There’s something decidedly glorious about the sound of more than a hundred trained voices singing in unison—it’s what we imagine when we think of a heavenly choir of angels.
Witness The Creation
The SLO Master Chorale performs Haydn’s The Creation at the Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo on Sunday, April 19 (doors at 2, show at 3 p.m.; 5 and older; $12 to $64 at pacslo.org). Michael E. Ruhling, Ph.D., presents a pre-show talk at 1:15 p.m. in the Pavilion.
In St. Paul’s Church in Pismo Beach every Monday for the past several months, the volunteer singers of the SLO Master Chorale have gathered to practice their upcoming performance of Joseph Haydn’s The Creation, a three-part oratorio that depicts the biblical wonders of the first six days of creation.
The Creation, written in 1797 and 1798, is considered Haydn’s masterpiece—based on the book of Genesis, the book of Psalms, and John Milton’s Paradise Lost.
In parts I and II, depicting the creation, the three soloists represent the archangels Raphael (Colin Ramsey, bass), Uriel (Xavier Prado, tenor), and Gabriel (Amy Goymerac, soprano). In the final segment, part III, Ramsey and Goymerac represent Adam and Eve.
But behind these professional soloists, dozens of Central Coast residents—ages 18 to 80-plus—hailing from anywhere from Paso Robles to Santa Maria, Lompoc, and beyond, volunteer their time and talents to create the glory of large chorale works like The Creation. When it arrives on SLO’s Performing Arts Center stage on April 19, the entire production will be backed by a full orchestra.
It’s a huge effort, and during the rehearsal I attended, Maestro Thomas Davies was working with his singers as his wife, pianist Susan Davies, accompanied.
Why do these hundred or more of your friends and neighbors dedicate their efforts to this challenge? They share a lifelong passion for music.
Alison Stuart (alto) recalls “strumming the guitar wanting to be Joni Mitchell when I was 12 years old” and participating in various church choirs. As a trained dancer, she was surrounded by music, but the reason she can sight-read music—as all chorale members must—is because “my parents forced me into piano lessons for two years.”
Stuart is also the vice president of the SLO Master Chorale board of directors and calls her time in the choir “inspirational and challenging.”
Of The Creation, she added, “What I appreciate, most of all, is the way that it paints with word and music the glory of creation. And it does so unmatched, in my experience thus far, of any other musical work that I’ve encountered—there’s just this synergy between the words and the music and what he’s trying to express that is, again, very inspirational to me.”
Judith Dunlore (alto) has been a professional singer and a church choir director for “many, many years.”
“I had the honor of being the Christmas caroling queen of Southern California because I had 15 Christmas caroling quartets that were out each season and working,” she laughed.
‘What I appreciate, most of all, is the way that it paints with word and music the glory of creation. And it does so unmatched, in my experience thus far, of any other musical work that I’ve encountered.’
—Alison Stuart, SLO Master Chorale
After relocating to the Central Coast 20 years ago, she’s been teaching voice and early on directed some musical theater, but her time with the Master Chorale has been something new for her.
“I was always the director, and I never got to sing in a hundred-voice group of people who could actually read and sing, and with a conductor who’s really fantastic, and with an orchestra always onstage, so I’m finding this a very exciting group to be in,” Dunlore added, noting she loves The Creation. “The choruses are just wonderful, joyous, and exciting, and I love things that have themes that are so obvious and amazing. They stack on each other.
“But I think the orchestra gets the best part in this. They are so descriptive of the different things that they’re talking about. And basically, the choir is always singing, ‘Yes, he created it. Isn’t that wonderful? Yes, he’s free. Yes, he did that. And isn’t that wonderful? Glory to God.’ So, we get a lot of fun music to sing, but I think that the art and creativity really come out in the orchestra.”
Amber Long (alto) began singing in high school before attending a competitive junior college music program. She met Davies when she transferred to Cal Poly. Davies retired in 2017, but Long has continued singing for him in the Master Chorale.
“It’s really hard to give it up when you’ve been doing it so long, and the fact that he’s the director is amazing. It’s something I’ll never be able to give up until I can’t sing anymore,” Long, who’s also the board secretary, added. “When we get older, we learn what we prioritize, and this is something I prioritize.”
She, too, finds Haydn’s music very descriptive: “When the sun comes out, it sounds like the sun is coming out. It’s just so much fun to do, to be a part of a group where we are creating those dynamics and making that happen.”
Colin Toohey (bass) said, “I was literally born into this life. My parents met in choir in high school. I always had music around me. My dad forced me to do a kids’ choir when I was 10 or 11 years old, and that inspired me to do children’s musical theater. I kept doing that through high school. I went to PCPA for theater, and after that realized that classical music was a lot more my style.”
Both Toohey’s parents have been in the choir, and he called Davies “the absolute best conductor, director, leader that I’ve worked with.” He’s also been one of Judith Dunlore’s students for 10 years.
“I’m not going to pretend I know nearly as much as these people here,” he said of his cohorts on The Creation. “This style of music is still fairly new to me. It’s not difficult to sing notes-wise. The notes themselves are very much within my wheelhouse, but it’s composed in such a way that it’s challenging, and you have to be constantly engaged with the music, which, thankfully, is incredible, incredible music.”
When all is said and done, nearly 200 people will be involved in staging The Creation. Are you ready to experience the majesty and magic of Haydn’s masterpiece? ∆
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in April 9-16, 2026.