‘Literally heavenly’: Sacred Sounds concert series returns to St. James in Arlington Heights

Though he may be knee deep in busy summer wedding season and finishing another successful community theater production this weekend, St. James Parish’s Tam Conseur is already working ahead on preparations for what’s become a popular annual concert series.

The Arlington Heights church’s director of music and liturgy is creator and conductor of the Sacred Sounds series, which ranges from the contemporary Christian music of a small worship band to fairly more highbrow classical pieces performed by a 100-person ensemble.

“I always felt the best way to build the choir program was to have these major works, something outside of our regular Sunday Masses that we’d work on, and it would build this culture of excellence, trying to work toward improving our instruments, improving our musicality,” said Conseur, who has been music director at the Catholic church for the last decade.

The 2025-2026 season lineup was recently announced. It includes:

• Sept. 24 — A Night of Hope: A 10-person praise and worship group will perform contemporary Christian music in an event cosponsored by the church’s mental health ministry.

• Nov. 1 — All Souls Mass of Remembrance: Special choral music throughout the Mass will serve as a tribute and offering to the deceased.

• Dec. 6 — Advent Lessons and Carols: A chamber ensemble will present unique choral arrangements of Christmas music along with Advent Scripture readings.

• Feb. 9 — A Night of Chamber Music: The exact program is still being developed, but the concert promises to “warm your heart and soul,” according to the event listing.

• March 12 — Verdi’s Requiem: The classical piece will be performed by professional soloists, a double choir of 60 to 75, and an orchestra of two dozen instrumentalists.

Each concert lasts about an hour and is free to attend. People of various faith backgrounds are invited to attend.

“We really feel passionate about having this open to any and all people,” Conseur said. “No matter your walk of life, we want you to come experience some beautiful music in a beautiful space.”

While St. James hosted a few concerts off and on in the past, Conseur formalized the concert series in 2023, taking advantage of the expanded church sanctuary and the “sacred sounds” it provides.

Before the church renovation and expansion broke ground in 2018, padded pews and carpeted floors meant sound “didn’t go anywhere,” he said. After the building addition that more than doubled seating capacity from 400 to 824, Conseur says there’s a five-second sound decay — akin to what you’d hear in a cathedral.

“Since we’ve had the reconstruction and kind of revamped our church, the sound is so different than it once was,” he said. “It sounds literally heavenly.”

Past performances of Brahams Requiem and Bach and Vivaldi by St. James’ music ministry are available on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.

For information, visit stjamesah.org/sacred-sounds.