Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble

10/13/2026

Guest Artist Spotlight!!

A passionate advocate for the arts, cellist Pam Chaddon performs regularly with early music ensemble Parish House Baroque and with other regional ensembles. She currently oversees finance and HR for the Visual and Performing Arts Department at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) and is an Ethics Fellow for the 2026–2027 UCCS Ethics Initiative. She has developed multiple cross-disciplinary projects in the Pikes Peak region, including Interrupted: Suppressed Composers of the Holocaust and Enough: Voices of Intimate Partner Violence. As an on-air host for Classical KCME 88.7 FM, she curates and hosts Encountering Mozart, A Journey through the Baroque, the chamber music program Music of Friends, and Women of Note. Her work as a performer, curator, and advocate is focused on bringing greater visibility to underperformed and historically marginalized composers.

Pam joins us for Voices of a New World, This Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

10/13/2026

Guest Artist Spotlight!!

At the tender age of 16, Russ Callison sold a pig to buy his first guitar. Recent theater performances include Grease, Mamma Mia! and Legally Blonde (Theatre Aspen), TINA (Buell Theater), & Beautiful (Arvada Center). Chamber performances with Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, soloist at San Diego’s soundON Festival, ensemble-in-residence at Zodiac Festival w/duo Solazur, a Scotland tour w/duo Derelict Hands, and gamelan performances with Gamelan Tunas Mekar at the Los Angeles Gamelan Festival and Bali Arts Festival (PKB). Upcoming Performances include featured composer for Witches & Science’s production of Spotlight (10.22.2026), Stardew Valley: Symphony of Seasons at Red Rocks (10.25.2026), and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Arvada Center (Nov ’26 through Jan ’27). As an educator, Russ teaches as adjunct faculty for MSU Denver, and founded nonprofit 501(c)3 SoundScholars in 2024 to provide guitar education to underserved schools. More at russcallisonguitar.com.

Russ joins us for Voices of a New World, This Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

10/13/2026

Guest Artist Spotlight!!

Ben Johnson is an active performer and teacher, Mr. Johnson currently serves as the Senior Lecturer at Colorado State University in Pueblo. There, his duties include head of the Guitar department, Professor of Music Theory, Music History, and advisor to all Music performance majors and Music minors. As an ambassador of the guitar Mr. Johnson is dedicated to performing works for the guitar from all eras of music in many venues, conventional and unconventional.

Ben joins us for Voices of a New World, This Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

10/12/2026

Guest Artist Spotlight!!

Laura Husbands is Artistic Director of the Denver Guitar Festival and Competition. An alumna of Chetham’s School of Music, she earned first-class honors from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and an Artist Diploma and Master’s from the Lamont School of Music. A prize-winner in 11 international competitions, Laura has performed across Europe and the US, appearing as a soloist with the Colorado Symphony and Glasgow Chamber Orchestra. In 2024, she premiered and recorded Ricardo Iznaola’s Los Caprichos de Alany for Mel Bay. Laura serves on the guitar faculty at the University of Denver, and performs internationally with her husband in the Sakura Guitar Duo.

Laura joins us for Voices of a New World, This Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

10/12/2026

Guest Artist Spotlight!!

Colin McAllister pursues an active career as both a guitarist and conductor, with a particular emphasis on repertoire from the late-20th and 21st centuries. His performances have been hailed as ‘sparkling...delivered superbly’ (San Francisco Chronicle), ‘ravishing’ (San Diego Union Tribune) and ‘an amazing tour de force’ (San Diego Story), For over a quarter century, he has been a member of the ensemble NOISE, and is a co-founder of the soundON Festival, held annually since 2007 in La Jolla, California. His concert appearances include the Ojai Music Festival, Monday Evening Concerts, New Music Miami, Colorado College Summer Music Festival, San Francisco sfSound, Darmstadt International Music Festival, Festival Hispanoamericano de Guitarra, Dallas Festival of Modern Music, and the Foro Internacional de Música Mexico City. Colin serves as Director of Humanities and an Associate Professor in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. More at: www.colinmcallister.com

Colin joins us for Voices of a New World, This Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

10/12/2026

Today is Indigenous Peoples Day, so in preparation for Voices of a New World this Friday, take a moment to learn more about The Dawn's Early Light by Kile Smith with texts from Paiute Author Sarah Winnemucca. Hear more about this fantastic piece, as well as the story behind his setting of the Star Spangled Banner.

Join us this Friday, October 16th at 7:30 PM at Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church!

Tickets and Information available at CVAE.org

10/12/2026

Today is Indigenous People’s day, and we wanted to honor Sarah Winnemucca, a Northern Paiute writer, activist, lecturer, teacher, and school organizer. Her Northern Paiute name was Thocmentony, which translates as Shell Flower.

Born in 1844 to an influential Northern Paiute family focused on the pursuit of friendly relations with white settlers, Sarah’s entire life was devoted to the freedom and preservation of her people.

In 1883, Sarah published her book Life Among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims. Considered the first known autobiography by a Native American woman, it serves as both a memoir and history of her people during the first 40 years of contact with European Americans.

Composer Kile Smith sets moments from her book in his piece The Dawn’s Early Light, highlighting a moment where she tells us that her grandfather, Chief Truckee, taught her the Star Spangled Banner, but when she heard white soldiers singing the version we know today, it was nothing like what her grandfather had passed down to her.

Visit CVAE.org for tickets to Voices of a New World where we will feature The Dawn’s Early Light, by Kile Smith, texts by the brilliant, Sarah Winnemucca.

10/11/2026

CVAE Presents Voices of a New World: Reflections on American Identity

Friday, October 16 at 7:30 pm Grace & St. Stephen's Episcopal Church 631 N. Tejon

10/07/2026

Our season opener, Voices of a New World will include Dawn's Early Light by Kile Smith set for choir, cello, and guitar quartet.

Our audiences may already be familiar with the brilliant, Pam Chaddon, one of our favourite collaborators here at CVAE.

She'll be joined by our wonderful guitar quartet: Colin Mcallister, Laura Husbands, Russ Callison, and Ben Johnson.

We're very excited to welcome these incredible musicians to the CVAE family!

Join us for Voices of a New World on October 16th at 7:30pm at Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

🎟 Tickets available at https://ticketstripe.com/events/9423109428094343

10/07/2026

It’s going to be great!!! Join us. Emily Dickinson. Walt Whitman. A moving work about life in the Paiute nation in the 1800s, accompanied by Guitar quartet and a beautiful, expressive cello part. And a world premiere of a piece about Nikola Tesla. What do all these things have in common? Incredible originality, energy, and creativity. The 25 voices of CVAE are ready to take you on an American journey.

DO NOT MISS IT!!

Our first rehearsal with the guitar quartet and cello for Kile Smith's Dawn's Early Light, another incredible work we're performing next Friday for "Voices of a New World."

🎟 tickets available at https://ticketstripe.com/events/9423109428094343