St. John Passion April 4, 2015 3:00Pm First Baptist Church, Huntsville, AL
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Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion April 4, 2015 3:00pm First Baptist Church, Huntsville, AL Johannespassion, BWV 245 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) “St. John Passion” The Huntsville Community Chorus Friends of the Huntsville Community Chorus Orchestra Christopher M. Walters .................................................................................... Conductor Daniel Sommer ................................................................. Evangelist and tenor aria (#13) Aaron Cain................................................................... Jesus and bass arias (#24 and #32) David Caine ............................................................................................................... Pilate Benjamin Tieslau .......................................................................................................Peter Eric Wilson ............................................................................................................. Servant Lisa Kennedy .............................................................................................................. Maid Joanna Blendulf ......................................................................................... viola da gamba Amanda Walden Braun .................................................................................soprano arias Emily Stauffer ...................................................................................................... alto arias Chris Franks ................................................................................tenor arias (#20 and #34) Scott Mince .................................................................................................bass aria (#19) Part I (#1–14) Part II (#15–22) –INTERMISSION– Part II (#23–40) 20 Artistic Staff CHRISTOPHER M. WALTERS, HCC ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR, has served as director of choirs at Randolph School in Huntsville since 2011, where he has overseen tremendous growth in choral ensemble participation and achievement. At Randolph, he conducts choral ensembles grades 7-12, and teaches music fundamentals, songwriting, and AP music theory. Choirs under his direction continue to garner Excellent and Superior ratings at regional contests, receiving praise for their technical accuracy and musicianship. Dr. Chris Walters Walters is also voice instructor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and music director of Huntsville Collegium Musicum—a professional octet specializing in early choral music. The recipient of several commissions, including a research grant for composition from the Worcester (MA) Children’s Chorus, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum of Harvard University (forthcoming), Walters is an active composer. His octavo, “Weary with Toil,” winner of the 2006 Illinois ACDA Choral Composition Competition, is published by Colla Voce Music, Inc. Walters also conducts operas and major works of the choral-orchestral canon in collaboration with various organizations. Recent performances include: Bach’sSt. John Passion with the HCCA; Bizet’s Carmen, Donizetti’sDon Pasquale, and Mozart’s Così fan Tutte with Huntsville’s Ars Nova; Duruflé’s Requiem with the Salisbury Singers of Worcester (MA); Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Assumption College Chorale (Worcester, MA); the Historia der Auferstehung Jesu Christi of Heinrich Schütz with the Sanctuary Choir of the First Baptist Church of Wollaston (Quincy, MA); and Haydn’sMissa Cellensis (“Mariazellermesse”) with the Boston University Concert Choir and Chamber Orchestra. Walters has studied with Ann Howard Jones, David Hoose, Dennis Shrock, Eric Nelson, David Childs, Dennis Keene, Dale Warland, Craig Hella Johnson, and Robert Page. He holds Bachelor of Music (summa cum laude, Pi Kappa Lambda, and with first honors) and Master of Education degree from Vanderbilt University, a Master of Sacred Music degree in choral conducting from Emory University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting from Boston University. ERIC WILSON, HCC PRINCIPAL ACCOMPANIST, has just completed his third season with The Chorus. He has served as an accompanist for student and faculty recitals for almost 20 years, and as a staff accompanist for the American Horn Competition and the regional National Association of Teachers of Singing competition. Eric also served for five years as the accompanist for the Alabama Boychoir, under the direction of Karen Nicolosi. Eric is a soloist in this afternoon’s concert. BILLY ORTON, HCCA ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, has been with The Chorus since 2002, conducting the 140-voice Symphonic Chorus, which presents a full season of concerts plus guest appearances with the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, as well as the 30-voice HCC Chamber Chorale, which he founded in 2004. Billy’s convivial approach to music-making has brought a wide range of collaborators onto HCCA stages, adding exciting flavors to the repertoire. His gift for creating powerful concert experiences has made him known as a musical leader who brings people together and makes wonderful things happen. He serves as Minister of Music and Worship at First Baptist Church, leading a program of music ministries which is both broad and deep. 21 Featured Soloists DANIEL SOMMER maintains an active schedule singing song and oratorio on the concert stage. He has collaborated with Alexandria Symphonic Orchestra, Ars Musica, Berkshire Bach Society, Berkshire Choral International, Fairfield County Chorale, Liederkranz Opera Theatre, Music Worcester, Pocket Opera of NY, and Westchester Choral Society. Highlights of past seasons include Schubert’s Winterreise and Die schöne Müllerin, Schumann’s Dichterliebe, Wolfgang Rihm’s Das Rot, Britten’s St. Nicolas, Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus & Messiah, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (arr. Schönberg), and Mozart’s Requiem. In 2013, he appeared in Hilan Warshaw’s documentary Wagner’s Jews, singing “Der letzte Gruß” by Herman Levi. Also, he and Paul Smith present works exclusive to the voice and guitar medium in their collaborative project, Spoon River Duo. Daniel also serves on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music teaching German diction. His experience in opera and passion for choral music have given him opportunities to work as German and Latin diction coach with organizations such as the Bard Summer Music Festival, Berkshire Choral International, Clarion Music Society, Fairfield County Chorale, Liederkranz Opera Theatre, Manhattan School of Music Chorus, Oratorio Society of New York, Pro Arte Choral, and Westchester Choral Society, among others. Through these relationships Mr. Sommer has collaborated with a number of conductors including Leon Botstein, Steven Fox, Vance George, Jane Glover, Liz Hastings, Frank Nemhauser, Robert Page, David Rosenmeyer, Stephen Michael Smith, and Kent Tritle. Daniel’s love of teaching and technology has led him to create hundreds of German and Latin pronunciation guides for choral and art song repertoire. Many of these are available for free through Matthew Curtis’ resource, Choral Tracks, or Daniel’s website, www.SommerDiction.com. AARON CAIN is assistant professor of voice and director of vocal studies at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has performed and recorded with a variety of instrumental and vocal ensembles in the United States and Europe, most of which have made early music their focus. Groups with whom he has performed include the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Chamber Singers, Musica Angelica, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Cascade Consort, Vox Resonat, Huntsville Collegium Musicum, the Berwick Chorus of the Oregon Bach Festival, and the Portland-based ensemble Cappella Romana, who were invited to perform at the prestigious Festival of Early Music in Utrecht, Netherlands, in the fall of 2014. He is also one of the members of the Concord Ensemble, a vocal ensemble which performs and records a variety of music ranging from medieval, renaissance, baroque and contemporary vocal works. The Concord Ensemble first gained international attention when it was awarded the grand prize in the 1998 Early Music America/Dorian Records Competition. Dr. Cain appeared on Cappella Romana’s recording, A Time for Life, Musika Ekklesia’s The Vanishing Nordic Chorale, and the Los Angeles Chamber Singers’ Padilla: Sun of Justice, winner of the 2006 Grammy for Best Small Ensemble Performance. He holds a bachelor’s of music from the University of Iowa, a master’s degree in choral conducting, and a doctoral degree in vocal performance with a specialization in historical performance practice from the University of Oregon. 22 Featured Soloists - Continued DAVID CAINE, bass-baritone, originally hails from Elizabeth, New Jersey, and is delighted to share this afternoon’s glorious music with you. People familiar with the Tennessee Valley music scene have seen him perform a variety of roles that span musical genres with various groups, including Huntsville Community Chorus, HCC Chamber Chorale, Huntsville Collegium Musicum, Ars Nova, Independent Musical Productions, and the Nashville Opera. It has been his pleasure to sing at some of the world’s great concert venues, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Atlanta’s Symphony Hall, as well as halls and cathedrals across Europe. Although his comfort zone is jazz, he greatly enjoys performing music from the classical side. Some of his operatic roles include Guglielmo in Cosi fan Tutte, Scarpia in Tosca, Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Banquo in Macbeth. He has performed song cycles from