Two Sarasota choral groups will become one in what they call a merger that will lead to a larger ensemble for Via Nova Chorale.
Via Nova, which was started in 2008 by Dr. Robert Parrish as Musica Sacra Cantorum, is joining forces, in a way, with the 46-year-old Choral Artists of Sarasota in the wake of the retirement of its artistic director, Joseph Holt, after 16 years.
Choral Artists, a professional ensemble, was founded in 1979 by singer Arden Fowler as the Gloria Musicae Singers and took on the new name in 2017. Musica Sacra changed its name to Via Nova Chorale in 2024, a year after the appointment of Steven Phillips as artistic director.
Bill Kimbell, president of the Choral Artists board, described the move as the “next step in the evolution of choral music in Sarasota.” In a statement he added, “Via Nova is uniquely positioned to build on the foundation Joe Holt created: A deep commitment to musical integrity, thought-provoking repertoire and a belief that choral music can be a voice for the community.”
Holt publicly announced his retirement around the time of the Choral Artists’ annual Memorial Day concert, which was the final one he would lead, though he plans to continue to perform as a soloist and accompanist in the area. He said he told the board of directors of his plans more than a year ago, prompting discussions about the group’s future.
Holt said the combination of back-to-back hurricanes, a loss of state arts funding last year and what he called a “shift that’s going on culturally that’s becoming a challenge” led Choral Artists leaders to consider shutting down or partnering or combining with another organization.
Choral Artists featured between 32 and 36 singers. Via Nova has had about 40 performers, with 10 to 14 paid singers and the rest auditioned volunteers. Phillips said the plan is to expand the ensemble to about 60, with around half being paid singers and the rest volunteers. Some members of Choral Artists are expected to audition for Via Nova positions later this summer, he said.
Phillips also serves as director of music for First Presbyterian Church on Oak Street near downtown Sarasota, which hosts the ensemble’s concerts, helping the chorus to save money on the kinds of venue rentals required by Choral Artists and the even larger, 100-voice Key Chorale. (Key Chorale also frequently performs with orchestras, adding to its programming costs.)
Phillips said he appreciates the Choral Artists board “giving us their vote of approval and credibility to continue their legacy.” The agreement includes management of the extensive Choral Artists lending library, which includes thousands of titles that are made available free of charge to other choruses locally and nationally.
Holt said he appreciates the way Phillips “thinks in a programmatic way that is similar to mine. His programming has been innovative and creative. He wants to address the larger world. He wants to raise awareness of things through choral music. I think it’s a natural progression for Choral Artists because we’ve been toying with this over the years.”
For example, the 2024-25 Via Nova season opened with a program called “This Good Earth,” featuring music about nature and the planet, and it later presented an original multi-movement work by Phillips called “Modern Jazz Mass” that uses jazz styles to explore the traditional religious mass in a modern world.
Phillips is still finalizing the 2025-26 Via Nova season so it properly incorporates a larger ensemble. But he said it will continue his “audience approach to programming, with a through line to every concert. I envision it like theater and try not to break the fourth wall. I don’t talk a lot. The concert experience is immersive. It moves people. There are more highs and introspective moments.”
He said he wants his programs to explore “how we can come together and live in a new way as humans on this planet.” In the future, he would like Via Nova to be “viewed more as a movement than as a choir. We want to have forums about topics that the music raises about our relationship with the earth, or what does it mean to be in this human family together. What does it mean to grow to the next level as a human? What does it mean to be responsible? It really is about relationships ultimately to the earth and to each other, and to the sacred, however one wants to define that.”
For more information: vianovachorale.org
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Two Sarasota choirs merging to form larger Via Nova Chorale
Reporting by Jay Handelman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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