Sonus Chamber Choir announces Voices of the Prairie, an album of new choral music from Kansas composers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Kolby Van Camp Artistic Director, Sonus Chamber Choir
director@sonusks.org | +1 (785) 806-0882 | https://sonusks.org
TOPEKA, Kan. (October 6, 2026) — Sonus Chamber Choir announces Voices of the Prairie, an album of new choral music by composers with Kansas ties, arriving November 6, 2026.
The album reaches listeners in stages. James Keller's Red Maples is available now; a second single, Kolby Van Camp's My Son, My Son, follows in October, ahead of the complete album in November.
A platform for Kansas voices
The ensemble's 2026 Voices of the Prairie call for scores invited composers with Kansas ties by birth, education, or residence, to submit works rooted in the region's cultural and geographic heritage. Selected scores were guaranteed both a concert performance and a professional recording, putting new repertoire in front of an audience and preserving it beyond a single program. The review panel was Kolby Van Camp, Founder and Artistic Director; Composer-in-Residence Jesse Kaiser; and guest composers Andrew Bell and Alan Bell.
Sam Kauffman's Wind in the Wheat and Keller's Red Maples, both selected through the call, were programmed on the ensemble's Spring 2026 Voices of the Prairie concert and carried from that program into the studio.
Repertoire and recording
Voices of the Prairie sets those scores beside music written from inside the ensemble. Nicholas Paradas, a Sonus Chamber Choir singer and local educator, contributes a four-movement Missa Brevis; Van Camp contributes the three-movement Eventide Triptych and the single My Son, My Son. Keeping the album's authorship close to the group performing it is deliberate: the same voices that premiered these works in concert carry them onto the recording.
The complete track list:
Missa Brevis (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei) — Nicholas Paradas
Wind in the Wheat — Sam Kauffman
Eventide Triptych (The Ocean, The Moon, The Youthful Heart) — Kolby Van Camp
My Son, My Son — Kolby Van Camp
Red Maples — James Keller
"I’m incredibly pleased with how these recordings turned out," said Van Camp. "Voices of the Prairie documents music written out of this region, and does serious work in highlighting the compositional skill that is prevalent in the Sunflower State."
Composer-in-Residence Jesse Kaiser added, "With one of the key priorities of Sonus Chamber Choir being to commission and premiere new music, an album of world-premiere recordings by local composers continues to demonstrate our commitment to the central mission of the organization."
The album was recorded at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Kansas City by recording engineer Spencer Pope and produced by Kolby Van Camp, Founder and Artistic Director of Sonus Chamber Choir.
Availability
Keller's Red Maples is available now for streaming and download on major digital platforms, including Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, TIDAL, and Deezer.
Pre-release for My Son, My Son opens October 2, 2026, and the single releases October 9, 2026. Pre-release for the album, including pre-save and pre-order, opens October 16, 2026. Voices of the Prairie releases in full on November 6, 2026.
Album artwork, press images, and interview requests are available upon request.
About Sonus Chamber Choir
Sonus Chamber Choir is a professional vocal ensemble and 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization based in Topeka, Kansas. The ensemble focuses on recording and performing contemporary choral works, with particular attention to clarity of sound, structural integrity, and thoughtful engagement with the choral tradition. Through professional recordings and live performance, Sonus Chamber Choir contributes to the ongoing development and preservation of modern choral literature.