SEASON 14
TRESHOLDS
Welcome to Season 14, a year devoted to Thresholds—those moments where we stand poised between what has been and what is yet to come. This season, we explore the beauty, tension, and promise of life’s in-between spaces: the quiet before the first step, the horizon where sea meets sky, the seasons of return and renewal.
We begin with Light from Within, where the spark of transformation grows into shared brilliance. Works by Isaac Lovdahl, Mari Esabel Valverde, Leah Tracy, Dylan Trần, and Carlos Cordero trace the arc from stillness into radiance, illuminating the inner awakenings that move us toward connection and possibility.
In Between Worlds, we drift into the liminal places where dreams, tides, and horizons meet. Music by Christopher Jessup, John William Griffith II, Shane Scott Cook, John Paul Rudoi, and Ēriks Ešenvalds invites us to linger at the water’s edge, in the hush between day and night, listening for what rises from the depths.
Our third program, Intimate Voices, returns after a popular debut last season where we shift the focus inward. Performed by a smaller roster of just a dozen Choral Artists, this performance brings you into close conversation with the music—revealing nuance, vulnerability, and the powerful connections only possible in an intimate setting.
In Memory/Renewal, we honor the thresholds of time and season, and the ways what is planted continues to shape us. Music by Dale Trumbore, Tracy Wong, Ayanna Woods, Michael Gilbertson, Sarah Quartel, Jordan Smith Reynolds, and Andrew Bonacci celebrates resilience, community, and the beauty of cycles that carry us forward.
We close the season with PREMIERE|Project Festival 2026, our weeklong workshop-commission experience for a select group of composers. This culminating performance offers all world premieres—a rare chance to witness brand new works come to life and connect with the composers who created them.
Season 14 is an invitation to cross together into what’s next. Whether it’s a personal awakening, a meeting of worlds, or a return to what endures, these thresholds are where we grow, reflect, and imagine.
You are the reason we sing. We look forward to crossing these thresholds with you.
Brandon Elliott, Artistic Director
Sun, Nov 15St. Mark Presbyterian ChurchOur first experience in Season 15 reimagines tradition, tracing the line between where Choral Arts Initiative began and where we're headed, opening with CAI’s first ever commission, “I Am Music” by Dale Trumbore. This program honors where we've been while reaching toward what's next.
Sun, Feb 28St. Mark Presbyterian ChurchSketches invites you into a program of artistic exploration and experimentation. Featuring West Coast and World Premieres, this program reimagines the choral art form through works by Jessie Rivest, Carmen Braden, Dale Trumbore, and more.
Sun, Apr 11St. Mark Presbyterian ChurchIntimate Voices returns for its third offering: an evening of solo and chamber repertoire performed by a small roster of Choral Artists. This experience centers deeply personal expression. Full repertoire to be announced later this season.
Sun, May 16St. Mark Presbyterian ChurchUnwritten imagines the futures still waiting to be authored, anchored by the commissioned World Premiere of Derrick Skye's 30-minute work for chorus, electric, and bass guitar, “we are woven.”
Fri, Jun 25Zhang Hall, Concordia University, IrvinePREMIERE|Project Festival 2027 closes Season 15 by placing the future of choral music directly into the hands of the composers and conductors who will shape it. Composers and conductors to be announced later in the season.