Soul-Singing-Program.Pdf
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1 SOUL SINGING: COLORING OUTSIDE THE LINES Jeremiah Selvey, Director SMC Chamber Choir Lesa Terry, Artistic Collaborator Joellen McNaughton, piano Guest Choir Guest SMC Faculty SMC Concert Chorale Janelle DeStefano, mezzo-soprano Brian Driscoll, organ Guest Rhythm Section Keith Fiddmont, saxophone Lanny Hartley, piano Dennis Parnell, tenor Edwin Livingston, bass Lesa Terry, violin Paul Kreibich, drums ______________________________________________________________ Kyrie (from Gospel Mass) Robert Ray (b. 1946) SMC Chamber Choir Malcolm Fisher & Amber Kozlowski, solos Rhythm Section Come Sunday Duke Ellington (1899-1974) Let Us Break Bread (from Cantata) traditional spiritual, adapt. and arr. John Carter (1929-1991) He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands traditional spiritual, arr. Margaret Bonds (1913-1972) Lesa Terry, violin Lanny Hartley, piano William Chapman Nyaho, piano Gloria (from Gospel Mass) Robert Ray SMC Chamber Choir Jade Popper & Gina Broz, solos Rhythm Section Have Mercy on Me Based on “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” by Joe Zawinul, adapt. and arr. Lesa Terry (b. 1955) SMC Chamber Choir Rhythm Section Keith Fiddmont, alto sax Dennis Parnell, tenor 2 Go Down, Moses traditional spiritual, arr. Moses Hogan (1957-2003) SMC Chamber Choir (TTBB) Dennis Parnell, tenor Joellen McNaughton, piano Credo (from Gospel Mass) Robert Ray Acclamation (from Gospel Mass) SMC Chamber Choir Ife Houzell, solo Rhythm Section There Is a Balm in Gilead traditional spiritual “There Is a Balm in Gilead” (excerpted from Seven Living Words of the HIV Positive) Thomas Schuttenhelm (b. 1970) Amazing Grace traditional, arr. Lesa Terry & Jeremiah Selvey (b. 1977) In Christ There Is No East or West / traditional spiritual, arr. Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949) Going Home (from Symphony No. 9) Antonin Dvorak (1801-1904) adapt. and arr. Lesa Terry & Jeremiah Selvey Soon-Ah Will Be Done traditional spiritual, arr. William Dawson (1899-1990) SMC Chamber Choir & Small Group SMC Concert Chorale Lesa Terry, violin __________________________________ INTERMISSION __________________________________ Sanctus (from Gospel Mass) Robert Ray SMC Chamber Choir Malcolm Fisher, Brian Driscoll, and Adam McCrory, solos Rhythm Section Steal Away traditional spiritual, arr. Patrick Dupre Quigley (b. 1977) SMC Chamber Choir Small Group Mario Acosta, Elai Davidson, Kaytie Jeffries, and Gabrielle Reichel, solos Joellen McNaughton, piano Precious Lord Thomas Dorsey (1899-1993), arr. Joellen McNaughton (b. 1961) SMC Chamber Choir Small Group Kaytie Jeffries and Dennis Parnell, solos Paul Kreibich, drums Joellen McNaughton, piano 3 Wade in Da Wada traditional spiritual, arr. Lesa Terry SMC Chamber Choir Rhythm Section Keith Fiddmont, alto sax Were You There? traditional spiritual, adapt. Jeremiah Selvey SMC Chamber Choir & Small Group SMC Concert Chorale Christine Tai, Adam McCrory, and Jade Popper, solos Agnus Dei (from Gospel Mass) Robert Ray SMC Chamber Choir Tyler Owens and Joann Won, solos Rhythm Section AUDIENCE SING-ALONG Down By the Riverside / I’ve Got Peace Like a River traditional spiritual / traditional American 4 Dona nobis pacem (from “Orphanage Mass,” K. 139) Wolfgang A. Mozart (1756-1791) Dona nobis pacem (from Mass in B Minor) Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) SMC Chamber Choir & SMC Concert Chorale Brian Driscoll, organ Keith Fiddmont, saxophone Amanda Fuerst, flute Chrysa Kovach, flute Lesa Terry, violin Ride the Chariot traditional spiritual, arr. Henry Smith (1908-1944) SMC Concert Chorale & SMC Chamber Choir Janelle DeStefano, mezzo-soprano __________________________________________________ Please refrain from flash photography and silence all phones/devices. This concert is being professionally recorded and streamed live. __________________________________________________ MEET THE PERFORMERS Lobby after the Concert Join all the performers informally in the lobby as we celebrate “Soul Singing.” 5 JOIN ONE OF THE CHOIRS WHO CAN JOIN? Anyone can join. If you have choir experience already or if you’re looking to get better, we have a place for you. We work hard and want people who value what we do and are committed to working hard with us. If that’s you, we look forward to having you. HOW DO I JOIN? We have a Voice Placement at the beginning of the term prior to the first rehearsal for anyone who wants to sing in Chorale and a an Audition at the beginning of the term prior to the first rehearsal for anyone who wants to sing in Chamber Choir. Check in with the Music Department Office for more details. __________________ Music Department Office Lori Geller [email protected] 310-434-4323 __________________ WHAT ARE THE IMPORTANT DATES? *Subject to Change. Voice Placements for Concert Chorale / August 20, 3-5 PM Auditions for Chamber Choir August 21, 5-9 PM August 22, 3-5 PM Weekly Rehearsals Concert Chorale (Music 55) W, 6:45-9:50 PM August 28 to December 18 Chamber Choir (Music 59) T/Th, 3:45-5:05 PM August 26 to December 17 Production Schedule for Concert Chorale & Saturday Retreat - August 31, 10 AM - 3 PM Chamber Choir Saturday Retreat - November 16, 10 AM - 3 PM Tech/Dress/Performance - December 12-14, 6-10 PM 6 A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR Dear Friend, Welcome to an evening where we intentionally blur the lines we create between one style of music and another, between one color of skin and another, and between one culture and another. Last semester, Dr. Lesa Terry, who is the artistic collaborator for this show, and I began a conversation about how to create a concert experience highlighting music of the African diaspora with Dr. Robert Ray’s Gospel Mass as the centerpiece. We wanted to draw as many connections and lines from the origins of music to the concert stage. None of the musics you hear tonight will be 100% authentic; the moment we put any music onto the concert stage, devoid of its original time and place, we strip away some of its authenticity. However, as performers we have worked hard to understand the human origins and to adapt the experiences of those origins to our own times, places, and circumstances--to make it our own in a way that presents as humanly authentic. We have also worked hard to study style and performance practice to bring as much of the authenticity of each style onto the stage. Tonight you will hear black gospel, rock, jazz, folk, spirituals, Baroque, Classical, and Modern “classical” styles. We hope you will hear some of the distinctives that set these styles apart and also experience the universality of the musical dialogue created by all of these styles. You will hear everything from homophonic (hymnal) textures to and free forms and improvisational textures. The juxtaposition of all these styles and textures throughout the concert should be a constant reminder that these musics are universally human and we need not draw lines of distinction when it comes to their importance or intersectionality. The heavy thematic content in a concert like this is overtly Christian in theological/ideological perspective. But I invite everyone to dig deeper than mere theology. Imagine your spiritual beliefs and values are stripped away the moment you are taken across the ocean on a slave ship and forced into oppression by people who believe strongly in Christian theology. You are afraid to speak truth to power in an overt way, as you might draw undue attention and more pain and suffering on you and your family. So you learn to adapt by using their words and ideas, their theology and imposing your own meaning on top of it. Words like “Jesus” start to represent the idea of a deliverer from the bondage of slavery or “freedom.” “Wade in the Water” becomes code for cross through water when escaping bondage, as it throws off the dog’s scent when they are chasing you. “Water” itself represents freedom. This whole concert is about going beyond the theology to the humanity, to the idea that we all deserve to be free and to have dignity. When we talk about “Soul Singing,” we mean everyone singing from the deepest part of their being and connecting that deepest part of their being to everyone else. It’s not about the literal meaning of the text tonight, rather uniting our souls by blurring whatever lines we have created musically, politically, socially, culturally, etc. Tonight’s concert is about the flow. You will hear the movements of the Gospel Mass spread throughout the concert with other music in between. We have crafted musical and thematic links between these movements, and our hope is that the music will seamlessly progress from one piece to the next. We will not be stopping and interrupting the performance of the music. You are free to tap to the music or applaud whenever you would like. If you feel so inspired, a hearty “Amen” or “preach it” or “Yes!” are all in play. I ask you to really abosrb the flow of this music. We have obsessed over the order, the key relationships, the transitions, and the pacing, so that your experience is bigger than any single piece. We have spent time writing program notes, texts, and translations to help you in the processing of the music as you experience it. I would be remiss if I did not invite you to support the SMC Choirs and/or the Music Department. Did you know that the admission of your ticket supports about a third of the costs for a production such as this one? Did you know that the SMC Choirs program operates with a zero budget outside of donations, such as yours? Please consider a donation to support the creative work of our students and the amazing work that they do daily to grow as artists. Your investment will contribute to a life of artistry and productivity for many students and will make possible the sustainability of performances such as this! Thank you for being such an amazing community.