Glacier Chorale director retiring after eight years

Not everyone gets to retire twice after making lasting marks in their community.

Then again, not everyone can be Jim Stanard, Glacier Chorale director and conductor. 

After eight years leading the choral group, Stanard has decided to hang up the conductor’s baton at the end of this season, wanting to focus on his private classes.

With the chorale and symphony season going until May, the 69-year-old Stanard wants to leave on a high note. 

“I really would like to leave in a strong position, not limping out the door,” Stanard said. “I want to put the head down and charge straight forward.”

The Glacier Chorale has between 70 and 80 members and, according to Stanard, a huge amount of talent.

“The hardest part of leaving this position is leaving the people,” he said. “It’s the best choir I’ve been privileged to work with. They are nurses and attorneys and accountants and school teachers, but attendance is always high at rehearsals.”

The chorale rehearses Thursday nights, sometimes for up to three hours at a time. Stanard said the dedication from these folks working other jobs has kept him energized and focused.

The Great Falls native wasn’t always a choral director. Before moving back to Montana, he taught for 34 years at Humboldt State University in California.

“When I retired the first time I had no intention of doing something like this,” Stanard said of leading the choir. “It was a happy accident for me.”

After years working with John Zoltek, the music director and conductor of the Glacier Symphony, Stanard has a big show planned to cap his tenure with the choir side of things.

“A Sea Symphony” by Vaughan Williams is a 70-minute-long, vocally heavy piece and Stanard promises a great performance of the sweeping work.

One of Stanard’s most memorable performances was the “Duruflé Requiem” by French composer Maurice Duruflé. 

“I was just overwhelmed,” Stanard said. “The sound of the singers made the walls ring.”

When his tenure at Glacier Chorale ends in a few months — and the walls quit ringing — the music won’t end for Stanard. He plans to work with The Great Pretenders, the featured men’s quartet of the Glacier Chorale, along with composing his own music and teaching voice to singers of all ages.

“My musical career has been about singing a lot,” he said. “I’ve put a lot of my emphasis into my teaching.”

It’s even possible that in a few years he could be retiring for a third time, although if you ask him, the music isn’t going anywhere.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.