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Press Releases
Chorus Austin Closes its Season of Unity with 'She Sings: Still I Rise'
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Leah Rankin | Morahan Arts and Media
leah@morahanartsandmedia.com | 646-378-9386
Chorus Austin Closes its Season of Unity with
She Sings: Still I Rise, Featuring the Inaugural Performance
of the Chamber Ensemble’s New Women’s Chorus
Final Concert of the Season Held on May 9 at KMFA’s Draylen Mason Music Studio
“diverse, emotional, and harmonious”
— The Daily Texan
April 7, 2026 (Austin, TX) – Chorus Austin, led by Artistic Director and Conductor Ryan Heller, presents its last concert of the 2025-26 season, She Sings: Still I Rise, on Saturday, May 9, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. at KMFA’s Draylen Mason Music Studio.
She Sings: Still I Rise will be the inaugural concert of Chorus Austin’s newly formed Women's Chorus, made up of 36 singers derived from members of Chorus Austin’s Chamber Ensemble — Chorus Austin’s select group of singers, curated for programs that benefit from nuance, clarity, and close musical collaboration. Without the scale of a full symphonic chorus, the ensemble offers a more immediate connection between singers, music, and audience.
She Sings: Still I Rise is a powerful performance that aims to celebrate the strength and spirit of the female voice. The program will feature inspiring works, including Jake Runestad's Rise Up, Moira Smiley's I Have a Voice, and Abbie Betinis' Be Like the Bird.
“She Sings is both a celebration and a statement, a powerful closing to our Season of Unity that lifts up the voices, stories, power, and artistry of women,” said Ryan Heller. “We are especially proud to introduce our new women’s ensemble, whose sound brings fresh energy and depth to this incredible repertoire. Through the music of these remarkable composers, this concert invites our community to listen, reflect, and connect in a shared experience of strength, vulnerability, and joy.”
Chorus Austin’s season is sponsored by City of Austin Economic Development Department; KMFA, Texas Commission on the Arts; National Endowment for the Arts; Eastside Performing Arts; Republic Print & Mail; and Excencial Wealth Advisors.
Program Information:
She Sings: Still I Rise
Saturday, May 9, 2026 at 4:00 at p.m.
KMFA’s Draylen Mason Music Studio | 41 Navasota St, Austin, TX 78702
Duration: 90 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission and 10 minutes of speaking
Tickets: $20 - $40 (in person); $10 (virtual viewing)
Link: https://www.chorusaustin.org/she-sings-still-i-rise#/productions-view
Program:
Joni Jensen – Ave Regina Caelorum
Mari Valverde – When the Dust Settles
Ysaye Barnwell – Wanting Memories
Joan Szymko – Myr Zaraz
Margie Halloran – 8 Ways to Look Out a Window
Abbie Betinis – Be Like the Bird
Jake Runestad – Rise Up
Jennifer Lucy Cook – They Are Mother
Elaine Hagenberg – I Am the Wind
Mary Elizabeth Koppel – Mother of Exiles
Rosephanye Powell – Still I Rise
Melissa Dunphy – Wild Embers
Arr. Deke Sharon – Sweet Dreams
Ryan Heller – Returning Home
Artists:
Women's Chorus from Chorus Austin Chamber Ensemble
Ryan Heller, Artistic Director and Conductor
About Chorus Austin
Through its commitment to excellence, Chorus Austin creates passionate musical experiences that inspire community. A rich tradition of great choral music and modern musical innovations mark Chorus Austin, a non-profit community-based organization under the guidance of Artistic Director and Conductor Ryan Heller.
Chorus Austin hosts a full season of six or more concerts annually, including large-scale productions by its 150-voice Symphonic Chorus and more intimate concerts by its Chamber Ensemble. This season, Chorus Austin celebrates 61 years of continuously providing the best in choral music to the Austin and Central Texas community.
Founded as the Austin Civic Chorus as part of Austin’s City Parks and Recreation Department, “for all Austin-area residents who like to sing,” the group quickly incorporated as an independent organization. In 1999, the acclaimed Handel-Haydn Society joined with the Austin Civic Chorus under the umbrella of
Chorus Austin. A distinct part of the Chorus Austin history is encouraging new music. The group has commissioned a variety of new works, including the award-winning The Unutterable by internationally respected composer Robert Kyr. During the 2015/2016 season, Chorus Austin premiered two commissioned works: On a Winter’s Eve by West Coast composer Karen Thomas, and The Contemplations of Hafiz, a major, multi-movement composition for chorus, orchestra, and soloists by acclaimed Austin composer Donald Grantham. In 2014, Chorus Austin initiated its Young Composers Competition, showcasing works by rising young artists, and in 2023, garnered the organization's first-ever grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in support of the Tenth Anniversary of the concert sharing the work of these composers, Southwest Voices.
Over the decades, as one of the oldest continuously performing music organizations in the area, Chorus Austin has amassed awards, accolades, and invitations, both nationally and on a local level. The group was honored in 2013 as the winner of the national Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award for programming recently composed music. The group was also a two-time national finalist for the prestigious American Prize. KMFA Classical 89.5 radio placed Chorus Austin as one of the Top 10 Classical Highlights of 2016 for its performance of the newly commissioned work The Contemplations of Hafiz. And in April 2017, Chorus America and the American Composers Forum awarded Chorus Austin and composer Joshua Fishbein the Dale Warland Singers Commission Award.
Beyond the notes, Chorus Austin cares deeply for its community. Their commitment to equity and diversity was honored by the City of Austin last year by being awarded one of the city's first-ever ELEVATE grants.
Learn more at www.chorusaustin.org
About Ryan Heller
Described as exciting, dynamic, and charismatic, Ryan Heller leads the award-winning Chorus Austin as Conductor and Artistic Director, having joined Austin’s vibrant classical music scene in 2009. Mr. Heller and Chorus Austin were honored in 2013 as winners of the national Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award, given to recognize a chorus for programming recently composed music. The group was also a two-time national finalist for the prestigious American Prize under Mr. Heller’s guidance. In 2012, Chorus Austin was named one of the Top 10 Classical Musical Treasures by Robert Faires of the Austin Chronicle. KMFA Classical 89.5 radio placed Chorus Austin as one of the Top 10 Classical Highlights of 2016 for its performance of the newly commissioned work The Contemplations of Hafiz. And in April 2017, Chorus America and the American Composers Forum awarded Chorus Austin and composer Joshua Fishbein the Dale Warland Singers Commission Award.
In 2008, Ryan Heller was nominated for a Portland, OR, Music Award as “Outstanding Classical Musician.” He has led ensembles across the United States with appearances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Chicago’s Symphony Hall. He has toured internationally in Italy, Germany, Estonia, Sweden, and in China, where he led combined choirs from Texas at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing and at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. Most recently, he guided Chorus Austin singers in a July 2016 concert tour through Scandinavia and the Baltic region. He served as Co-founder, Conductor, and Artistic Director of the Portland Vocal Consort, one of Portland, Oregon's premier professional choirs, and spent a decade as the Conductor/Artistic Director of the Southwest Washington Symphony. In 2001, he co-founded the Columbia Chorale of Oregon, which he led until 2010. From 2003 to 2018, he was the Director of the internationally acclaimed Pride of Portland Chorus.
Today, in addition to leading Chorus Austin, he is the Director of the award-winning Alamo Metro Chorus in San Antonio. Mr. Heller has been music director of a wide variety of productions throughout the West Coast, including the world premiere of the opera The Canticle of the Black Madonna in Portland. Other productions include Brigadoon, Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore, Sweeney Todd, Annie, Company, and Into the Woods.
As an active performer, he has appeared and/or recorded with groups such as Austin’s REVEL, 10 Chorus Austin '25-'26: Season of Unity, Portland Opera, William Hall MasterChorale, Choral Cross-Ties, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Capella Romana, Lakewood Theater Company, and the Broadway Rose Theater Company.
Ryan Heller is in frequent demand as a conductor, singer, and coach. He has been hailed by critics and called “exciting, charismatic and intelligent–a young conductor to keep our eyes on.” Mr. Heller is thrilled to mark his 17th season leading Chorus Austin as the group celebrates its 61st season. For this artist, it is about making great music with an outstanding ensemble and sharing it with Austin and the Central Texas community.
Photo at top of release provided by Chorus Austin
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