"Kenneth Mills is continually widening the understanding of music to the point where nothing is left outside music..." [Read More] Lex Hixon, Author and Broadcaster
The Star–Scape Singers
In 1976 Dr. Mills discovered a way to open singers’ voices. Working at first with an ensemble of just five singers, he soon founded what was to become the singular choral ensemble The Star-Scape Singers. His vision for the group was clear and concise. Said Maestro Mills, “My great interest in tonal palettes was an impetus to exploring the sphere of voices set free.” Indeed this 10-voice choir was unlike anything else ever heard.
After hearing Star-Scape perform the first of their seven concerts at Carnegie Hall, the New York Times critic Tim Page wrote: “This is a flawless, superbly trained ensemble. Collectively, the 10 solo voices make up an instrument of bright and extraordinary varied capacity. They function as one — singing with piercing purity, without vibrato, and in flawless pitch.”
The Star-Scape Singers perform at Carnegie Hall 1986
The Singers were guest artists at the Montreux (Switzerland) Choral Festival in 1983. Singers: Terry Stevens, Richard Leach, Peter Thompson, Bob Mann, Rob Bullock, Christopher Dedrick, Sandra Dedrick, Alberta Ridley, Linda Roedl, Dianne Forsyth, Stefanie Dedrick.
Liza Minnelli called them “the greatest singing group in the world.” Premier record producer Phil Ramone remarked, “Whenever I hear the music of Star-Scape, it brings me a feeling of tremendous serenity as well as an emotional high!” Vocalist Melissa Manchester exclaimed, “Incredible! This is absolutely luminous music. It is like a shaft of light breaking through the clouds.”
Star-Scape’s accomplishment was described as “a twentieth-century renaissance in choral sound.” What made this orchestra of voices so unusual? Perhaps it was the open voices, which released the overtone spectrum in such a way that the group sounded like a choir many times its size. Perhaps it was because each singer had at least a three-octave range, enabling an overlapping of vocal territories that extended the boundaries of tonal possibilities. Or it could have been their exquisitely accurate intonation and exceptional unity.
Star-Scape’s repertoire included more than 150 original choral works primarily co-composed by Christopher Dedrick and Dr. Mills, with lyrics taken from Dr. Mills’ spontaneous poetry and prose. Additional material came from traditional and “folk” songs, some in other languages, and unique arrangements of contemporary classics (e.g., “What a Wonderful World”). The magic of Star-Scape was not only in what they sang but also in how they sang it. Maestro Mills spent countless hours teaching each singer how to free the voice to such an extent that traditional vocal boundaries tumbled down.
Star-Scape made four extensive European concert tours, including performances in the most celebrated halls in the world, in Paris, Vienna, Munich, Frankfurt, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, and Prague. The ensemble performed in Geneva at the 40th anniversary celebration of the United Nations and inaugurated the 1986 World Year of Music with two-full length programs on Radio Vatican.
The Star-Scape Singers perform at the French Embassy, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
The Star-Scape Singers perform The Fire Mass in the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland
The singers made history with their performances. In 1991, Maestro Mills and Star-Scape led the first non-military Victory Day parade down the famed Gorky Street of Moscow, which was lined with an estimated 500,000 cheering Russians. Still within the purview of the Kremlin, the Singers broke the silence of the churches by sounding the first musical note heard there in 76 years.
Kenneth Mills and The Star-Scape Singers recorded 17 albums, including a recording of their major work, The Fire Mass, which was co-composed by Christopher Dedrick and Kenneth G. Mills. Its text is from the Latin Ordinary of the Mass, interwoven with Dr. Mills’ poetry (in English). It was premiered in March 1986 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The Fire Mass received its European premiere in Lausanne Cathedral, Switzerland, in August 1986, presented by the City of Lausanne and recorded by Radio Suisse Romande. Performances in Poland and Belgium followed during The Star-Scape Singers’ fourth European tour in autumn 1986. On June 7, 1988, they presented this ninety-minute work at Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto. This performance was broadcast nationally by CBC radio. The Fire Mass was heard to great public and critical acclaim during the ensemble’s tour of the Soviet Union in summer 1988, in Riga (Latvia), Vilnius (Lithuania), Moscow, Leningrad, and Tallinn (Estonia).
Experience The Star–Scape Singers
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"It Doesn't Take Time" - The Star-Scape Singers
4m20s
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"Word of Glory" - The Star-Scape Singers
7m18s
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"Wind Chimes" - The Star-Scape Singers
4m19s
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"Miracle of One" - The Star-Scape Singers
5m48s
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"Love A Walkin' Talkin'" - The Star-Scape Singers
5m29s
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"Feeling the Being" - The Star-Scape Singers
16m56s
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"Every Time I Feel the Spirit" - The Star-Scape Singers
3m02s
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"Amazing Grace" - The Star-Scape Singers
5m53s
The Star-Scape Singers – “The Rapture of Freedom”
The Star-Scape Singers – “Fermata’s Hall”
The Star-Scape Singers – “We Thank Thee”
Recognition of The Star–Scape Singers
"On behalf of the USSR Music Society I would like to express my genuine excitement as to the extremely high level of artistic..." [Read More] 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..." [Read More] Gintautas Zhalvys, Pro-rector, Leningrad Conservatory
"The Star-Scape Singers dare listeners to stretch into new forms of spirited musical art. Their sounds demand attention..." [Read More] Don G. Campbell, Musician, Author of The Mozart Effect, and Director, Institute for Music, Health and Education, Boulder, Colorado
"Congratulations on a beautiful concert, both the performance and compositions. The music is wonderfully fresh and new..." [Read More] Sergei Slonimsky, Operatic and symphonic composer, Leningrad
"What the Singers do now with overtones, echoes, parallel glissandi, shared vibrati, and unamplified energy..." [Read More] 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..." [Read More] 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..." [Read More] Bill Lavorgna, Musical Director for Liza Minnelli
"In the name of the Philharmonic of Lithuania, after your wonderful performance in The Cathedral of Vilnius..." [Read More] Professor Algirdas Budrys, Artistic Director and Manager of the State Philharmonic of the Lithuanian SSR
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