Harmony through music: Conductor receives Arlington Heights award for concerts that bring people together

Like the voices emanating from the St. James Parish sanctuary in Arlington Heights — soprano, alto, tenor, bass — Director of Music and Liturgy Tamaron Conseur believes music reminds us that difference is not division.

In a world that feels fragmented, music reminds us that harmony is possible, he says.

It’s something he’s seen at the Sacred Sounds concert series he started at St. James, where music genres range from contemporary Christian to classical, and attendees of various faith backgrounds fill the pews.

“What I have witnessed is that music has the power to gather people who might not otherwise ever sit side by side. A concert becomes more than a performance. It becomes a meeting place. A sacred space becomes a shared space. For an hour or two, we are not defined by our schedules, our worries or even our differences. We are simply a community coming together,” Conseur says.

For his efforts to build a “sense of pride and community” in Arlington Heights and among local artists, the village’s arts commission recognized Conseur this month with its 2025 Cultural Arts Award.

The native of San Diego was immersed in the arts at an early age, went on to study music at San Diego State University, and then earn a master’s degree at Northwestern University. Since 2004 he’s held various roles as a music minister at churches of different denominations, and worked with professional organizations including the San Diego Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

He arrived at St. James in 2015 and launched the concert series in 2023 as a way to unite the community through “music, truth and beauty,” he said.

The next performance may be his most ambitious effort yet: a presentation of the Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi, featuring a double choir of 70 singers, a 31-piece orchestra, and quartet of professional soloists from the Lyric Opera.

The free concert is at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 12, at St. James, 831 N. Arlington Heights Road. Conseur will conduct the concert, which will last about 90 minutes with intermission, and be followed by a reception.

During the award presentation at a village board meeting this month, Conseur said he was grateful, and hopeful, because “arts is not peripheral, but essential to our community.” He encouraged people to support the arts by continuing to show up for concerts, performances, student productions and other events.

“Music teaches us to listen for the other part. Theater teaches us to step into someone else’s story. Visual art invites us to see the world through another set of eyes. The arts do not erase our differences. They teach us how to hold them in harmony,” he said.