Like to sing? Find out how you can join Quintessence in song this summer

Do you like to hear people sing and wish you could belt out a tune too?

Now you can.

Quintessence: A Community of Singers, is hosting two open-to-the-community choral events this summer, Park Sing on Saturday, June 28, and the Quintessence Summer Choral Festival from July 12 through July 20.

Matthew Greer, Quintessence art director, wants the community to feel comfortable singing together and come together through music with Park Sing.

“We try and make this a really accessible thing that anybody can join in doing. And it’s a great way to create community in a group of people. And in Albuquerque, we have the advantage of having beautiful parks,” Greer said.

Park Sing was born out of the pandemic, when Quintessence sought a way to bring choral singers together.

“The pandemic was just a horrible time for choral singers because it was dangerous to be singing together,” Greer said. “So, when things started to loosen up a bit, we decided that one thing we could do is to get together in parks and just have an opportunity to sing appropriately spaced.”

Greer finds people can be uncomfortable while singing publicly, but says Quintessence strives to make the area as accessible as possible.

“Nobody is going to be embarrassed (and) nobody’s going to be put on the spot,” Greer said. “Everybody’s going to be singing the same thing at the same time. And you don’t have to have a lot of musical training or experience.”

Quintessence is also hosting a Summer Choral Festival and Concert. This will be the 13th summer of the festival, featuring over 100 singers and a full professional orchestra. This year’s performance will be Karl Jenkins’ “The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace.”

According to Greer, participants undergo a week-long intensive rehearsal. Additionally, there is a children’s choir and a choir for high school to college-aged individuals. Participant registration runs $100-$225 and includes access to festival workshops and activities, a private voice lesson and more.

“The mass chorus every year skews middle age to seniors,” Greer said. “So, having an automatic group of 20 or 25 high school and college kids embedded in those is just really good for the energy and the sound.”

The week-long rehearsal ends with a memorable performance with a live professional orchestra on July 20. Tickets to the performance are $10-$20 at quintessence-abq.com.

“For people who haven’t had the opportunity to do that there’s really nothing like it, and we feel strongly, especially in the climate in which we’re all living, that anything that we can do to get a group of people together creating something beautiful is time well spent,” Greer said.

Tune in for Quintessence's community geared choral events