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Montana International Choral Festival brings international choirs to Denison Theater, includes Indigenous land acknowledgement
Summary
The 2025 Montana International Choral Festival at the University of Montana’s Denison Theater featured choirs from around the world, a land acknowledgement for local Indigenous peoples and named First Security Bank as a concert sponsor, festival hosts said.
The 2025 Montana International Choral Festival at the University of Montana’s Denison Theater featured choirs from around the world and included a land acknowledgement and sponsor recognition, festival host Michael Marsalek said as the event opened.
The festival’s afternoon program includes concerts this afternoon and evening and continues tomorrow, with “a big finale on Sunday,” Marsalek said. Dean Peterson, conductor of the Missoula Symphony Chorale, delivered the event’s land acknowledgement: “The Montana International Choral Festival acknowledges that we are in the Aboriginal territories of the Salish and Kalispel people,” he said, adding that the festival honors “the path they have always shown us, and caring for this space for the generations to come.”
Why it matters: the festival brings visiting ensembles and local choral groups together for public concerts and community engagement, and local sponsors and volunteers underwrite logistics. Festival organizers singled out First Security Bank as that afternoon’s concert sponsor and directed listeners to the printed program for a full list of 2025 sponsors.
The afternoon’s program introduced a range of ensembles and repertoire. Host Michael Marsalek welcomed the Iyenga Singers from Missoula and introduced visiting groups including Vox Nova (introduced by Howard Morton) and the University of Montana Chamber Chorale under the direction of Doctor Stevie Herner. Dean Peterson introduced the Missoula Symphony Chorale and noted the festival’s local organizing volunteers and hosts.
Performances described on the broadcast included a modern Romanian-Hungarian sunrise piece that “captures the composer’s plea to be protected from nightmares,” a Filipino folk-derived piece by Francisco Feliciano that dramatizes a hunter and a sparrow, and an arrangement of Jacob Collier’s “World, Whole World,” which the announcer described as exploring mortality and acceptance.
The program also included a visiting choir from Uganda identified in the program as Francisca Choir from Christ the King, Kampala, which the announcer said would perform sacred songs followed by regional dances from eastern and central Uganda. The announcer pointed listeners to page 34 of the festival booklet for choir details.
The broadcast format combined short introductions by the host, descriptions of repertoire and composers, and brief remarks by conductors and choir representatives. Organizers asked the audience to support local sponsors listed in the printed program and thanked volunteers and hosts who helped bring international ensembles to Missoula.
The festival continues with additional concerts through the weekend and a scheduled finale on Sunday, organizers said.
