"Denice Rippentrop continues to capture the spirit with her 'God's Promises' Choral Series. These new works are accessible to any choir large or small. Singers and conductors alike will enjoy the unique and powerful anthems! Denice has such a wonderful soul that is expressed so emphatically through her sacred choral music."
Darin Reed, Director of Music, North Scottsdale United Methodist Church, Scottsdale, AZ
"Denice Rippentrop's choral work, "Is Not This Salvation Too Great to Ignore?" is bathed in luxurious harmony - mellifluous, melodic, and most of all, soulful - well worth the effort"
Dr. Peter Hendrickson, Conductor of the Masterworks Chorale of Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota
"Singing Landscape of My Soul was a dramatically exquisite journey!"
Dr. Stephen McKersie, Conductor, The Festival Singers, San Francisco, CA
"It is in These Wounds" was commissioned by the Arizona Arts Chorale in Scottsdale, Arizona with intentions to perform this a cappella work on September 11. The text, written by composer, Denice Rippentropp, is a prayerful healing statement for the whole world to hear. Set to an 8 part SATB choral style, the piece begins soulfully with independent lines, culminating in a rhythmically charged middle section, culminating with loud interruptions of "terror" , then settling into a unison 3 octave chord, "In Strength I Live". It will be a steady part of our future repertoire, though challenging to learn, very rewarding to perform.
Carolyn Eynon, Artistic Director, Arizona Arts Chorale
"Constant Strength" gave our singers expressive opportunities for warmth, richness, and a sense of quiet urgency.
"Aaronic Blessing" -- This is a fresh setting of a well-known text; we're delighted to have added it to our repertoire, and we expect it to be a staple for many years.
William Mathis, Minister of Music and Fine Arts, Hennepin Ave United Methodist Church Minneapolis
"Ms. Rippentrop's music is very lyrical as well as tonal. Her music has a fresh sound and immediate appeal. The music has the kind of substance that makes it easy to live with over a long period of time."
Fletcher Anderson, Wesleyan College, Macon, GA
'Our high school girls enjoyed performing "WHAT CAN HEAVENLY LOVE DO?" for festival competition this year."
B
en Canfield, choral director, Hobbs Municipal School, Hobbs, NM
"Ms. Rippentrop's music has a different choral sound. Her music is very singable, extremely moving and will basically climax to a worshipful experience for the listener."
David Deeg, signal Mountain Presbyterian Church, Signal Mountain, TN
"In a time when it is extremely difficult to find quality choral music for the female ensemble, it is refreshing to discover music of the quality that Ms' Rippentrop is composing and publishing. Ms. Rippentrop's creative approach to the female ensemble sound by the use of diverse instruments that add to the unique timbres and colors are most exciting."
Terry Fletcher, Hinds Community College, Raymond, Miss.
"One of the most effective pieces on our tour this spring was CHRIST, WE PRAY. People were spellbound!"
Peter Hendrickson, Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN
"LIGHT COMES FORTH is a choral work of colorful, sensitive textures, which paints pictures for the ear."
Patricia Hennings, Peninsula Women's Chorus, Palo Alto, CA
"Penetrating, accessible music of faith!"
John Hicks, Covenant Presbyterian Church, Madison, WS
"Ms. Rippentrop's sacred music takes seriously the action of god in our lives. It is a keen aesthetic response going far beyond the entertaining placebos of much of today's church music."
Don Levsen, Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, S.D.
"As you know, our choir did PEOPLE, PONDER THE CROSS on Palm Sunday. It turned out very well. Our choir is very small (20 or so) with only one or two professionals. The professionals loved it immediately; the amateurs were not very receptive. When we first began the anthem, there was much grumbling: 'It didn't make sense," 'It's far out.' By the time Palm Sunday came, they loved it and understood its depth and meaning and sang it with great feeling. So we thank you for all your wonderful music. Please keep it up!"
Betty Lurie, choral director, St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Jacksonville, FL
"We are doing PEOPLE, PONDER THE CROSS as a centerpiece for our Maundy Thursday Service. The text and Music flow seamlessly, bringing powerful meaning to the message of the cross. Ms Rippentrop's music is unique and remarkable--true classics of choral repertoire."
Joyce V. Midgorden, Music director, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Mobile, AK
"THE GENTLE KING'S DWELLING is most worthy of a church anthem as well as a scared concert piece. The text and music is gorgeous."
Larry McLeod, First Methodist Church of Douglasville, Douglasville, GA
"Denice Rippentrop's music is remarkable in its ability to combine musical and textual ideas that are often in opposition. Musically, the harmonic vocabulary is definitely modern, but not at all inaccessible to the choir or congregation."
Christian Miller, Mr. Washington Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, OH
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"In Ms' Rippentrop's Music, I have found her music to meet a void in my response for 20th century literature that is challenging and obtainable. I appreciate her inventive and meaningful text as a way of expressing our faith."
Tim Morrison, Custer Road United Methodist Church, Plano, TX
"My Chamber Chorus performed FOR SUN, MOON AND STARS and WHAT CAN HEAVENLY LOVE DO? For two choral festivals this years. We received high superior ratings. The judges were thrilled with the selections. A judge from the University of Florida stated the songs were 'courageous….fearless.' The music was simply incredible. The Chorus musical matured with these pieces. It gave an opportunity to open them up."
Joseph Napoli, choral director, St. Dominic Academy, Jersey City, N.J.
"As we worked on these six new releases over the course of a few weeks, they became a part of our standard repertoire-but more importantly, they became a part of our tonal palette and our spiritual center."
Mr. Bill Mathis, Conductor of "The Chamber Singers" Hennepin United Methodist Church, Minneapolis, MN
"The first look at Ms. Rippentrop's music is quite deceiving. That is to say that it looks much more difficult than it actually is. The voice leading is quite conventional with very few surprises within the individual parts. However, the overall effect is surprising considering the relative simplicity of the individual parts….and most beautiful to listen to. THE SUNFLOWER is our favorite. The imagery portrayed by these lovely words is wonderfully supported by Ms. Rippentrop's very sensitive musical setting. WHAT CAN MEAVENLY LOVE DO? Is a wonderfully imaginative setting to a most thought provoking text. The changing meters so beautifully accommodate the text that the flow of the melodic line is never really threatened. A great piece! Ms. Rippentrop's music is a wonderful gift to the women's choir. In every piece she demonstrates her knowledge of the choral singer, her textual sensitivity, her inherent melodic abilities and a unique sense of appropriate accompaniments that so splendidly embellish the text and the choral score."
Merrill J Palmer, choral director, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL
"The music of Denice Rippentrop fills the need for quality church anthems in the contemporary genre. The pieces are well constructed, yet accessible to the volunteer church choir. The molding of text to sound is superior; the ensuing result is stunning."
Cynthia S. Pound, St. David's Episcopal Church, Wayne, PA
"The St. Luke's Chorister's (boys and girls ages 7-12) presented your CHRISTMAS ANGELS this past Fall for the ACDA Michigan Convention held at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. Although I do no know if this was your original intention, but CHRISTMAS ANGELS is ideal for the children's voice. So often, I am finding in recent compositions low placement for the unison voice, but your work is set so that the head voice of the young treble is able to freely sound. The text and music are beautiful wedded to express the joy of the Christmas Season! Thank you for such a wonderful addition to our repertoire. We hope that you will consider writing more anthems that can find their way into the treble repertoire."
Paula Paugh Romanaux, Director of Choral Activities, College Organist, Kalamazoo College, Organist-Choirmaster, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Kalamazoo, MI
"Audiences responded beautifully to Ms. Rippentrop's composition LIGHT COMES FORTH. They felt the sensitivity of the poet's words to a musical setting that was most effective. The pieces were almost atmospheric. The pieces were challenging for the students while still being within reach of their abilities. The students were encouraged in preparing each piece. I highly recommend LIGHT COMES FORTH for other women's choruses."
Kathy Romey, University of Minnesota Women's Chorus, Minneapolis, MN
"WHAT CAN HEAVEN;Y LOVE DO? Is a beautiful piece of music. This composition was a valuable teaching tool, too. It taught the students to listen very carefully and it taught the students responsibility for really understanding the reading of the score. WHAT CAN HEAVENLY LOVE DO? Really has a satisfying sonority. The students never tired of working on it. Instead of using handbells, we used a vibraphone which was most effective."
Jennifer Starr, choral Director, Woodbury High School, Woodbury, MN
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"Ms. Rippentrop's music is beautifully composed. She uses rhythmic imitation, counterpoint and key modulations with skill."
Thomas Schmidt, St. Peter's Lutheran Church, New York, N.Y.
"Denice Rippentrop's music unfailingly works from the spirit outward, beginning with the soul and singing through the words."
Libby Larsen, 1994 Grammy Winning Composer
"Her music is challenging, engaging and certainly worthy of choral conductors' serious attention."
Dr. Scott Dorsey, Director of Choral Activities, Montana State University
"Finally, there is a new voice in the area of scared choral literature. The music of Denice Rippentrop is a wonderful blend of contemporary idioms with a strong sense of traditional tonality. While these works are challenging in the best sense of the word, they are, however, accessible to most church choirs and appealing to those who listen in the pew. If you are looking for something new and interesting to do with your choir, then I highly recommend the music of one of the up-and-coming stars in the field of choral composition--Denice Rippentrop."
David A. Heller, Associate Professor of Music, Chapel Director and University Organist, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX
"The desire of many choral directors is to find superior literature that challenges and satisfies the intellectual, emotional, and performing needs of their choirs. I have found the music of Denice Rippentrop to succinctly encompass these needs. Her composition, As the Moon Rose, was key in our women's choir winning overall choral award in festival of music in Ocean City, May 1995. To me, the compositions of Denice Rippentrop are a foundations of the 21st century."
Charles Moll, Director of the Senior High School Blue and Gold Choirs, Downingtown, PA
"I rate Ms. Rippentrop's music: unique, challenging, well-written from beginning to end, bringing forth some new and refreshing concepts. Above all, the singers love the music and the music has audience appeal. It meets the needs of toady!"
Alfred Skoog, Arkansas State University, AR
"Having even just this preliminary opportunity to begin getting to know your work has made it clear to me that the reviews you sent are on target. There is an originality to the work that makes it always interesting, fresh, unexpected. And yet at the same time, there is a timeless quality to the sound that resonated the Church throughout the ages--past, present and future. The one score that I have so far studied closely, PEOPLE, PONDER THE CROSS, at first looks difficult, but yet with closer scrutiny one soon discovers just how well written it is for choral singing and that with reasonable preparation certainly my choir can perform the work convincingly."
Peter Crisafulli, minister of music, All Saints Episcopal Church, Chevy Chase, MD
"Your music has made the world a better place!"
Jodi Holen, Conductor, Maple Grove High School, Maple Grove, MN
"The choral music of Denice Rippentrop is like an anointing of luminous sounds and powerful poetic images that spring forth from her fertile imagination and creative mind. Her music and her poetry are unified into an expression, celebration and product of her mind, soul and her spirit."
Dr. Ginger Covert Colla, Professor of Voice/Choral Studies and Music Education, California State University, Stanislaus, CA
"Denice Rippentrop's literature fulfills my priority to perform top quality music. DANCING IN THE SHADOWS is an exciting and challenging piece for women's choirs. Its haunting melody gives way to an energetic dancing section with multiple time changes and resolves with the return of the original melody. The unusual instrumental accompaniment of chimes, marimba, and piano adds to the contemporary flavor. My students loved working on the piece and the song was a definite highlight at the concert."
Ms. Glenyta Hanson, Sioux Falls Lincoln High School, Sioux Falls, SD
"The Desert Trilogy" is a wonderful exploration of text and sounds in expressing ultimately - hope. The Sonoran Desert Chorale was very please with "The Desert Trilogy" as was our audience. Enjoy the colors of Light and Hope."
Jeff Harris, Conductor, The Sonoran Desert Chorale, Phoenix, AZ
"At first glance, the melodic lines in 'I See You Change, Growing" intertwine in a style that is characteristic of Ms. Rippentrop's work. However, upon closer examination, it is the text of the piece that captures the true essence of the ever-changing human spirit, ending with a beautiful, not-so-final resolution."
Ryan Holder, Conductor, The Melodairs, Grants Pass High School, Grants Pass, OR
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