Hallelujah!

To our wonderful Singers, Musicians, Patrons and Friends,

Thanks for Fifty Glorious Years!

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After half a century of bringing great choral music to Metro-East,

Masterworks is concluding its artistic service to Southern Illinois.

We are deeply grateful to

our benefactors, sponsors, and supporting institutions,

our devoted audiences, and most of all,

to our dedicated directors and performers.

It has been a joy and a privilege to share

the beauty of choral singing with all of you.​​

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​After a highly successful 50th jubilee season in 2023-24, including a dynamic performance of Handel’s Messiah, the Masterworks Chorale of Southern Illinois announces the conclusion of operations. With immense gratitude, we acknowledge our devoted members and our many enthusiastic supporters. We thank those community institutions which have offered support and assistance, especially St. Paul UCC, Belleville; St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church, O'Fallon; and the Cathedral of St. Peter, Belleville, Southwestern Illinois College, as well as the Hettenhausen Center for the Arts at McKendree University.  We are also grateful to the Chorale’s two primary conductors for their inspired leadership and musicianship in that 50-year span: Dr. A. Dennis Sparger, founder and director emeritus of Masterworks; and our current conductor for the past 15 seasons, Dr. Stephen Mager. We also thank the many excellent professional guest soloists and musicians who have performed with us over the years. We thank our generous sponsors and donors for their unwavering support, especially Art on the Square and the Belleville News Democrat.  Finally, we thank our enthusiastic audiences who supported us with their applause and offered us their friendship which we readily accepted. 

It's been a great 50 years!

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