Flint Hills Masterworks Chorale
Manhattan's Community Choir
Flint Hills Masterworks Chorale is a community choir sponsored by the Worship Ministry program at Manhattan Christian College. The choir consists of 40-50 singers of all abilities, from the beginner to the professional and from teenager to senior citizen. They are all united in their love of singing the classics. A concert is presented at the end of each academic semester. These programs are presented in local churches and are accompanied by organ and other instruments.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact Mary Ann Buhler at mabuhler@mccks.edu
She can also be reached at (785) 539-3571.
Flint Hills Masterworks Chorale was founded in the fall of 1994 by Ruth Robertson, a voice teacher in the Music Department at Manhattan Christian College. By the end of her first year conducting the chorus, Ruth had finished her doctorate, and she moved away from Manhattan to take a university teaching position. The choir was then taken over for a year by Cherié Caulley, a local church choir director, who was succeeded in turn by MCC faculty member RubyAnn Poulson, also for a year. In 1997 RubyAnn handed the baton to a young British musician who was a graduate of 
the University Kansas, and remained in the United States to teach at MCC. Dr. Ian Coleman conducted the choir for five years. Dr. Reginald Pittman from Kansas State University has been our director since 2002.
Mary Ann Buhler has accompanied the choir throughout its history. She earned her Master of Library Science (MLS) degree from Emporia State University and a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Kansas State University. In addition to being accompanist for the Flint Hills Masterworks Chorale, she is organist at College Avenue United Methodist Church and Director of Library Services at Manhattan Christian College.
The Flint Hills Masterworks Chorale took its first tour in June 2009, traveling to Europe on a two-week journey. The first stop was in Budapest for a joint concert with the City Choir of Pesterzsébet at the St. László Church. Then it was off to Vienna, Austria, with short concerts at St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the Schönbrunn Palace. The next morning they provided the choral music for the mass at Dr. Karl-Lueger Church, which is located near the graves of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, and other famous composers.
After leaving Vienna, the chorale sang at the Melk Abbey before continuing to Salzburg, where they were delighted to spend an hour singing under the baton of János Cifra, music director of the Salzburg Cathedral. Afterwards they performed a concert in the cathedral.
The partner city of Manhattan, Kansas is Dobřichovice in the Czech Republic. Under the sponsorship of the gracious citizens of Dobřichovice, Masterworks sang at the Museum of Musical Instruments in Prague. Their last concert was at the Church of St. Martin and Prokopios in Karlík near Dobřichovice, followed by a delicious dinner buffet and a concert by Dobřichovice’s own Ludus Musicus. A dinner cruise on the Vlatava River in Prague the next evening was a fitting end to a memorable tour.
Works Performed
Fall 1994 |
Spring 1995 |
| Fall 1995 Magnificat by F. Schubert The Christmas Story by H. Schütz Gloria by Dave Brubeck |
Spring 1996 Credo Mass by W. A. Mozart Messiah by G. F. Handel |
| Fall 1996 Missa Brevis by Z. Kodály Te Deum by J. Rutter |
Spring 1997 Cantata #140 (Wachet auf) by J. S. Bach Four Sacred Songs by G. Verdi |
| Fall 1997 Choral music through the ages, from Purcell to contemporary composers |
Spring 1998 Grand Mass in C Minor by W. A. Mozart and other works |
| Fall 1998 A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28 by B. Britten and other works |
Spring 1999 Mass in G by F. Schubert Gloria by A. Vivaldi |
| Fall 1999 Requiem by G. Fauré and seasonal music, including Fantasia on Christmas Carols by R. Vaughan Williams |
Spring 2000 Gloria by J. Rutter Lord Nelson Mass by J. F. Haydn |
| Fall 2000 Gloria by F. Poulenc and seasonal music |
Spring 2001 Mass for Four Voices by W. Byrd and other works |
| Fall 2001 Hear My Prayer by F. Mendelssohn Three Graduals for the Church Year by A. Bruckner Magnificat by J. S. Bach, and seasonal music |
Spring 2002 Five Negro Spirituals by M. Tippett Easter Cantata by Daniel Pinkham Requiem by W. A. Mozart |
| Fall 2002 Magnificat by G. Pergolesi Jubilate Deo by Benjamin Britten Quatre Motets pour le temps de Noël by Francis Poulencand other works |
Spring 2003 Dona Nobis Pacem by Ralph Vaughan Williams Canticle of Psalms by James Mulholland Three settings of Ave Maria |
| Fall 2003 Te Deum by Zoltán Kodály Six Chansons by Paul Hindemith and works by Alice Parker and John Rutter |
Spring 2004 Elijah by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy |
| Fall 2004 Laud to the Nativity by Respighi Vier Quartette, Op. 92 by Brahms The Winds of May by Kirke Mechem |
Spring 2005 Coronation Mass by Mozart Leaves of Grass by William Hall Selections from The Tender Land by Copland |
| Fall 2005 Christmas Oratorio by Saint-Saëns and seasonal music |
Spring 2006 A German Requiem, Op. 45 by Brahms |
| Fall 2006 Mass in C, Op. 86 by Beethoven and other works |
Spring 2007 Selections from Solomon by Handel Polovetzian Dance and Chorus by Borodin Requiem by Duruflé |
| Fall 2007 Lux Aeterna by Lauridsen, Fantasia on Christmas Carols by Vaughan Williams, and seasonal music |
Spring 2008 The Creation by Haydn |
| Fall 2008 Christmas Cantata by Daniel Pinkham and other works |
Spring 2009 Otčenáš (The Lord's Prayer) by Leoš Janáček Jubilate by Bob Chilcott |
| Fall 2009 Vesperae solennes de confessore, K.V. 339 by Mozart, and other works |
Dr. Reginald Pittman has been directing Masterworks since 2002. Dr. Pittman joined the music faculty of Kansas State University in the fall of 1997. He teaches voice and directs the opera theatre program. He received the Doctor of Music Degree from the Indiana University School of Music and the Bachelor and Master Degrees of Music from the University of North Texas. His extensive performing experience includes work with the Des Moines, San Diego, Arizona, New Orleans, Shreveport, Dallas, and Birmingham Operas, as well as several orchestras. His stage directing and musical conducting credits include the musicals Show Boat, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Annie, Meet Me in St. Louis, Guys and Dolls, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and the operas The Elixir of Love, Vanessa, The Barber of Seville, The Tender Land, The Mikado, Gianni Schicchi, Trouble in Tahiti, and numerous opera workshop scenes. Dr. Pittman was a regional winner of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, Southern Regional Vocal Competition, and semi-finalist in the Friedrich Schorr Memorial Vocal Competition. Also, he was awarded the Rancho Bernardo Opera Guild Award presented by the San Diego Opera Center, and most recently, the Boris Goldovsky Foundation Fellowship. During the past year he was a semi-finalist in the Vera Scammon International Vocal Competition in Littleton, Colorado, soloist in Handel's Messiah with the North Dakota State University Department of Music, and soloist/masterclass teacher at Moorhead State University in Minnesota. Beginning in January ‘02, Dr. Pittman began serving as the Governor of the Kansas District and President of the Kansas Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Locally, Reg is the chancel choir director at First Presbyterian Church, has directed music for four shows at the Columbian Theatre in Wamego, and stage directed/musical directed four shows for Marysville Theatre.
Reg
Pittman
Contact Dr. Pittman at pittman@k-state.edu
The next concert for the Flint Hills Masterworks Chorale will be on in the spring, time to be announced.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact Mary Ann Buhler at mabuhler@mccks.edu
Flint Hills Masterworks Chorale is a community choir and is open to all area singers interested in joining. The choir rehearses 7:00-9:00 p.m. every Tuesday during the school year at First Lutheran Church at 10th and Poyntz Avenue. Performances are usually held at local churches. The registration fee for each semester is $10.00, and there is a small charge to purchase and/or rent music. To find out more about the choir, come to a rehearsal in the choir room at First Lutheran Church (enter by the north door), or contact Mary Ann Buhler at 539-3571 or mabuhler@mccks.edu.
History | Works Performed | Our Director | Next Concert | Becoming a Member