“To every thing, there is a season …” As much as the musician in Dennis Sparger wishes it weren’t so, the preacher in him realizes the truth of Ecclesiastes 3:1. “In my heart, I wish I could stay on the podium forever,” he says.

“But there is a time for everything — even a time to say farewell.” Tonight, he’ll do just that when he directs his Masterworks Chorale for the final time in what likely will be the most emotional Christmas at the Cathedral concert ever for both the singers and their loyal followers. Now in his 34th season, Sparger has guided the chorale from its first days as a fledgling community chorus into a choral powerhouse on a par with any group in the region.

It has performed with the best in the business — Dave Brubeck, Christine Brewer, the St. Louis Symphony, to name a few — and has built an even larger following with its successful Broadway concerts and madrigal feasts. But Sparger has accomplished so much more. In addition to his teaching duties at Southwestern Illinois College, he also took over the helm of the prestigious Bach Society of St.

Louis in 1986 and began contributing his musical knowledge to KFUO-FM as the associate producer and writer of “Joy!,” a Sunday morning program of sacred choral music. He has served as a panelist for both the Illinois and Missouri arts councils and writes scholarly articles and performance critiques. In 1998, he won the Harold A Decker Award from the American Choral Directors Association. He also had been named one of the 50 outstanding alumni of the Eastern Illinois University graduate school.