Ralph Hughes knew what to choose for his last performance after 40 years as conductor and artistic director of the Sacramento Master Singers.
He picked a new choral commission by Robert Cohen for the group’s “A Season of Gratitude” concert May 14 at the Harris Center in Folsom.
The piece is about “a music conductor appreciating their life in music,” Hughes says.
Hughes didn’t mean to take over the Master Singers in 1986. He joined the choir at the behest of his adviser while studying voice and earning his teaching credential at Sacramento State University.
One day at a rehearsal break, founding director Ken Winter said he was ready to retire and wanted Hughes to succeed him as conductor.
“It was the weirdest way to begin a new position, with no intent of having that job to begin with,” Hughes says. “But it was fortuitous because it’s become my life’s passion.”
Under Hughes’ leadership, the Master Singers expanded their repertoire with dozens of original commissions. The group has worked with some of the biggest names in choral music and performed all over the world.
Hughes credits his friend John “Jack” Crowell for getting him to dream bigger.
“Jack had a vision I didn’t yet have. He really pushed me,” Hughes says. “He said, ‘you have this skillset to have the choir do festivals, tours—more than you’re currently doing.’ He wrote our first grant. Now with more money, we thought, what could we do? Commissions? Hire guest conductors? I owe a lot to him for making me think in a bigger way and making me brave enough to invite guest conductors.”
The choir worked with industry notables Moses Hogan, María Guinand, Alice Parker and Oscar Escalada. Guinand invited the Master Singers to perform at the America Cantat choral festival in Venezuela.
“I had people ask me, how in the heck did you get Moses Hogan to agree to come?” Hughes says. “I asked!”
Hughes’ ability to make connections benefited the Master Singers and his students. He taught music and drama for seven years at Bella Vista High School and choir, voice and piano at American River College for more than 30 years. He was named “Outstanding Music Educator of the Year” by the California Music Educators Association Capitol Section in 1995.
“There have always been other choirs in my life,” he says. “At one point, I had eight or nine going simultaneously—at schools, honor choirs. I was in two choirs myself at Sac State during my master’s. At times, there were 150 (choral music) pieces in my folder.”
Immersion was perfect for Hughes. He’d fallen in love with choir when a neighbor volunteered him to play piano for a local choir while attending high school in Germany. He loved it so much he joined as a singer. When his family moved back to his parents’ hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, he joined another choir and never stopped.
As he looks toward the future and free time, Hughes is eager to travel to events such as Oktoberfest and European Christmas markets. He also looks forward to spending more time with his 90-year-old mother and rebuilding his foothills cabin that burned in the Caldor Fire.
Choir will always be his passion. Hughes says, “This choir is my West Coast family. It’s been a wonderful experience for me.”
For information, visit mastersingers.org.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
