Girl Choir Concert Saturday, March 25, 2017
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H LAWRENCE ACADEMY OF MUSIC PRESENTS H Girl Choir Concert Saturday, March 25, 2017 i ADMINISTRATION Brian Pertl, dean, Lawrence University Conservatory of Music Karen Bruno, director, Lawrence Academy of Music Cheryl Boyle, registrar Theresa Shifflett, program and marketing assistant LAWRENCE ACADEMY OF MUSIC Street address: 100 West Water Street Appleton, WI 54911 Mailing address: 711 East Boldt Way Appleton, WI 54911-5699 920-832-6632 [email protected] go.lawrence.edu/academy go.lawrence.edu/academy-girlchoir facebook.com/lawrenceacademy ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Appleton Group, LLC David Been Cena of Appleton CopperLeaf Boutique Hotel and Spa First English Lutheran Church Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Gordon Lind Mark Merrifield Jon Meyer Michelle Northey, Flower Girl Design Studio Mark Scheffler Shiny Car Wash and Dog Wash Jason Weijola GIRL CHOIR HISTORY January 1991: The Lawrence Academy Girl Choir was founded for girls in fourth through sixth grades. September 1991: A training choir for fourth grade girls was added, creating a sequential Girl Choir program. The original choir expanded to include girls in fifth through seventh grades. September 1997: Due to the large number of girls who wished to participate, the program expanded in both directions with the addition of Primo (then grades three and four) and Cantabile (then grades seven through nine). September 1999: The eldest Cantabile singers couldn’t bear to leave the program after ninth grade, and thus became the founding members of Bel Canto, a choir for high school girls. September 2007: After waiting several years to fulfill the dream of offering a non-auditioned choir, the program was able to secure additional rehearsal space. Ragazze, a non-auditioned training choir, was born. March 2011: The Girl Choir program celebrated its 20th anniversary and featured alumnae in the combined choirs’ finale. September 2013: After attempting a variety of rehearsal structures to accommodate Intermezzo, the largest choir (70–80 singers), an additional choir was added. Intermezzo was eliminated and replaced with two choirs, Capriccio and Arioso. March 19, 2016: The Girl Choir program celebrated its 25th birthday with more than 100 alumnae from around the United States in attendance. The Girl Choir Empowerment Fund was established to help support student scholarships for singers of limited financial means. Visit go.lawrence.edu/academy-giving to donate. Established as a not-for-profit community school, the Lawrence Academy of Music became a certified member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts in 1983. Today it serves more than 1,600 families throughout northeast Wisconsin through music lessons and classes, the Early Childhood Music Program, youth ensembles, adult music programs, summer music camps and the Girl Choir Program. Learn more at go.lawrence.edu/academy 0 MISSION STATEMENT The Lawrence Academy of Music Girl Choir Program is the only nonprofit girl choir in the Fox Valley. Through the study and performance of the highest quality music, the girls develop vocal technique, musical skills, creativity, expressive artistry and an awareness of various cultures. The Girl Choir Program creates an atmosphere that encourages girls to respect the uniqueness of others, to take risks that foster individual growth and to continue their development into self-assured young women. THE CHOIRS ARTISTIC PERSONNEL Ragazze: Non-auditioned choir for girls in grades 3-5. Ragazze Focuses on healthy vocal production using folk Patricia Merrifield, teacher songs and singing games. Performs on winter and Tess Vogel ’15, pianist and manager spring concerts. Primo Primo: Auditioned choir for girls in grades 3-5. Performs Karrie Been, teacher on winter and spring concerts. Nell Buchman, pianist and manager Allegretto: Auditioned choir for girls in grades 4-6. One Allegretto additional community performance annually. Cheryl Meyer, teacher Capriccio: Auditioned choir for girls in grades 5-7. One Janet Erbach, pianist additional community performance annually. Karen Bultman, manager Arioso: Auditioned choir for girls in grades 6-8. One Capriccio additional community performance annually. One day Toni Weijola ’99, teacher tour available (optional). Ann Boeckman, pianist Chelsey Burke, manager Cantabile: Auditioned choir for girls in grades 8-10. National tour offered biannually (optional). Additional Arioso community performances as opportunities arise. Jaclyn Kottman ’12, teacher Ann Boeckman, pianist Bel Canto: Auditioned choir for girls in grades 10- Lauren Vanderlinden ’17, manager 12. Local tours and additional performances as opportunities arise, generally several times per year. Cantabile Debbie Lind, teacher Janet Erbach, pianist Allie Horton ’19, manager Bel Canto Karen Bruno, teacher Nell Buchman, pianist and manager Please—as a courtesy to the singers and other audience members, silence all cell phones and refrain from whispering or rustling paper. Turn off all electronic devices with a screen while the concert is in progress and refrain from flash photography. Thank you. FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR One of my greatest challenges as a teacher is finding repertoire that allows me to dig into the aesthetic or musical aspects of a composition while also finding a way to make its study relevant to the young women in my ensemble. As I select repertoire, I look for additional curricular materials that will help with the study of the piece or materials that connect to other relevant subject areas. As I was studying scores, the May Sarton poem, Now I Become Myself from Collected Poems 1930–1933, presented itself as additional material. Although I ended up not programming the composition I was looking at, I decided the poem itself was too potent to ignore. The poem’s references to growth and change––becoming, as it were––inspired me to use the concepts as the connective tissue for this concert. Bel Canto singers had an amazing experience with Sarton’s poem. They explored expectations of themselves (Where do they come from? How do we decide which ones to fulfill? How many ways can we define ourselves? How does it feel to be told who we are versus figuring it out for ourselves?), how they present themselves and interact with others (Social media allows us a “curated self.” How does that reflect or differ from our “authentic self”?) and how we grow and change as human beings over time. Over the course of this concert cycle, all choir members looked at how music itself grows or changes within a composition, how music and the arts can be a catalyst for change, how the addition of music to poetry changes the aesthetic experience of the reader or listener and much more. Each teacher-conductor has put together program notes that illuminate some of the learning that has taken place in our rehearsals this term. In them, we hope that you can see the ways in which our singers have explored the concepts of growth, change and renewal in music and in ourselves. I hope you enjoy this afternoon’s performance. Sincerely, Karen Bruno Lawrence Academy Girl Choir now i become myself Little Firefly Larry E. Schultz (b. 1965) text by Grace Lee Frank Smith The music of Little Firefly contrasts the sweep of a firefly’s flight path with the brilliant flashes of its coded messages. Working to sing legato, staccato and the tricky in-between tenuto has been a challenge for our ears and voices but wonderfully satisfying when we accurately portray what the composer has intended. The inclusion of a familiar melody as accompaniment to the second statement of the verse creates a nuanced surprise for singer and listener alike. The mixed meter of the piece allows places of rest and others of driving energy. Ragazze singers twirled, tiptoed and skimmed the floor, exploring ways to be firefly-like. These words of the text, “...you’re the only creature I know, who carries a star wherever you go,” have led to thoughtful discussions about the light that each of us carries. What kind of light do we have? How do we show and share it? What makes our light dim or grow? What can result when we all shine together? Proving that simple songs can have profound learning outcomes, our study of this piece has helped us understand the complexities of articulation and meter and given us a richer understanding of our own unique radiance. Wake Up, Little Sparrow Ella Jenkins (b. 1924) transcribed by Patricia Merrifield The essence of Wake Up, Little Sparrow lies in the wistful poignancy of the descending minor pentatonic phrases. The irregular meter stretches the contour of the melody, thereby enhancing the somber mood. If one were unable to understand Jenkins’ eloquent words, the tune itself would be enough to convey the plaintive feeling of the song. However, the text evokes vivid images which intensify the notes and create a near perfect union of message and melody. Wake Up, Little Sparrow, originally released in 1963, is included on Ella Jenkins’ Folkways record album, Rhythms of Childhood. Jenkins, “The First Lady of Children’s Music”, was born in 1924 and still lives in Chicago. In the liner notes issued with the recording, Jenkins says about Wake Up, Little Sparrow, “I wrote it for a dear friend, Bernadelle Richter, who is as gentle as a sparrow.” Richter is Jenkins’ longtime friend and business manager. Ragazze was introduced to this piece in our rehearsal room with lights dimmed, bodies calm and eyes closed. We listened as Ms. Jenkins sang, accompanied by baritone ukulele and guitar. The richness of her voice is compelling and draws the listener in. We feel for the sparrow, remembering times we’ve been left behind. RAGAZZE The Cowslip William Henry Anderson (1882–1955) arr. Richard Cohen This delightful song highlights the hope that spring brings as winter comes to a close. The melody is deceptively complex as it shifts temporarily into another key.