WEST COAST MENNONITE CHAMBER CHOIR RECORDINGS

Composer Larry Nickel and director Tony Funk set out on a project in 1990. They co-founded the West Coast Mennonite Chamber Choir with the vision of making one recording; “Songs My Father Taught Me“. The original singers were family members and friends from the church. Piano player, Betty Suderman, became a crucial part of the collaboration. To make a long story short, the choir – evolving from year to year – recorded 13 CDs over 15 years, and donated the proceeds (more than a million dollars) to MCC Supportive Care Services. Nickel was the sole composer/arranger for four of the CDs and he contributed several compositions to each of the other nine projects (also singing low bass in the choir). Says Larry, “Tony is one of the finest choral directors I know. The subtleties and nuance in these recordings demonstrates his passion and skill. The sound of the choir speaks for itself. We once received 10 out of 10 stars from a review in England. With CBC National Radio (Canada) and with ‘Sounds of Majesty’ out of Chicago our music was heard regularly on over a hundred syndicated radio stations for many years.”  The MCC charity – then called “Communitas” – stopped selling CDs years ago. Due to copyright restrictions, only the recordings with choral music written by Larry Nickel are still available here – as digital downloads. (4 complete CDs and 2 compilations from the 9 other recordings) All of the sheet music to these recordings is available. Learn more about the choir and study all the scores here.