LOUISVILLE, Colo. — A Colorado chorus debuted an original song on Monday evening that was dedicated to people affected by the Marshall Fire.
The Coal Creek Community Chorus performed the song, titled "The Spark," on Monday evening at Ascent Community Church in Louisville.
"It's a choir based right here in the Louisville, Lafayette, Erie, Superior, Broomfield area," said Stephen Ross, artistic director of the Coal Creek Community Chorus. "It's over 100 adults in the area who just want a bit of music infused in their lives."
Ross, who lives in Louisville, wrote the piece in the aftermath of the Marshall Fire, which broke out on Dec. 30, 2021 and damaged or destroyed more than 1,000 homes and businesses in Superior, Louisville and Boulder County amid hurricane-force winds and extreme drought conditions.
READ MORE: Denver7's coverage of Marshall Fire
Ross remembered evacuating that day.
"I felt compelled to help those affected in any way I could," he said. “Aside from raising money and donating clothes, appliances, and furniture, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Coal Creek Community Chorus was the perfect channel to present a piece of art that could musically encapsulate both the crushing devastation and the overwhelming outpouring of assistance and empathy that materialized immediately. I wanted to capture the dichotomy of the horror and the hope that resulted from that fateful day."
Choir member Lisa Hughes said she lost her Louisville house in the fire.
"I was excited that he was doing a song but in the beginning, I was a little bit nervous about how it was going to affect me," she said.
But now, she said she's happy the chorus is singing the original piece.
"It's a really nice artistic expression of what the survivors went through for the last 11 months," she said.
That sentiment was echoed by fellow member Diane Siadak.
"The feeling in this song is really 'neighbor helping neighbor,'" Siadak said. "And that's the part that I hope touches people."
The Coal Creek Community Chorus was formed in 2017 as a small adult chorus without auditions. It now performs in concerts three times a year. The chorus welcomed donations on Monday evening for the premiere of the song.