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Starfire Singers, founded in 1980, is the high school choir at the Los Altos United Methodist Church. The group sings weekly in one of the church’s three morning worship services, sharing the load equally with the church’s two adult choirs. In addition to their weekly involvement in worship, Starfire performs throughout the year at a variety of church events, and has performed in UMC conference events, and in the local community. The high point of the year for members of the group is their summer tour. Past tours have included Southern California, California/Nevada, the Pacific Northwest/Canada, Oregon/Idaho, the American Southwest, the Rocky Mountains, Finland, Russia and the Baltic Republics, the British Isles, Australia, Denmark, and Mexico. 1995 saw the release of Starfire’s first CD, There Was a Time. Since then they have released several more recordings, the most recent in 2006, Carry the Message.
One of the hallmarks of the Starfire Singers is their unique, contemporary sound. This is due to the fact that much of the music sung by Starfire is original music, composed by the directors, Dirk and Carol Damonte. Their music fits no easy classification, but has been characterized as upbeat, contemporary, enthusiastic, exciting, vibrant by those who hear it. For the past twenty five years, Starfire’s summer tour has featured an original dramatic musical by Dirk and Carol, and audiences throughout the world have been tremendously inspired and deeply moved by what they’ve heard.
Perhaps the most important distinction of the Starfire Singers is the
message behind their music, and the strongly held belief of the directors and the members of the group in that message. The message of Starfire is that God’s love speaks to us, and can be conveyed to the world, through music. Starfire’s music has touched the hearts of many with powerful messages about the potential of God’s love to work through human lives to change the world. Starfire’s musicals explore what it means to be in community with each other and with all of God’s creation. These musicals have had a great impact upon all those who have seen them, and upon the members in the choir. Through this music and this message, Starfire is changing the world.