Myth and Memory by Donna Wickham

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Myth and Memory is an arresting marriage of poetry and music with an extraordinary group of progressive musicians. The album features Donna's settings of poetry by Rainer Maria Rilke and Anna Akhmatova as well as her own original poetry that explores the mythology of a life well-lived.

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Firesign Vocal Quartet
Follow We This Joyful Birth


Firesign Vocal Quartet releases their second CD with an eclectic set of holiday repertoire which includes Renaissance polyphony by Palestrina, Victoria, and Praetorius; 20th-century motets by Rubbra, Poulenc, and Tavener; and fresh arrangements of classic Christmas carols by Bradley Ellingboe, Alice Parker, and Laurie Betts Hughes. A special highlight of the CD is the newly composed motet Veni Redemptor by Donna Wickham, and a new arrangement of Stille Nacht by Ben Riggs, both members of Firesign Vocal Quartet. 
Firesign Vocal Quartet is a unique new ensemble based in Denver. All four musicians are current or former members of St. Martin’s Chamber Choir, where they met and began forming a professional and artistic bond. Although each are consummate vocalists, the members of Firesign primarily identify themselves in other musical areas: soprano JoAnn Gudvangen-Brown is a pianist at University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music and choir director at University Park UMC; alto Donna Wickham is the director of the Vocal Jazz program at University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music; tenor Ben Riggs is the artistic director and conductor of the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus in Minneapolis; and bass Terry Schlenker is a composer who makes his living as a human embryologist.​

Released December 1, 2012 
Recorded July and August 2012 in Hamilton Hall, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, Denver, Colorado. 
David Wilson, recording engineer. 
Ashley Hoffman, graphic design 
Produced by Donna Wickham, Gizmo Records.
© Copyright - Firesign Vocal Quartet, LLC / Gizmo Records ​

Firesign Vocal Quartet
William Byrd Mass for Four Voices
Terry Schlenker Mass for Four Voices

Debut album of the Denver-based professional vocal quartet, featuring the world premiere recording of Denver composer Terry Schlenker's Mass for Four Voices paired with the William Byrd Mass for Four Voices (2011). 
The premiere recording of Terry Schlenker’s Mass for Four Voices is an important musical event in the choral arts community. Schlenker’s choral works have been performed and recorded both locally (Denver, CO) and nationally, and they are regularly featured on the Classical Public Radio Network. The American Record Guide calls Schlenker’s music “radiant and ethereal,” and Denver Post fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan recently described Schlenker’s De Profundis as having “a timeless sensibility, with penetrating harmonies and melodic purity that sound both new and centuries old” (Denver Post, 9/12/2011). 
Firesign Vocal Quartet is a unique new ensemble based in Denver. All four musicians are current or former members of St. Martin’s Chamber Choir, where they met and began forming a professional and artistic bond. Although each are consummate vocalists, the members of Firesign primarily identify themselves in other musical areas: soprano JoAnn Gudvangen-Brown is a pianist at University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music and choir director at University Park UMC; alto Donna Wickham is the director of the Vocal Jazz program at University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music; tenor Ben Riggs is the artistic director and conductor of the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus in Minneapolis; and bass Terry Schlenker is a composer who makes his living as a human embryologist.  ​

​Released October 7, 2011
Recorded July and August 2011 in Hamilton Hall, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, Denver, Colorado. 
David Wilson, recording engineer. 
Ashley Hoffman, graphic design 
Produced by Donna Wickham, Gizmo Records. 
© Copyright - Firesign Vocal Quartet, LLC / Gizmo Records (700261340654)