Voices of Connection: 04/16 Selected by Voices of Ascension tenor Brian Dougherty Inbox
Westminster Choir College
Princeton, New Jersey
Westminster Choir
Joseph Flummerfelt, Conductor
Gregory Hostetler, Tenor
When I was a senior in high school, James Jordan - a choral conductor at Westminster Choir College and a future mentor - sent me a 1981 Westminster Choir recording of folk songs. To my young ears, it was the best choral music I had ever heard. My favorite track was an a cappella setting of a Scottish song called "Ca' the Yowes" that featured a glorious lyric tenor solo. As one does when they're a 17 year-old music lover, I listened to it on repeat dozens of times. It inspired me to attend Westminster.
The tenor soloist was fellow Westminster alum and future colleague Gregory Hostetler.
Fast forward 15 years or so, Greg and I are on the same Voices of Ascension gig. I didn't really know him. I went over to Greg during a rehearsal break, introduced myself and told him the story of how he, as a collegiate tenor, inspired me with his beautiful singing.