Dale Warland Singers

Dale Warland Singers
Company type	Professional choir
Industry	Music
Founded	1972
Founder	Dale Warland
Defunct	2004
Headquarters	St. Paul, Minnesota, United States
Area served	United States, Europe
Products	Performances, recordings

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Dale Warland Singers, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 30 November 2025

The Dale Warland Singers (DWS) was a professional choir consisting of 40 voices, located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Established in 1972 by Dale Warland, the ensemble operated until its dissolution in 2004. The group concentrated on 20th-century music and was notable for commissioning numerous American composers. Celebrated for their clear tone, precise intonation, smooth legato, and versatility in style, the DWS delivered approximately 400 performances and produced 29 recordings.

Biography

Dale Warland was born on April 14, 1932, in Fort Dodge, Iowa, into a family of farmers with Norwegian immigrant roots. His early musical passion was nurtured by his family; both his father and grandfather participated in their local church choir. He began piano lessons at the age of five and engaged in daily singing activities during his schooling.

His initial experience conducting came during high school when he led an offstage choir. Warland earned first place from the Iowa Federation of Music Clubs for a motet he composed. Graduating from St. Olaf College in 1954, he directed a choir as a junior student. After two years conducting an Air Force choir, he completed a master’s degree at the University of Minnesota in 1960 and later obtained a doctorate from the University of Southern California in 1965. His teaching career included positions at Humboldt State College, Keuka College, and ultimately at Macalester College in St. Paul, where he worked from 1967 to 1986.

History

During his academic tenure, Warland aspired to lead a professional choir with consistent membership. In response to a commission from Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center in 1972, he assembled a 40-member ensemble that premiered successfully on June 12.

To create his signature sound—larger than typical chamber choirs—Warland selected forty vocalists, emphasizing individuality and warmth rather than uniformity. Auditions were conducted with his back turned to avoid bias towards appearance, focusing solely on auditory qualities. Candidates were chosen based on excellent musicianship, vocal tone, technical skill, and positive demeanor; over the choir’s existence, 355 singers were part of the group.

At a time when professional choirs were uncommon, DWS expanded during the 1980-81 season by launching its first subscription concert series and employing a full-time manager. By 1982, it began compensating its singers financially, setting a precedent within the national choral community.

Beginning in 1975, DWS maintained regular performances at the Walker Art Center and toured extensively across the United States and Europe. Collaborations featured prominent groups such as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Chanticleer, and the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Renowned conductors who worked with DWS included Robert Shaw, Leonard Slatkin, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Neville Marriner, Edo de Waart, Hugh Wolff, Bobby McFerrin, David Zinman, Roger Norrington, and James Conlon.

The ensemble appeared on radio broadcasts including Garrison Keilor's A Prairie Home Companion and annual shows reaching an audience of approximately 1.5 million nationwide. Their recordings were also featured in film soundtracks such as My Best Friend's Wedding and The Garden of Redemption.

The group’s final performance, titled “I Have Had Singing: A Choral Celebration,” occurred on May 30, 2004, at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. Warland chose to retire while at the height of his artistic career to explore other pursuits; facing financial difficulties without an endowment fund, the board opted to disband rather than appoint a successor.

Archives documenting DWS’s history are preserved at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. These include scores for all 270 commissioned compositions, administrative documents, and more than 300 audio and video recordings.

Literature

The Dale Warland Singers' repertoire encompassed major choral masterpieces, American folk tunes, and vocal jazz, with a distinct focus on music from the twentieth century. A key aspect of their mission was to commission and debut new compositions. Under Warland's leadership, the ensemble commissioned 270 pieces from 150 different composers, including notable figures such as Libby Larsen, Dominick Argento, Aaron Jay Kernis, George Shearing, Dave Brubeck, Peter Schickele, Alice Parker, Kirke Mechem, Mary Ellen Childs, Augusta Read Thomas, Janika Vandervelde, Bernard Rands, Emma Lou Diemer, Brent Michael Davids, Bill Banfield, and Eric Whitacre. The choir also featured composers-in-residence like Stephen Paulus, Frank Ferko, and Carol Barnett. Among the significant commissions were Whitacre's Water Night, Jeffery Van's A Procession Winding Around Me, and Paulus's The Road Home. During their concluding season, the group premiered sixteen new works by fourteen distinct composers. In 1987, they initiated Choral Ventures, a program dedicated to reading and commissioning pieces from emerging composers, which led to more than fifty additional commissions.

In recognition of the DWS's contributions to contemporary choral music, the American Composers Forum created the "Dale Warland Singers Fund for New Choral Music" in 2004. This fund supports the commissioning, performance, and recording of fresh choral compositions.

Significant performances

1987: National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association in San Antonio
1987: Colorado Music Festival
1990: World Symposium on Choral Music held across Sweden, Estonia, and Finland
2002: World Symposium on Choral Music in Minneapolis
1982, 1990, 1999, 2003: Chorus America Conferences
2002: Ravinia Festival

Warland

1988: Distinguished Alumnus Award from St. Olaf College
1989: Outstanding Alumnus Award from University of Southern California Thornton School of Music
1995: Michael Korn Founder's Award
2001: McKnight Distinguished Artist Award
2001: Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal presented by Chorus America
2003: Victor Herbert Award from ASACP
2003: Sally Irvine Ordway Award
2004: Distinguished Master Artist Award from University of South Florida
2005: Champion of New Music Award by American Composers Forum
2006: Individual Leadership in Choral Music Award from Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia
2007: Robert Shaw Choral Awards granted by American Choral Directors Association