Santa Fe Women's Ensemble

06/03/2026

🌿🎶 Exciting news about our upcoming season! 🎶🌿

We are thrilled to announce the theme of our 46th season: The Wonder of Nature.

Our concerts will celebrate the beauty, power, and inspiration of the natural world:

❄️ Winter Concerts (December)
And Heaven and Nature Sing!

🌸 Spring Concerts (May)
The Wisdom of Mother Nature

Whether you join us as a singer, a board member, or an audience member, we invite you to be part of another memorable season of music and community.

Stay tuned for more details—we can't wait to share this journey with you!

05/26/2026

05/25/2026

🎶 Announcing June Auditions! 🎶

Do you love to sing?

The Santa Fe Women’s Ensemble is seeking female singers with a musical ear, good pitch, and the ability to blend beautifully with other voices.

Now entering our 46th season, the ensemble is an auditioned 14–20 member chorus performing music from many eras while also commissioning new works each season.

✨ Concerts in December and May
✨ Outreach performances throughout the year
✨ Rehearsals Tuesdays, 5:30–7:45 PM

Interested in auditioning? Please contact Dr. Linda Raney, Music Director, at [email protected].

Audition process:�
• Prepare a song of your choosing for a preliminary audition.�
• Selected singers will be invited to learn a piece and sing with the Ensemble during rehearsal so we can assess musical preparation and vocal blend.

Come make beautiful music with us! 🎵

05/20/2026

"Music doesn't just fill the silence - it fills the soul. It holds our memories, heals our heartbreak, and sings what words alone cannot." ~ Dede Hawkins, poet

05/10/2026

Today’s concert was exciting and wonderful to sing! Every piece was warmly received by the audience, with audible sighs of delight as the chords echoed through the rafters. Many people commented on how much they enjoyed the variety of the program.

The premiere of “Homecoming” by composer Z. Randall Stroope was the highlight of the performance! In memory of Jim Toevs, who passed away in 2024, his wife Pauline commissioned this beautiful piece. We were honored to have Stroope with us at the concert and to hear him share the story behind the piece and how it came to be.

There’s one more opportunity to experience this beautiful music and meet the composer:

📍 Tomorrow, Sunday, May 10 at 3:00 PM
📍 First Presbyterian Church, 208 Grant Avenue
🎟 Tickets available through the website www.sfwe.org, 505-303-8648 and at the door

05/09/2026

On Concert Eve, I wanted to share what our singers have said about the new commission, “Homecoming” by Z. Randall Stroope, which premieres this weekend. The composer will be attending both concerts!

“Monumental” “Dramatic” “Atmospheric”

“Exciting” “Magnificent” “Vivid”

“The thrill of the trumpet guiding the urge to get home”

“Makes your heart race”

“We all know the feel of a New Mexico storm”

“The sweep of NM landscape is described with this horse and rider and the utter relief when the storm passes”

CONCERTS : Saturday May 9 and Sunday May 10, at 3 PM, First Presbyterian Church

TICKETS: $30 in advance or $35 at the door, $12 for Military/Veterans and Teachers/Students
And are available on our website www.sfwe.org. 505-303-8648

(Thanks to soprano Jill McCormick for the use of her gorgeous needle felted piece.)

05/07/2026

We’ve had fun at our recent events, leading up to this weekend’s fab concerts.

We:
sang our concert for the appreciative folks at Kingston Residence of Santa Fe,

made fairy wands for the children’s concert,

and sang a selection of our concert pieces for the children at First Presbyterian Church.

We’re ready for our concerts this weekend! Don’t miss them! May 9 and 10, 3 pm at First Presbyterian Church!

www.sfwe.org

05/06/2026

The finale of our concerts is "The New Colossus" by Ken A Memley. Soprano Barbara Doern Drew shares her feelings about the stunning piece below.

Our concerts are this weekend, May 9 and 10, 3 PM at First Presbyterian Church. Tickets are available through our website www.sfwe.org or by calling 505-303-8648.

Come experience all the wonderful pieces we've been sharing about this past month. We can't wait to sing for you!

05/05/2026

The highlight of this weekend's concerts will be the world premiere of "Homecoming," a thrilling new commission by internationally acclaimed New Mexican composer Z. Randall Stroope.

This commission is generously sponsored by Pauline Toevs in memory of her beloved husband, Jim Toevs, who passed away in 2025. The piece will feature the brilliant Jan McDonald on trumpet, adding an unforgettable touch to this heartfelt tribute.