Sue Coffee is the founding Artistic Director of Sound Circle, a women's a cappella ensemble, and Resonance Women's Chorus. With members of Sound Circle, she directed Unbound Voices, a chorus at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility, for four years. Sue was also Artistic Director of the Denver Gay Men's Chorus for six years.
Sue's vision has created a model for a sustainable community of singers: her ensembles grow joy within and radiate that joy outward. The 18-voice Sound Circle is in its 26th year of collective creativity and the 125-voice Resonance Women’s Chorus has completed 17 years of concerts offering uplift and nourishment to Colorado audiences. Her understanding of music-making is grounded in attention to authentic voice, relevance of texts, intentionality of community, and a deep appreciation for the healing potential of ensemble singing. Her ensembles are known for their musical excellence, inventive programming, creative collaborations, and refreshing performance presence, as well as their messages of social awareness and support of many local social change organizations. Their repertoire of eclectic and contemporary choral music includes many commissions of new works. Sue has received the GALA Choruses Legacy Award for service to the LGBTQ choral movement, as well as the Boulder PFLAG Community Service Award, the Boulder Daily Camera Pacesetter Award for Arts and Entertainment, and the Women Who Light the Community Award from the Boulder Chamber of Commerce. She was honored as part of the 2017 Dairy Center for the Arts Honors in Boulder. Her education and training took place at St. John’s College, Manhattan School of Music, the Kodaly Institute at the Hartt School of Music, the University of Northern Colorado, and in private study with Laszlo Halasz. Boulder Daily Camera music critic Wes Blomster wrote that "Sue Coffee has the finest musical imagination in the region." |