Recognition

The Star-Scape Singers

"It is an overwhelming experience to be in the presence of these ten singers, creating not simply a sound but a tangible presence. Great music is not just sound; it is a presence. And these ten singers are creating something more powerful, rich, and diverse than an organ could with all its stops and mechanical abilities. This reaffirms the fact that the human instrument, in this case the human voice itself, the most intimate part of the human being, is the ultimate instrument…. There’s an amazing alchemy that occurs between The Star-Scape Singers and their director. It was evident when I saw them in person. A remarkable unity…. Kenneth Mills is continually widening the understanding of music to the point where nothing is left outside music. There’s something absolutely zoneless in The Star-Scape Singers and in Kenneth Mills. No barriers are being set up. It is simply the light of the Source shining through." - Lex Hixon, Author and Broadcaster

"Thank you for your art and perfect mastery. Mr. Kenneth Mills and his Star-Scape Singers reach out into the 21st century and bring us greetings from it. Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!" - Professor Imants Kokars, Rector, Latvian State Conservatory, and Conductor, Ave Sol

"On behalf of the USSR Music Society I would like to express my genuine excitement as to the extremely high level of artistic skill displayed by the ensemble and the superb modern compositions performed by great masters of vocal art. The tremendous success of the ensemble in Moscow is manifested in the reception the excited Moscow audience gave to the outstanding performance of the ensemble of virtuosi. I wish you great creative success, personal happiness and peaceful sky over your heads. We hope to meet you again soon!" - Sergey Usanov, Deputy Chairman of the Central Board, USSR Music Society

"It is a very good sign to start the fall season with such a good concert! It is a rare chance to meet musicians of this level. The conductor’s skill is a fantastic miracle, a unique phenomenon. It is hard to understand how it is being done, but one thing is clear — this music, this art opens up the human Soul." - Gintautas Zhalvys, Pro-rector, Leningrad Conservatory

"The Star-Scape Singers are the lyric pioneers in sound for the 21st century. Their vast range of virtuosity creates new tapestries of meaning for the union of words, sound and music…. Kenneth G. Mills is creating a new vocabulary of musical sounds that will set the world of vocal arts into a higher octave of expression…. The edges of dissonance in one period of music become the harmony and eloquence of the next generations. The Star-Scape Singers dare listeners to stretch into new forms of spirited musical art. Their sounds demand attention from the depths of the soul, rather than the easy chair of entertainment!… I can only give a soaring ovation to Kenneth Mills and The Star-Scape Singers for their remarkable intonation, devotion and enthusiasm for helping earth’s music evolve toward never explored atmospheres." - Don G. Campbell, Musician, Author of The Mozart Effect, and Director, Institute for Music, Health and Education, Boulder, Colorado

"You have given us fresh air and a new direction for choral development. Your name is like a jewel for the Soviet Union." - Margarita Parsadanova, Department of Artistic Commissions of Philharmonic Art, USSR Music Society

"Congratulations on a beautiful concert, both the performance and compositions. The music is wonderfully fresh and new. At the same time it is felt that it has its roots almost in the Renaissance and Middle Ages as well. We like this wonderful diversity of feeling in the music very much. Thank you!" - Sergei Slonimsky, Operatic and symphonic composer, Leningrad

"What the Singers do now with overtones, echoes, parallel glissandi, shared vibrati, and unamplified energy is nothing short of astonishing." - Wilder Penfield III, Music Critic, Toronto Sun

"I don’t know which I found to be more gratifying to behold — the exquisite finished product in performance, or the process through which the polished statement evolved. Each rehearsal was equivalent to a master class for choral directors and singers on what can be done with the voice if one knows how to reach for it. The indescribable sounds that filled the room with a universal spirituality pointed to Mr. Mills’s seeming uncanny ability to have each singer produce the ‘impossible’ in a way that appears to be entirely without effort. As a musician and music director it is my sincere belief that The Star-Scape experience should be required listening for anyone seriously interested in choral music." - Dr. Leonard Goines, Professor of Music, Manhattan Community College, The City University of New York

"This is one of the most unique musical experiences I have ever been exposed to in my life. Technically I have never heard accuracy in pitch or musicianship to rival it in any aspect. The concept of the group and its director, Mr. Kenneth Mills, is certainly on a much higher plane than most of the musical experiences available to the world today. In these sad times of mediocrity being supreme, it is an absolute ray of hope to music and to the world to find a group such as The Star-Scape Singers." - Bill Lavorgna, Musical Director for Liza Minelli

"Cordial thanks for your wonderful new word in the Great Art. The audience in Lithuania was fascinated by your great professional excellence and the power of artistic suspense. We are looking forward to further meetings on our soil. I wish you further creative highs. In the name of the Philharmonic of Lithuania, after your wonderful performance in The Cathedral of Vilnius, Painting Gallery, we are grateful and fascinated by your great Art." - Professor Algirdas Budrys, Artistic Director and Manager of the State Philharmonic of the Lithuanian SSR