, founder & artistic director
Zachary Finkelstein, tenor
Zachary Lenox, baritone
Opus 7 Chamber Orchestra, Blayne Barnes, concertmaster
Joseph Adam, organ & piano
Mark Wilson, guitar
St. James Cathedral, Seattle
Saturday, May 13, 2023, 8:00 pm

FREE PARKING in Cabrini Tower (corner of Marion & Boren, entrance off of Marion Street). Parking garage will close at 10:30 p.m.

6:45 pm: Pre-concert talk on the world-premiere cantata Pilgrim Beatitudes with Opus 7’s Composer-in-Residence John Muehleisen and Librettist Euan Tait will be on the second floor of Cathedral Place, 803 Terry Avenue.

DOORS for the concert open at 7:30 p.m.

RECEPTION following the concert!

Since its inception, Opus 7’s name has been synonymous with musical artistry, technical ambition, and the elevation of the unheard story. Culminating thirty years of historic choral innovation, this final concert of the 30th-Anniversary Series will feature works by Felix Mendelssohn, Bern Herbolsheimer, Charles Griffin, Alf Houkom, Urmas Sisask, and our own composer-in-residence, John Muehleisen.

The main feature of our anniversary event is the world premiere of John Muehleisen’s Pilgrim Beatitudes, a major work commissioned by Opus 7 for choir, chamber orchestra, and tenor and baritone soloists. Muehleisen’s score illuminates the thought-provoking text by famed Scottish-Welsh librettist Euan Tait. We invite you to join us in exploring the journey from stranger to friend, from unknown to seen in this dramatic vivid retelling of the Beatitudes. Pilgrim Beatitudes implores the listener to remember the continuing relevance of this profound text from the Gospel of Matthew—a call to notice and care for those treated as unwanted strangers among us. Virtuosic tenor soloist Zachary Finkelstein and baritone Zachary Lenox bring to life the colorful and complex roles of the Stranger and the Pilgrim.

It is our privilege to celebrate this anniversary with you, our community who has travelled with us on this magnificent journey.
Get your tickets now – we look forward to seeing you! – – –

Preferred Seating: $50 in advance
General Seating: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
Seniors: $20 in advance, $24 at the door
Students: Pay as able at the door with student ID

Please visit our Facebook page: Opus7Seattle for more information.

“Lenox in particular has a broad, resonant baritone that is exquisitely controlled throughout his entire range.”—The Boston Musical Intelligencer

“Finkelstein immediately displayed his golden tone and poetically lyrical phrasing during his opening, and calmly delivered Comfort ye, my People before bursting into Ev’ry Valley, in which he unleashed his vocal pyrotechnics.”—Winnipeg Free Press

“Superb!…brilliant…outstanding in every way…What a joy for me to hear such insightful and artistic performances of my work.”—Morten Lauridsen describing Opus 7’s performance at this year’s October 2019 Seattle Sings festival

“[Opus 7] one of the premier choirs in the Seattle area…sang with a pure tone, almost no vibrato and totally accurate pitch, which created very clear harmonies and colors…absolutely together, the choir gave each work the emotional expression which gave it life, the dynamics and phrasing always beautifully shaped.”—Philippa Kiraly, The SunBreak, Feb. 20, 2018

“Opus 7, one of the most esteemed musical groups anywhere”—R.M. Campbell, The Gathering Note

Show Us Your Mercy

Opus 7 presents a powerful collection of choral music for the Lenten season expressing mercy and hope. Contemplate the solemnity of the season at Seattle’s most iconic sacred space with lush romantic works by Mendelssohn, Rheinberger, Georg Schumann, Pizzetti, Szymanowski and Villette; the crystalline, plaintive melodies of Henry Purcell; and American composers William Albright, Gwyneth Walker, and Seattle’s Peter Hallock. The central work is Krzysztof Penderecki’s Agnus Dei. The Agnus dei, dedicated to Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, was written in 1981 as part of his Polish Requiem. The Polish Requiem began as a commission from the trade union Solidarity to memorialize those killed in anti-government protests.

Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble
Loren W. Pontén, founder & artistic director
Joseph Adam, St. James Cathedral Director of Music and Cathedral Organist
Preferred Seating: $40 in advance
General Seating: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
Seniors: $20 in advance, $24 at the door
Students: Pay as able at the door with student ID

Please visit our Facebook page: Opus7Seattle for more information.

Note regarding the covid protocol:

Proof of vaccination is no longer required for Opus 7 events. The CDC and King County Public Health continue to strongly recommend you wear a mask at large indoor events. While not required, we encourage all concert attendees to wear masks while community spread continues. We ask that all audience members be respectful of each other’s choices. This policy is subject to change following local health and CDC guidelines.

Of a Rose

Opus 7 is delighted to present our second concert of our 30th-anniversary Year of Celebration – music for Advent and Christmas with harp, handbells, choir & soloists – December 10th at St. James Cathedral!
Celebrate the Joy and Mystery of the season at Seattle’s most iconic sacred space.
MAGNIFICAT – a sparkling work for soprano soloist, solo treble trio, and mixed choir by Belgian composer Rudi Tas
HYMN TO THE THEOTOKOS – world premiere of this Orthodox hymn setting by Los Angeles-based composer Michael Paraskevas
Music for harp and choir, including “The First Miracle” from This Night by John Muehleisen and two works for choir and harp by Bern Herbolsheimer.
More Advent and Christmas music by Herbert Howells, Morton Lauridsen, John Tavener, Steven Martland, and by Zoltán Kodály.
Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble
Loren Pontén, founder & artistic director
Clarice Alfonso, soprano
Alison Austin, harp

Preferred Seating: $40 in advance
General Seating: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
Seniors: $20 in advance, $24 at the door
Students: Pay as able at the door with student ID

Please visit our Facebook page: Opus7Seattle for more information.

Note regarding the covid protocol:

Proof of vaccination is no longer required for Opus 7 events. The CDC and King County Public Health continue to strongly recommend you wear a mask at large indoor events. While not required, we encourage all concert attendees to wear masks while community spread continues. We ask that all audience members be respectful of each other’s choices. This policy is subject to change following local health and CDC guidelines.

Music Wakes from Silence

Please join us at the opening concert of our 30th-anniversary Year of Celebration for a performance of audience and choir member favorites from the last 30 years, and a musical tribute to the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

Some highlights include Jonathan Doves “Ring Out, Wild Bells”; Ravels “Trois Chansons”; two selections from Irving Fines “The Choral New Yorker”; one of Szymanowskis “Six Kurpian Songs”; other selections by Saint-Saëns, J.A.C. Redford, and Jester Hairston; and “Eat Your Vegetables Set II” by Opus 7’s Composer-in-Residence John Muehleisen for choir, trumpet, and percussion.

In honor of Queen Elizabeth II, well perform selections from “A Garland for the Queen”, a collection of works by British composers written for Elizabeths 1953 coronation, including Michael Tippetts “Dance, Clarion Air”, Ralph Vaughan Williams “Silence and Music”, and Gerald Finzis “White Flowering Days”. William Harriss “Bring Us, O Lord God”, which was sung at the Service of Remembrance on Sept. 9th of this year, will also be on the program.

Get your tickets now and come share in our musical celebration. We look forward to seeing you!

Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble
Loren W. Pontén, founder & artistic director
Melanie Gunn, percussion
Roger Nelson, piano
Sarah Viens, trumpet

Please visit www.opus7.org and our Facebook page: Opus7Seattle for more information.

Preferred Seating: $40 in advance; General Seating: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
Seniors: $20 in advance, $24 at the door
Students: Pay as able at the door with student ID

Note regarding the covid protocol:

Proof of vaccination is no longer required for Opus 7 events. The CDC and King County Public Health continue to strongly recommend you wear a mask at large indoor events. While not required, we encourage all concert attendees to wear masks while community spread continues. We ask that all audience members be respectful of each other’s choices. This policy is subject to change following local health and CDC guidelines.

All Northwest

Please join Opus 7 as we celebrate the musical contributions of some of our region’s most prominent choral composers. This popular bi-annual event features choral works by Northwest composers, including Karen P. Thomas, Bern Herbolsheimer, Reginald Unterseher, Gwyneth Walker, Stacey Philipps, Joan Szymko, Eric Barnum, Christine Szabadi, Robert Scandrett, Kevin Siegfried, and Opus 7’s Composer-in-Residence John Muehleisen. Opus 7 will also perform the winning compositions from our Robert Scandrett Memorial Student Composer Competition.

This concert marks the beginning of our 30th Anniversary Year of Celebration!

Please visit our Facebook page: Opus7Seattle for more information.
Preferred Seating: $40 in advance; General Seating: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
Seniors: $20 in advance, $24 at the door
Students: Pay as able at the door with student ID

NOTE REGARDING COVID-19 PROTOCOL:
Following the lead of the major arts organizations in Seattle, we will continue to require masks to be worn at all times and proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 PCR test result taken within 48 hours of the performance start time.

Please have your vaccination card or negative test result available to show an usher prior to entering the church for this Saturday night’s performance.
Thank you for your understanding!

Finding Light in Darkness

After nearly two years of hiatus due to the pandemic, Opus 7 is thrilled to present Finding Light in Darkness, a program of music featuring inspirational texts of faith, hope, and love.
Our first concert of 2022 presents a collection of extraordinary works spanning six centuries from some of the greatest European and American choral composers, setting some of the most profound and prayerful texts in the choral repertoire. Composers include Howells, Parry, Schütz, Gibbons; Welsh native Paul Mealor; and Seattle’s own Peter Hallock and John Muehleisen.
We will sing three pieces by the Anglican composer Peter Hallock, who was Director of Music and conductor of the Compline Choir at Seattle’s iconic St. Mark’s Cathedral for a span of more than 60 years. “Rachel’s Lament,” a movement from Hallock’s liturgical drama Days of Herod, narrates the grief of a mother’s loss through a dialogue between two soloists with handbell accompaniment. There is a Stream, with text by 17th-century poet John Mason, describes a heavenly Paradise. Phoenix—whose text is adapted from an ancient Christian poem—combines choir, harp, and cello to express the miraculous resurrection of the Phoenix rising from the ashes, representing Christ’s Resurrection.
Seattle native John Muehleisen, Opus 7’s critically-acclaimed Composer-in-Residence, will be represented in an encore performance of De Profundis (Out of the Depths). This work is based on the collection of Psalm texts sung by the Israelites on their journey from captivity in Babylon to the holy city of Jerusalem.
We hope you will join us for an evening of restorative and inspirational music, as we journey together to find light in darkness, all in the glorious acoustic of St. James Cathedral.

Lenten music for
choir, cello, harp, and percussion

Loren W. Pontén, director
with special guests
Naomi Kato, harp
Kevin Krentz, cello
Karen Sunmark, percussion

Works by
Schütz, Tartini, Gibbons,
Mealor, Dubra,
Sviridov, Miškinis,
Parry, Harris, Howells
Peter Hallock, John Muehleisen,
and Alice Parker

NOTE REGARDING COVID-19 PROTOCOL:
Following the lead of the major arts organizations in Seattle, St. James will continue to require masks to be worn at all times during a concert at St. James Cathedral and proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 PCR test result taken within 48 hours of the performance start time, through Tuesday, May 31, 2022.

Please have your vaccination card or negative test result available to show an usher prior to entering the Cathedral for this Saturday night’s performance.
Thank you!

All Northwest – Canceled

Please join Opus 7 as we celebrate the musical contributions of some of our region’s most prominent choral composers. This popular bi-annual event features choral works by Northwest composers, including Bern Herbolsheimer, Reginald Unterseher, Morten Lauridsen, Peter Hallock, Sean MacLean, and Opus 7’s Composer-in-Residence John Muehleisen. Opus 7 will also perform the winning compositions from this season’s Robert Scandrett Memorial Student Composer Competition.

Show Us Your Mercy – POSTPONED

This concert has been POSTPONED due to recommendations by the King County Health Department to limit the spread of COVID-19.

We will provide updates as to our plans for rescheduling and our next scheduled concert “All Northwest” on May 9th as soon as possible.

All tickets purchased for the March 7th concert can be used for the May 9th concert, or returned to us for a refund.

Read more…

Here We Come A-Caroling

This holiday program is sure to delight and bring a smile! Opus 7 performs a concert of light and fanciful settings of Christmas carols and holiday favorites. The program will include selections of Alfred Burt carols and arrangements by Sir David Willcocks, William Walton, Lajos Bárdos, Stephen Paulus, and many others. Please join us for this journey through Christmas traditions around the world.

Splendid Jewel

St. James Cathedral Resident Ensemble Opus 7 welcomes the holiday season with a stunning program of choral music for Advent and Christmas. “Splendid Jewel” includes Gerald Finzi’s glorious Magnificat for choir, soloists, and organ, featuring special guest organist Wyatt Smith; the first movement of Benjamin Britten’s Christ’s Nativity, an early work full of brilliance and virtuosic vocal writing; John Rutter’s beautiful double-choir motet, Hymn to the Creator of Light, dedicated to the memory of Herbert Howells; and music by Howells, Stephen Paulus, Steven Martland, József Karai, Frank Ferko, and Pacific Northwest composers Jessica French, Peter Hallock, and Opus 7’s own composer-in-residence, John Muehleisen.

Seattle Sings: “Welcome Home Morten Lauridsen”

Join us for our performance on Friday evening, October 11, as part of the fourth biennial Seattle Sings Choral Festival, organized by the Greater Seattle Choral Consortium. Opus 7 is one of the featured choirs honoring Northwest composer Morten Lauridsen for his many years of excellence and mentorship in the field of choral music. Read more…

Chasing the Moon

Saturday, October 26th, 2019 @ 8:00 pm
Seattle First Baptist Church
1111 Harvard Ave, Seattle
Preferred Seating: $40 in advance
General Seating: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
Seniors: $20 in advance, $24 at the door
Students: Pay as able at the door with student ID

Opus 7 begins its 28th season with a celebration of the moon and the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. In the 20th century, nations raced to conquer it, while lovers basked in its moody, silvery light. Opus 7 will be performing works by a stellar group of composers who have lent their considerable talents to compositions revolving around the moon. Read more…

Chasing the Moon

Opus 7 begins its 28th season with a celebration of the moon and the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. In the 20th century, nations raced to conquer it, while lovers basked in its moody, silvery light. Opus 7 will be performing works by a stellar group of composers who have lent their considerable talents to compositions revolving around the moon. Read more…

Family Ties

This unique and insightful concert celebrates the rich heritage of choral works by composers from the same family, including Clara and Robert Schumann (wife and husband); Fanny Hensel and Felix Mendelssohn (sister and brother); Gustav and Imogen Holst (father and daughter); Herbert and Lisa Bielawa (also father and daughter); Leopold and Wolfgang Mozart (father and son); and of course motets from the Bach family, as well as other familial combinations. The concert will also include winners of our annual Student Choral Composition Awards Program. You’re invited! Please join us after the concert for a reception in the narthex.

The King of Glory

***Notice*** Due to circumstances beyond our control, the pre-concert lecture for this Saturday’s concert has been canceled.

Opus 7 presents the Northwest premiere of the dramatic and moving Requiem (2011) for soprano and baritone soloists, choir, and string orchestra by Tigran Mansurian, Armenia’s greatest living composer. The work is “dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide” that occurred in Turkey from 1915 to 1917. The Los Angeles Times has described Mansurian’s music as “that in which deep cultural pain is quieted through an eerily calm, heart-wrenching beauty.”  Read more…

O Rising Dawn

St. James Cathedral Resident Ensemble Opus 7 welcomes the holiday season with a stunning program of choral music for Advent and Christmas. Read more…

In Search of America

With Elisabeth Ellis, piano; David Nichols, organ;
Gunnar Folsom & Rob Tucker, percussion

What does it mean to be an American?
Do you know someone who is patriotic?
Who are your American heroes?

Opus 7 explores these questions in the opening concert of our 27^th season as we celebrate the American spirit exemplified in these words from Lloyd Pfautsch’s Litany for America: “Dream of a land where all people can think as they please, or say what they think; see an America where no one is another’s master, where no one’s mind is dark with fear—to see an America at peace with the world.” Read more…

GSCC Seattle Sings! Festival

“The Greater Seattle Choral Consortium is proud to gather together 35 of our member choirs in a three-day event of public performances.”

http://seattlesings.org/festival/2017/schedule.html

All Northwest

Please join Opus 7 to celebrate the musical contributions of some of our Northwest region’s most prominent choral composers, including Opus 7’s Composer-in-Residence John Muehleisen, and Opus 7’s Student Choral Composition Awards Program winners.

The Road of Mercy

Opus 7 presents an inventive and powerful concert of choral music for the Lenten season, which includes Benjamin Britten’s great masterpiece, Cantata Misericordium for choir; soloists Eric Neuville, tenor and Charles Robert Stephens, baritone; harp; percussion; piano; and string orchestra. This dramatic retelling of the parable of the Good Samaritan compels us to show mercy to our neighbor. Read more…

Aye, Sing we now of Joy!

St. James Cathedral Resident Ensemble Opus 7 rings in the joyous seasons of Advent and Christmas with a stunning program of European and American favorites. Read more…

It’s about Time

Opus 7 sings music about TIME: hard times, good times, times of morning and evening, seasons of the year, and celebrating the time of living. Read more…

Peace in Our Time

Please join Opus 7 as we explore poetic and musical expressions of conflict, peace, and hope. The concert includes music by composers from the Civil War, WWI (performed in this concert as part of the WWI Centennial Commemoration), and WWII – focusing on war and the resulting chaos of military conflict, and honoring those heroic men and valiant women who served and sacrificed for their country. Read more…

25th-Anniversary Celebration

A musical celebration of Opus 7’s 25th Anniversary!

Commemorating the past, celebrating the present, and fostering the future of choral music in the Pacific Northwest.

To celebrate Opus 7’s remarkable musical journey, we present audience and singer favorites from different countries around the world, as well as introduce you to the works by winners of this year’s student choral composition awards program.

Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble
Loren W. Pontén, founder and artistic director
Christina Siemens, piano
Saturday, May 13, 7:30 p.m.
University Congregational Church
4515 16th Ave NE, Seattle

Opus 7’s 25th-Anniversary Season Concert Finale
• Heitor Villa-Lobos (Brazil)
• Michael Tippett (England)
• Percy Grainger (England)
• Chen Yi (China)
• Georg Schumann (Germany)
• Ildebrando Pizzetti (Italy)
• Georgy Sviridov (Russia)
• James MacMillan (Scotland)
• Pacific Northwest favorites: Bern Herbolsheimer, John Muehleisen, and Karen P. Thomas
• and student composers: James McGinley, Gonzaga University; Matthew Shreve, Central Washington University; and Steven Danielson, University of Washington

Everyone is welcome to join us at the reception immediately following the concert!

Blessed

Join St. James Cathedral Resident Ensemble Opus 7, directed by Loren Pontén, for a stunning concert of dramatic choral music for the Lenten Season by Northwest composer Bern Herbolsheimer. This performance will feature Herbolsheimer’s Stabat Mater for choir, soprano soloist, oboe and strings; his monumental Seven Last Words and the deeply moving David Mourns, both for a cappella choir; as well as Blessed for women’s choir and piano. This concert is featured in the Herbolsheimer Festival, a year-long celebration of the musical legacy of Bern Herbolsheimer.

My Spirit Rejoices

Don’t miss this concert by St. James Cathedral Resident Ensemble Opus 7 as they celebrate their 25th-Anniversary Season with some of their favorite choral music for Advent and Christmas. The concert will feature Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara’s a cappella choral masterpiece Magnificat; music by Northwest composers John Muehleisen, Bern Herbolsheimer, and Robert Scandrett; and music by Herbert Howells, Gerald Finzi, Benjamin Britten and others.

Tonight’s Concert POSTPONED

Due to extreme weather conditions that are forecast for tomorrow night, our October 15th concert is POSTPONED.

PLEASE JOIN US ON Saturday, January 21, 2017, at University Congregational Church for PEACE IN OUR TIME.

We look forward to singing this wonderful concert for you on Saturday, January 21, 2017, on the PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION weekend! Read more…

All Northwest

Join our celebration of the musical contributions of some of our region’s most prominent choral composers. This popular biannual event features choral works by Northwest composers, including Opus 7’s Composer-in-Residence John Muehleisen, and Opus 7’s Student Choral Composition Awards Program winners.

Phoenix

Join St. James Cathedral Resident Ensemble Opus 7, directed by Loren Pontén, for a stunning concert of dramatic choral music for the Lenten Season.
This critically-acclaimed group is known for its glorious sound, ardent musicality, and innovative programming of late 19^th– through 21^st-century repertoire. A featured work for this concert will be “Phoenix” by the renown Seattle composer Peter Hallock. This evocative setting for choir, cello and harp is from an ancient Christian poem which references several Psalms depicting images of restoration and rebirth. Other striking music for Lent by Mendelssohn, Homilius, Pizzetti, Koszewski and Penderecki.

Music for the Feast of Saint Nicholas

Don’t miss St. James Cathedral Resident Ensemble Opus 7’s celebration for the Feast of St. Nicholas with Benjamin Britten’s brilliantly entertaining and moving cantata, Saint Nicolas. This joyous cantata for choir, orchestra, tenor soloist, and children’s choirs will feature young singers from St. James’ own Youth Music Program (Stacey Sunde, director) and Dr. Paul Thornock, organist.

The Voice of the Rain

After a long, hot summer, the sound of a long-awaited Pacific Northwest rainfall soothes the earth and our souls. Opus 7 invites you to their first concert of the season with a stunning selection of choral music celebrating the sounding seas and the voice of the rain. Music by Eric Whitacre, John Muehleisen, Edward Elgar, Gerald Finzi, Claude Debussy, Bern Herbolsheimer, J. A. C. Redford, Eric Barnum, and others.

Greater Seattle Choral Consortium 2015 Choral Festival

Opus 7 will perform about 9:00 pm on Friday night.

As Water Ascends to a Cloud: Music by Pacific Northwest Composers

As Water Ascends to a Cloud:
Music by Pacific Northwest Composers
Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble
Loren W. Pontén, conductor
Gothic G-49285 (2013; 73’48”)

As Water Ascends to a Cloud features a plethora of compositional styles and genres by composers of the Pacific Northwest United States and Canada, masterfully recorded by Loren Pontén and the Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble. According to the CD notes, “This CD is an anthology of choral works…that represents the diverse cultural, social, and geographical influences of the region.” Many of the texts are based on excerpted poems or traditional folk tunes. Of the seventeen works included in this album, eleven are world-premiere recordings, and nearly half were composed specifically for Opus 7. The twelve composers on the disc include David Asplin, William Bergsma, Stephen Thomas Cavit, Lorri Kristin Froggét, Ron Jeffers, Bern Herbolsheimer, Alan Hovhaness, John Muehleisen, Robert Scandrett, Roupen Shakarian, and Joan Szymko.

The ensemble exhibits considerable flexibility and understanding in accommodating the diverse styles and textures encountered. Opus 7 utilizes nuanced contrast in tone between genres, from the pinpoint intonation of the centerpiece work As Water Ascends to a Cloud to the playful, tongue-in-cheek Eat Your Vegetables! and the esoteric sonorities of Ubi caritas. The use of trumpet, clarinet, and organ adds to the sonic variety of the album as well.

Opus 7 brings the highest level of artistry to an eclectic mix of contemporary compositions in this recording. Chorus America and ASCAP have both recognized Opus 7 for its “adventurous programming” and performance excellence. Further program notes on the individual works of this album can also be found through Gothic Recordings at http://www. gothic-catalog.com.

Thomas Lerew
Tucson, Arizona

Robert Scandrett Musical Memorial Concert

Please join us for a Musical Memorial Concert
in honor of
Robert Leland Scandrett

The Seattle-area music community will gather to remember a great choral artist, Bob Scandrett, who passed away suddenly on November 30, 2014. He was 88 years old.

It was Bob’s wish to have one of his favorite pieces, Gabriel Faure’s Requiem, sung at his memorial. The performance will be with chamber orchestra, organ, and around 100 singers from many of the choral organizations where Bob conducted or sang – including Opus 7, the University Congregational Church Choir, Seattle Symphony Chorale, Midsummer Musical Retreat and Western Washington University. Read more…

Dream come true

Dear Opus 7,

I’m still recovering from Saturday night.  You made a dream come true for me, and, I imagine, all the other composers on the program as well!

Your performance was so luminous, reverent, and warm. Read more…

Peter Hallock memorial celebration

Let My Prayer Arise

From the great Romantic choral works of Sergei Rachmaninoff to contemporary pieces by Baltic composers Arvo Part, Peteris Vasks and Arturs Maskats, we celebrate a rich choral tradition of prayerful and inspirational music that unites people through faith.

Read more…

Shining Rose of Heaven

Opus 7’s annual Holiday concert of works for the Advent and Christmas season will focus on music and text by women composers and poets, including composers Carol Barnett, Abbie Betinis, Alice Parker, and Gwyneth Walker, as well as Seattle’s own Melinda Bargreen and Karen P. Thomas. Works composed by Barnum, Ferko, MacMillan, Mathias, Mawby, Paulus, Perera, and Georg Schumann will also be featured. In keeping with the theme, many of the works focus on the Virgin Mary. Sacred poetry and chant by the revered Hildegard von Bingen will be featured throughout the concert.

Festival of St. James Choirs

Opus 7 will be performing as part of a festival concert with the St. James Schola, Seattle Pro Musica and the Medieval Women’s choir. Read more…

All Northwest

Opening Opus 7’s 23rd-Annual Season, “All Northwest” features a spectacular collection of choral music by Northwest composers with special guests:
Christina Siemens, piano; Cherilyn Reimers, violin; David Lepse, organ

7:25 pm pre-concert panel discussion with composers

Read more…

Opus 7 delivered a powerful message of peace

MUSIC REVIEW WHEN: Saturday night WHERE: St. James Cathedral Opus 7′s performance at St. James Cathedral Saturday night was in perfect harmony with the visit of the Dalai Lama. Thoughtfully designed and titled “Blessed Are the Peacemakers,” the program drew on works that explored aspects of peace and reconciliation. Cumulatively through the performance, they built a powerful, moving message. Read more…

Chorus America

Beautiful Minds

This concert will feature works by composers and poets who created works of magnificent beauty in the midst of their own personal struggles with mental illness. Their determination to persevere in their artistic endeavors is an example and an encouragement to all who face personal afflictions, whether physical or mental. Read more…

Grant Us Peace: Lenten Music for Choir and Chamber Orchestra

From conflict to resolution, from dissonance to consonance, Opus 7 takes works from 17th and 18th-century Italy and juxtaposes them with music written in the last 20 years. Although 300 years separate the early repertoire from the later works, the compositions show striking similarities. Antonio Caldara’s stirring Stabat Mater illustrates the startling dissonance of the late Italian Baroque paired with the stark harmonies and modern, soulful lyricism of John Muehleisen’s work of the same name. Also featured are a late Monteverdi madrigal with sacred text, Stabat Virgo Maria, and the world premiere of Stephen Cavit’s arrangement of Amazing Grace for choir, strings, trombones, piano and soloists. The concert concludes with Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks’ majestic Dona nobis pacem for choir and orchestra.

A Boy Was Born

Opus 7’s December concert celebrates the anticipation of the arrival of the Christ Child as a light in our dark world. Read more…

If Music Be the Food of Love

I Sing of a Maiden

Grant Us Peace

St. James Cathedral resident ensemble Opus 7 invites you to join them and special guests – percussionist Karen Sunmark and St. James Associate Organist Clint Kraus – for a concert of deeply moving works for the Lenten season that center around the theme of our desire for peace in the midst of travail and the hope that comes from the promise of peace and resolution. Read more…

All Northwest

Spring Folly

Link to map and directions  (Trinity Parish web site)

Celebrating Seattle’s choral music community

…Opus 7 dazzled audiences this season with neglected music by Martinu and Villa Lobos…

Opus 7 celebrates Christmas at St. James

Opus 7, one of the most esteemed musical groups anywhere, has little interest in musical trinkets of the season, at least this year. At its annual Christmas concert Sunday night at St James Cathedral, the vocal ensemble looked to Mendelssohn as well as Einojuhani Rautavaara and Georg Schumann instead. All proved to be fascinating. Read more…

Mendelssohn, Purcell and Handel

Opus 7’s enticing program of Mendelssohn, Purcell and Handel, while planned months ago, was the perfect antidote to today’s unremittingly bad news, what you might call comfort food for the mind. Read more…

City A Go Go Minis: Opus 7

Founded in 1992, Opus 7 is a professional resident vocal ensemble at St. James Cathedral that focuses on music from Northwest composers. Click to view this short video:  Read more…

Let Us Sing Sweet Songs

I’ve encountered the very appealing music of Seattle-based Bern Herbolsheimer before in American collections; how delightful to now have an entire album devoted to him. He writes in many forms and genres, but has a particular soft spot for vocal music. Having lived, worked, and played in the Pacific Northwest for some years, I immediately picked up on the mystical aura of the region’s wondrous natural beauty suffusing his work Read more…

CD3 thank you

Dear all-involved-with-CD3,

I want to thank you all and I don’t know where to start or finish.  To begin with, I am daily overwhelmed, as I listen to CD3, at the beauty and excellence of the performances.  Thank you. Read more…

From Captivity to the Holy City

I have just received from you the CD “From Captivity to the Holy City.” Opus 7’s program is musically exciting, interestingly riveting and totally satisfying. Thank you!

From Captivity to the Holy City

The title refers to music for the progression from Ash Wednesday to Pentecost, though many of the selections have wider possible use. For example, the marvelous (albeit challenging) Chichester Mass of William Albright that opens the disc could be used at almost any time. Read more…

Christopher DeLaurenti

R. M. Campbell, P-I

From Captivity to the Holy City

“This is very adventurous” is usually the critic’s way of saying that he doesn’t think a particular recording has much chance of selling, but in this case the words are intended as a strong recommendation. It is certainly a courageous choice of music, and provides the wide and varied program you would welcome in concert performances. Read more…

Climbing into Loft Recordings

O Rising Dawn

[Opus 7] makes a difference by concentrating on a cappella choral music of the last two centuries in its professional concert programs. The disc runs the gamut from Kodály’s Veni, veni Emmanuel and Britten’s Boy was Born (only the opening section) to a local composer, John Muehleisen. Read more…

The Stranger Guide to Seattle

The ensemble-in-residence for the imposingly towered St. James Cathedral offers a fine reminder that whatever excesses Christians of all stripes have committed in the name of God, they’ve also made possible some lovely music. Read more…

1 April 2000 “All Northwest”

Opus 7’s Northwest roots blossom into pure harmony

Imagine an entire choral concert of music written recently in the Northwest, with only a couple written before 1980. Then imagine a large, interested audience to hear it. Unusual, you’ll agree. Read more…

O Rising Dawn

Recorded in St. James Cathedral, this excellent holiday disc includes artful, high quality arrangements and originals by Distler, Kodály, Howells, Ives, Britten, Finzi and several others, with Loren Pontén leading the very fine and musical chorus Opus 7. Of particular interest here is John Muehleisen’s The Great ‘O’ Antiphons, imaginatively harmonized and beautifully realized in these performances.

O Rising Dawn

The excellent Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble, whose recordings on the Loft label demonstrate their smooth blend and musicianship under the direction of Loren Pontén.

Preview – The Full Moon Was Rising

Opus 7 — Seattle’s finest vocal ensemble in a program of songs whose texts are inspired by “the beauty and mystery of the night.” Read more…

6 December 1998 “A Celebration for the Feast of St. Nicolas”

Difficult Britten pieces flow together with help from many sources

More than any composer of this century, Benjamin Britten mixed his performing groups and made dramatic use of sacred space.

As he intended, his cantata “Saint Nicolas” was performed Sunday night by a professional choir and soloist, children’s choir, child soloists, church choir and professional musicians, all under the baton of Loren Pontén and using the spatial resources of St. James Cathedral. Read more…

28 March 1998 “Benedictio”

Music Review

Opus 7’s Lenten concert a rich one

Opus 7, the suburb a cappella vocal ensemble in residence at St. James Cathedral, often ties its programs to significant events in the Christian calendar.

The program at St. James . . . ranged all over the Western universe, with Ave Marias, for instance, by Bruckner, Stravinsky, Verdi and Holst. Read more…

15 December 1996 “The Great ‘O’ Antiphons”

Music Review

St. James’ Opus 7 rings crisp and clear with ‘Antiphons’

On Sunday night, Opus 7 widened its horizons and moved across eight centuries. The illuminating concert focused on various settings of the seven “Great ‘O’ Antiphons,” Gregorian chants meant to be sung during Advent. Read more…

April 17, 1996 “Early Music in Seattle and How it Grew”

What Seattle’s early music community also has, and has always had, is a collaborative attitude in which everyone helps each other. Today, singers such as tenor David Stutz, soprano Lisa Cardwell Pontén, baritone Vernon Nicodemus, and many others can be heard in some or all of such choral groups as Loren Pontén’s Opus 7 …

March 29, 1996 “From Captivity to the Holy City”

Music Review

Titled ‘From Captivity to the Holy City,’ the program was devoted to words of those going, or returning, literally or figuratively, to Jerusalem and thus home to God’s abode. Some words came from the Psalms, some from such 17^th-century poets as Paul Flemming and John Donne – words of praise, distress, faith, sorrow, prayer, anxiety, agony. Together, they were a powerful collection. Read more…

December 16, 1995 “Noel through the Ages”

Seattle Weekly Music Pick

In a distinctly different Christmas concert, the 14 professional singers of Opus 7 under Loren Pontén perform a mostly 20th-century program of unaccompanied music by Hugo Distler, mystical composer John Tavener, and Northwest composer Robert Scandrett, among others. Read more…