Dr. Ralph Hughes has been a longtime figure in the local choral scene.
For 40 years he has served as the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Sacramento Master Singers, a group of 50 performers dedicated to advancing choral music within the community.
Hughes has been credited with bringing his passion for “art with a purpose” to stages across the region, including this Thursday at 7 p.m. with the performance of “A Season of Gratitude” at Stage One of the Harris Center in Folsom.
But this performance also comes at a time of transition, as Hughes prepares to bring his journey with the Master Singers to an end this year.
He joined CapRadio’s Andrew Garcia on Insight to reflect on four decades at the helm.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
You’ve been conducting the group since 1986. What brought you to the Sacramento Master Singers in the first place?
Well, I’ve actually been with them longer than that. I sang with them for a couple of years. Then, about the third or fourth year, the previous director Ken Winter says “Ralph, I need to talk to you at the break.” So that’s a rather odd way to start as conductor of a group, but he did in fact have his interests go in different directions, and I took over mid-season that many years ago.
Did taking over like that ever crossed your mind?
No. I was told by an advisor at Sac State “you need greater experiences as a choral musician.” That’s why I was singing with them, and so suddenly to be the conductor was not the plan. But it really was fortuitous for me because it’s become my life’s passion, and it’s my West Coast family.
What was the choir's mission at that point, and how have things changed over the decades?
It was a very small group at that time; usually in those first concerts it was 14-17 singers. Ken was a very passionate choral conductor and many people wanted to study with him because of that. So when I took over, it led through a number of years where we had to tighten up the standards and we were interested in being a larger choir. So we went up to 50 singers, and it's a much more polished group now. Certainly, I call it a semi-professional group. I think we reach professional standards, but they simply don't get paid.
You’re the conductor as well as the artistic director for the Master Singers. How has your role changed over the past four decades?
Initially, it was “wear every hat as conductor,” and a few other people wearing multiple hats. Now we have a superb board, we have additional staff members who are paid such as our accompanist Heidi Van Regenmorter [who] has been with me for 30-something years, but more than a dozen years as the accompanist for Master Singers. We have an assistant conductor, Emily Carbrey… a lot of things that used to fall in my lap are now spread across an amazing team of people.
I think the singer soon realized, "alright, he's coming to the concert downbeat with a lot of stress. We need to see what we can do to remove that from him. Let him concentrate on the artistic side of things." I think the new artistic director is walking into a completely different world than what was at my outset.
What have been some of the highlights over your 40 years with the Master Singers?
Do you have half an hour? Touring with this group has been amazing; we've done tours in the United States, Venezuela, Europe, the British Isles, those were amazing things. We have participated in a world festival in Caracas, Venezuela called America Cantat — we were one of three North American choirs at that festival. We appeared with the Boston Pops; 20 years ago they were touring the West Coast every December, and we were chosen as the choir for the Sacramento performance. That was exhilarating to perform for I think around 12,000 people at the Kings arena at that time.
Have there been any collaborators or members that have been with you through your entire tenure?
Yes, one singer — David Temme — he was the tenor section leader for decades, he has sung all 40 years. We have people like Carol Horner who's retiring this year after 23 years. I've already mentioned Heidi has been with us more than a dozen years because even when she was not the primary accompanist, she was often a guest accompanist. We have five or six singers who have been with me [for] more than 30 years.
Most people tend to come and sing for a number of years. Sometimes growing families tug them in a different direction, or a career move doesn't allow them to give the amount of time. They invest an amazing amount of time towards the group's music learning, and helping run the organization.
Thursday’s performance will include a piece from composer Ken Medema in the program titled “I Will Sing Hallelujah.” Can you tell us more about your relationship with Ken, and this song?
Ken was a musical hero for me when I was a teenager. He's about 10 years older than I am and he had a songbook out, a contemporary Christian songbook. I really wasn't steeped in classical music, so I played that songbook hours per week. Then years later, he called our business manager and said, “I’ve heard your performance of ‘I Will Sing Hallelujah,’ and I need to meet the director.”
That was just a wild experience that someone who I revered as a teenager was calling wanting to meet me. In the meantime, he has come and been a guest soloist; he's written pieces for us. He [even] appeared here on Insight a few years ago.
We're ending the concert with that piece and what will make it even more exciting is that there's going to be 23 string players added to that mix, an electric bass player and the soloist will be Thomas Voigt. I'm sure you're going to find that to be a rocking way to end the concert.
Are there any other pieces that you're excited about in the upcoming program?
The whole second half is featuring those string players. We begin with a piece by Robert Cohen. [He] was commissioned by the Sacramento Master Singers board to write a piece honoring me. The poet is Ron Cadmus and they’ve written this amazing piece called “The Gift of Hands.” It just simply is trying to give tribute to all conductors out there, and the influence they have with their hands.
This performance is titled “A Season of Gratitude.” As you look back on your 40 years with the group, is “gratitude” the word for how you feel?
Yes… you'll get me choked up here. The whole season has been one where I've been grateful for the singers, for what they have added to my life, and I am grateful for what they add to the Sacramento community.
