Some instruments are built of breath. Conspirare, the Grammy Award-winning choral ensemble founded in Austin in 1991 by Craig Hella Johnson, turns a few dozen human voices into the most powerful sound in the city.
The ensemble’s concerts feel like gatherings of old friends: candlelit Christmas programs that Austinites guard as tradition, collaborations with guitarists, poets and dancers, and new works that treat the present moment with tenderness. Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard, an oratorio of compassion, carried Austin’s name to concert halls and broadcasts across the country.
Conspirare means “to breathe together,” and hearing them you understand why that is a whole philosophy. In a loud music town, this quiet thunder is sacred.
Happy City News lowers its voice in their presence, and leaves every concert walking a little softer.
