On Tuesday, June 11, at 6 p.m., there will be a free concert given by the Revelation Youth Choir of Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church from Richardson, Texas.
The choir will be singing at the Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership amphitheater along the river downtown.
The choir is the legacy of former conductor David Hays, who shepherded the group for 24 years during his time at Canyon Creek. It is now conducted by Travis Lowery, who is in his first year with the program.
The Revelation Youth Choir is an SATB choir consisting of students in the sixth through 12th grades. They will be performing a program of new favorites, mixed in with several classics that are sure to be fun for all including music by Mark Hayes, Mark A. Miller, Giuseppe Pitoni, Heather Sorenson, Joseph Martin, Franz Schubert, Bradley Ellingboe and J. Reese Norris.
Sarah Riehm, who currently serves as the organist at Community United Methodist Church, accompanied this group on its summer tours for many years when she lived in Texas.
“It was so exciting to see the spiritual growth and deep friendships formed during our annual tours. This choir has performed all over the country, and I’m delighted they are coming to Pagosa Springs. I love their combined goals of music and mission in serving the communities they visit. Come see them. Their musicianship has always been extraordinary for such a young group of singers,” she said.
The choir is in Pagosa Springs to take part in several mission projects on its annual mission trip/tour after having already worked and performed at venues in Amarillo, Texas; Colorado Springs; and Castle Rock. In Pagosa Springs, Revelation will be assisting churches in the area, chiefly Community United Methodist Church (CUMC), with necessary mission work such as some long-term cleaning and sorting at CUMC and the CUMC Thrift Store, and other projects in the surrounding area.
As necessary as it is to put Revelation Choir to work, they also recognize the strong sense of camaraderie that inevitably comes from putting a group of teenagers together on a trip. Giving the students a week’s worth of lifelong memories in the best possible environment is certainly one of their greatest joys. Certainly, being able to walk around a place as beautiful as Pagosa Springs is the best possible environment. It also gives the students a way to cap off their high school careers with both the youth ministry and the music ministry at Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church before they move on to college or elsewhere.
