November 18 & December 3
Gloria

 
Winter Concert featuring John Rutter's Gloria and other winter favorites performed together with Minneapolis Brass Ensemble and LadyBand

Mount Calvary Lutheran Church
3930 Rahn Rd, Eagan, MN 55122
Saturday, November 18, 2023, 4:00 PM

Community of the Cross Lutheran Church
10701 Bloomington Ferry Rd, Bloomington, MN 55438
Sunday, December 3, 2023, 2:00 PM

Call: (612) 386-4636 or send an e-mail to tickets@southmetrochorale.org
Tickets will be available at the door.

Who We Are

SMC is a community choir serving the south suburban communities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The chorale provides a broad spectrum of experiences and repertoire, including accompanied and a cappella music of the great masters, American folk music and African American spirituals. Jazz, Broadway, and popular arrangements are also presented at our annual "Cabaret" fundraiser.

Mission

At South Metro Chorale, our mission is to achieve excellence in the performance of classical and contemporary choral music for our community. We accomplish this through outreach programs and concerts that provide entertaining and enriching experiences to both audiences and chorus members.

SMC 2023-2024 Concert Season

November 18 & December 3 Gloria

Winter Concert featuring John Rutter's Gloria and other winter favorites performed together with Minneapolis Brass Ensemble and LadyBand

Mount Calvary Lutheran Church
3930 Rahn Rd, Eagan, MN 55122
Saturday, November 18, 2023, 4 p.m.

Community of the Cross Lutheran Church
10701 Bloomington Ferry Rd, Bloomington, MN 55438
Sunday, December 3, 2023, 2 p.m.

Call: (612) 386-4636 or send an e-mail to tickets@southmetrochorale.org
Tickets will be available at the door.

Become a community partner with a contribution!

$600 and above Benefactor Full-page ad (4.9 x 7.6")
$300 - $599 Sponsor Half-page ad (4.9 x 3.8")
$150 - $299 Patron Quarter-page ad (4.9 x 1.9")
$60 - $149 Donor
Program Acknowledgement
$30 - $59 Friend of SMC Program Acknowledgement

The South Metro Chorale is a certified non-profit organization. All donations are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible.

You can donate online (using the donation link on the left) or by check. Checks may be made payable to South Metro Chorale and sent to: c/o SMC Treasurer, 15315 Wilderness Ridge Rd NW, Prior Lake, MN 55372.

If you are interested in this partnership, or if you love to sing and have any questions about the choir, please email us at admin@southmetrochorale.org.

Auditions

SMC Choir

Dear Singers,

Thank you for your interest in South Metro Chorale. Auditions can be arranged by contacting director Christiana Howell at southmetrochorale@gmail.com.

Our rehearsals are held on Tuesdays from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. at Glendale United Methodist Church in Savage.

Our typical season consists of a series of holiday concerts in December and a themed concert the beginning of May. We also have two "Cabaret" concerts the first weekend in March.

SMC is a community choir serving the south suburban communities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The chorale provides a broad spectrum of experiences and repertoire, including accompanied and a cappella music of the great masters, American folk music and African American spirituals. Jazz, Broadway, and popular arrangements are also presented at our annual "Cabaret" fundraiser.

Artistic Staff

Christiana Howell

Christiana Howell - Artistic Director

Christiana Howell is a conductor and singer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is currently working towards a Doctorate in Choral Conducting at the University of Minnesota, and co-conducts the Campus Singers and Women's Chorus. She has directed school, university and community choirs in Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Cambridge (UK), and Brighton (UK). She holds degrees from Slippery Rock University (PA), Shenandoah University (VA), and the University of Cambridge (UK). Most recently, she was the Upper School Choral Director at the Blake School in Minneapolis. An active singer, she currently sings with the Minnesota Renaissance Choir and St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral Choir. Christiana also directs the Vista Lutheran Church choir in St. Louis Park. In her spare time, she enjoys biking, running, skiing, (indoor) rock climbing, and investigating the many outstanding breweries in the Twin Cities.

Dan Wanamaker

Dan Wanamaker - Assistant Director/Accompanist

Dan Wanamaker is a Minneapolis-based pianist and singer. He is very excited to work with the South Metro Chorale! In 2022 he graduated from Minnesota State University-Mankato with a Master's in Piano Performance. He served as Graduate Assistant at MSU, where he accompanied for the Concert Choir and voice studios. Prior to 2020, Dan accompanied for the Menomonie Singers and the Apollo Male Chorus. He is a choir section leader at St Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis. He has sung with the choir of St Clement's Episcopal Church in St Paul and the Cathedral of St Paul. Other choral engagements include the Minnesota Renaissance Choir, Aliro Voices, the Summer Singers, and Apollo Master Chorale. Dan enjoys learning new languages, strong air conditioning, and composing fugues.

Former Artistic Directors:

Mark Bilyeu Fall 2018 - Spring 2022
Richard Carrick Fall 2015 - Spring 2018
Russell Adrian Fall 2012 - Spring 2015
Tim Malone Spring 2011 - Spring 2012
Loren Squires

Loren Squires - Founding Director Emeritus

Loren retired from active directing in December 2010 after leading SMC for 13 years. Loren received his B.M.E. from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, and his M.M.E. at MacPhail College of Music. He taught public school music education for 39 years, the last 35 at Burnsville High School. He was formerly Assistant Director of the Bach Society Chorus and a member of the Minnesota Chorale. Loren has also directed choirs at five area churches and was a professor of music at North Central University.

 

Cabaret Impressions

Thank you to all who attended our 2019 Cabaret: Movie Magic
2019 Cabaret - Photos from the Dress Rehearsal

Cabaret Performance Picture
Cabaret Performance Picture
Cabaret Performance Picture
Cabaret Performance Picture
Cabaret Performance Picture
Cabaret Performance Picture
Cabaret Performance Picture
Cabaret Performance Picture
Cabaret Performance Picture

South Metro Chorale Tours

Earth Song: Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, Ireland

2015 - SMC in Ireland

South Metro Chorale toured Ireland August 6-14. We flew to Dublin, immediately departing on the bus to visit the Rock of Cashel and the Jameson Distillery before settling in our hotel in Cork. In the next days we visited the Blarney Castle where we all kissed the famous Blarney Stone, Killarney and the Ring of Kerry, the cliffs of Moher, the Burren, Galway, Connemara, and back to Dublin. The Guiness Brewery tour in Dublin was great. We all enjoyed live Irish music in pubs in every town we visited and had some great food: Irish stew, seafood chowder, soups served with sweet brown bread, fish and seafood - wonderful! We performed in some lovely venues, including St. Multose in Kinsale, St. Mary's in Killarney, the Gothic Church on the grounds of Kylemore Abbey in the Connemara countryside, St. Columba in Ennis, and our final performance in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin.

Croatia 2010

August 2010: SMC in Dubrovnik, Croatia

South Metro Chorale toured Croatia and Austria October 8-18. We flew to Dubrovnik, touring the historic walled city on the sea, and performing at St. Blaise Church. After the concert we experienced our first of many instances of Croation hospitality, with a concert guest inviting our entire group out to a local restaurant. Our next stop was Split, where we explored Diocletian's Palace and sang at St. Catherine's Dominican Church. We traveled up the coast to our last stop in Croatia (Rijeka) where we toured Trsat Castle and sang at St. Vitus Cathedral. Our next stop was Graz, Austria, where we sang a joint concert with the "Grazer Schubertbund" and were hosted by choir families. We ended the tour in Eberschwang, Austria, where we stayed with families from the "Chorgemeinschaft Eberschwang" and performed at St. Michael's Church.

Prague 2005

2005: Poland, The Czech Republic and Austria

South Metro Chorale toured Poland, The Czech Republic and Austria. The tour started with an appearance at Wadovice at the Cathedral where Pope John Paul II served as an altar boy and later was ordained a Priest. We sang at the Mass celebrating that ordination and a concert after. The choir sang at St Katarina Church in Krakow the following evening. The choir traveled to Prague where they sang a concert at St Nicholas Cathedral in St Wensaslas Square and the next day a joint concert with the Netherlands choir, "Sjanton" and the Prague choir "Hlahol". The choir then traveled to the beautiful town of Cesky Krumlov for an evening concert. The choir ended their tour with two days of home stays in Eberschwang, Austria where we had a very special concert, Mass on Sunday, lots food and a great end of tour party.

Austria 2003

2003: SMC in Austria, Italy and Slovenia

South Metro Chorale toured Austria, Slovenia and Italy and competed in the "International Choral Festival" in Gorizia, Italy.

Walse 2000

2000: Wales, England, Germany and Austria

South Metro Chorale toured Wales, England, Germany, and Austria and participated in the "International Eisteddfod" in Llangollen, Wales.

Past Performances

2023-2024 Winter Concert

2023-2024 Winter Concert

2022-2023 Winter Concert

2022-2023 Winter Concert

2022-2023 Cabaret Concert

2022-2023 Cabaret Concert

2022-2023 Spring Concert

2022-2023 Spring Concert

2021-2022 Winter Concert

2021-2022 Winter Concert

2021-2022 Spring Concert

2021-2022 Spring Concert

2019-2020 Winter Concert

2019-2020 Winter Concert

2019-2020 Spring Concert

2019-2020 Spring Concert

2018-2019 Winter Concert

2018-2019 Winter Concert

2018-2019 Spring Concert

2018-2019 Spring Concert

2018-2019 Cabaret Concert

2018-2019 Cabaret Concert

2018-2019 20<sup>th</sup> Anniversary Concert

2018-2019 20th Anniversary Concert

2017-2018 Winter Concert

2017-2018 Winter Concert

2017-2018 Spring Concert

2017-2018 Spring Concert

2017-2018 Cabaret Concert

2017-2018 Cabaret Concert

2016-2017 Winter Concert

2016-2017 Winter Concert

2016-2017 Spring Concert

2016-2017 Spring Concert

2016-2017 Cabaret Concert

2016-2017 Cabaret Concert

2015-2016 Winter Concert

2015-2016 Winter Concert

2015-2016 Spring Concert

2015-2016 Spring Concert

2015-2016 Cabaret Concert

2015-2016 Cabaret Concert

2014-2015 Winter Concert

2014-2015 Winter Concert

2014-2015 Spring Concert

2014-2015 Spring Concert

2014-2015 Cabaret Concert

2014-2015 Cabaret Concert

2013-2014 Winter Concert

2013-2014 Winter Concert

2013-2014 Spring Concert

2013-2014 Spring Concert

2013-2014 Cabaret Concert

2013-2014 Cabaret Concert

2012_2013 Winter Concert

2012_2013 Winter Concert

2012_2013 Cabaret Concert

2012_2013 Cabaret Concert

2012-2013 Spring Concert

2012-2013 Spring Concert

2011_2012 Winter Concert

2011_2012 Winter Concert

2011_2012 Spring Concert

2011_2012 Spring Concert

2010_2011 Winter Concert

2010_2011 Winter Concert

2010_2011 Spring Concert

2010_2011 Spring Concert

2009_2010 Spring Concert

2009_2010 Spring Concert