1 '1 d a lew a r I and sin g e r s ••• WHAT'S A CELEBRATION WITHOUT FUN RIDES? • •

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2 table of contents

DWS Recordings 4

Farewell Concert 5

The Singers 6

Dale Warland, Founder and Music Director 8

Artistic Staff 9

From the Executive Director 11

Special Guests 12

Commissioned Composers : 12

A River Journey Program 14

Program Notes 16

The Singers 26

Honor Roll 30

Acknowledgements 33

Sponsors 34

3 recordings

PURCHASE YOUR ADVANCE COPY OF THE COMMEMORATIVE VIDEO TODAY!

NEWONDVD! The Dale Warland Singers Commemorative Video - NEW! - 2004 A celebration of the Dale Warland Singers' 31 years of music-making, with interviews, highlights from the photo archives, concert and "behind the scenes" footage, and audio excerpts from live broadcasts. Approx. 30 minutes duration. Pre-sale only; available after May 30, 2004.

GRAMMY NOMINATED! - Walden Pond - 2003 Three major works by Pulitzer Prize winning composer, , comprise our Grammy nominated recording, Walden Pond, released by Gothic Records. Gramophone Magazine calls it "...pure 'liquid joy'."

Rachmaninoff Vespers - NEW RELEASE! - 2003 Don't miss this stunning new LIVE RECORDING of the piece known as "the crowning achievement of the 'Golden Age' of Russian Orthodox sacred choral music." GRAMMY NOMINATED! Christmas with the Dale Warland Singers - 2002 With this recording, the Dale Warland Singers respond to hundreds of requests for a new Christmas album. It includes familiar Christmas tunes in new arrangements, brand new carols and old favorites.

Bernstein and Britten - 1999 This recording features Bernstein's provocative Chichester Psalms and Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb plus ' famous Pilgrim's Hymn and other contemporary works by Rautavaara, Wertsch, Harlap, Albright, and Hovland.

Blue Wheat - 1996 This delightful collection contains a wonderful collection of American NEW RELEASE! folk songs with an expressive range from joyous whimsy to placid profundity. Blue Wheat continues to be one of DWS' best sellers.

December Stillness - 1995 Lush, twentieth-century settings of Christmas/winter inspired texts.

Cathedral Classics - 1994 The ethereal sounds of Martin, Howells, and Allegri, including Barber's Agnus Dei.

A Rose in Winter - 1989 (Re-released 1997) An intriguing blend of time-honored Christmas/winter works and engaging modern offerings.

Christmas Echoes, Vol. 1 & 2 - 1992 (Re-released 2001) These CDs contain a magical and refreshing collection of well-known and less-familiar Christmas carols.

These recordings are available during intermission and after the concert in the lobby.

You may also contact the Dale Warland Singers offices at 651.632.5870 or complete and mail/fax an order form from our website: www.dalewarlandsingers.org.

4 farewell concert

I Have Had Singing - A Choral Celebration!

Sunday, May 30,2004,3:00 PM Orchestra Hall,

Thirty-one years of extraordinary music culminate in one last special performance at Orchestra Hall! The program will survey a broad spectrum of works including:

+A reprise of Dominick Argento's Walden Pond, +Selections from Rachmaninoffs Vespers and +An Eclectic Mass, one of Dale Warland's programming specialties

Join MPR's Tom Crann one last time for a pre-concert discussion 45 minutes prior to the performance. It will be an event for all musical tastes ... and the dramatic highlight of our Farewell Season.

CONCERT TICKETS: Level 1 $40, Level 2 $34, Level 3 $28, Level 4 $22, Level 5 $16

After the concert, accompany Dale, current and alumni Singers, composers, and friends to a delightful Farewell Celebration Dinner at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, just steps from Orchestra Hall. The program will include:

+Fun and exciting entertainment +Gourmet dinner +Special announcements and proclamations

Share in laughter, memories and a delectable meal, as we bid "adieu" to one of America's most beloved choral ensembles. DON'T MISS IT!

FAREWELL CELEBRATION DINNER: $50/person

Concert and dinner tickets may be purchased through our no-fees ticketing partner: TicketWorks (612) 343-3390 / www.ticketworks.com

5 the dale warland singers

Now celebrating its 31st and final The Dale Warland Singers has season of concerts, tours, radio appeared on Garrison Keillor's original broadcasts, and critically acclaimed A Prairie Home Companion and has recordings, the Dale Warland Singers is been featured on Public Radio recognized as one of the world's International's Saint Paul Sunday. The foremost a cappella choral ensembles. annual Echoes of Christmas and The 40-voice professional choir is Cathedral Classics broadcasts reach based in Minneapolis/St. Paul. listeners nationwide.

The Dale Warland Singers has earned a The Dale Warland Singers regularly reputation for its commitment to performs in collaboration with other commissioning and performing new Twin Cities arts organizations choral music. The ensemble has kept including the Saint Paul Chamber the choral genre fresh and alive by Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, commissioning works from Dominick the Greater Twin Cities Youth Argento, Stephen Paulus, , Symphonies and the James Sewell Carol Barnett, George Shearing, Peter Ballet. The Singers have worked under Schickele, Bernard Rands, Emma Lou the batons of the late , Diemer, Alice Parker, Janika Hugh Wolff,Edo de Waart, Leonard Vandervelde, Augusta Read Thomas, Slatkin, Bobby McFerrin, David Zinman, Aaron J. Kernis, and Frank Ferko Roger Norrington and James Conlon, to among others. The Dale Warland name a few. Singers' Choral Ventures ,. Program solicits works from emerging In the fall of 2003, the Dale Warland composers, and through this program, Singers released its first "live" over $162,000 in commissions has been recording, Rachmaninoff's Vespers. Last awarded to sixty talented musicians. year, the choir released two new recordings: Grammy-nominated In 1992, the Dale Warland Singers Walden Pond, containing three major became the first-ever recipient of the choral works written by Pulitzer-Prize Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for winning composer, Dominick Argento; Choral Excellence, one of the highest and Christmas with the Dale Warland honors given to a North American Singers, which the Seattle Times chorus. The group's extraordinary described as "impeccable, full of efforts on behalf of composers and new vibrant life and blended like a bottle of music resulted in ASCAP Awards for Veuve Clicquot Grande Dame." These Adventurous Programming in 1992, recordings join some 24 other Dale 1993, 1996, and 1999. Warland Singers recordings including Bernstein and Britten, which contains In addition to a subscription season in Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, Britten's the Twin Cities, the Dale Warland Rejoice in the Lamb, along with Singers tours throughout the United Stephen Paulus' Pilgrims' Hymn and States and abroad. In 1990, the movements from Albright's Chichester ensemble traveled to Stockholm and Mass. Another favorite, Blue Wheat, is Helsinki to represent North America at a collection of American folk music. the Second World Symposium on Also among the Singers' lauded Choral Music. During the 1999-2000 releases is December Stillness, which and 2003-2004 concert seasons, the BBC Music Magazine gave its highest group toured the southeastern United rating for performance and sound, States. Last season the Dale Warland calling it, "... splendid, melting stuff." Singers performed with the Mormon The South Jersey's Courier-Post called Tabernacle Choir. the 1994 release of Cathedral Classics, "an unmatched musical experience," In the summer of 2002, the ensemble and The Oregonian stated simply, made its debut at the Ravinia Festival "peerless." Earlier recordings by the (). The choir also performed at Singers include Fancie, A Rose in the American Society of Harpists Winter, Christmas Echoes, Volumes I National Conference and the Sixth and II, Carols for Christmas, Choral World Symposium on Choral Music, Currents, as well as 13 others. both held in the Twin Cities.

6 Soprano Alto

Beth Althof Wendi Buck Galina Erickson Marie Spar Dymit" Joanne Halvorsen' Carole Hofstad Melissa Holm-Johansen Lynette Johnson Natalia Kojanova Deborah Loon Osgood Anna George Meek Jennifer Rissman Mary C. Maiden-Mueller Jodi Rowe Krista J. Palmquist Dawn Schuffenhauer Susan Ramlet Naomi Staruch Teresa Tierney

Bass Tenor Duane E. Andersen Joel C. Fischer' Matthew Culleton" Jon Hermanson Eric Harstad Eric N. Hopkins Dave Jacobson Justin Karch Patrick McDonough Nicholas Eugene Lemme Michael Meyer David Lower Jack Nelson Robert Pontious Thomas Shaffer Hal Snyder Steve Sheppard Anthony Sofie Brian L. Steele

, section leader

7 dale warland, founder and music director

Dale Warland, celebrated American musician, has made an indelible impression on the landscape of contemporary choral music both nationally and internationally. During his time with the Dale Warland Singers, he has shaped a vocal ensemble known for its exquisite sound, technical finesse, and stylistic range. From this platform, Warland not only masters the traditional repertoire, but has commissioned 270 new choral works, more than any classical music organization in the country. Dale Warland founder and music director The music world has responded by bestowing its highest honors on Warland, including a 2003 Grammy nomination for Walden Pond in Best Choral Performance, the prestigious ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) Victor Herbert Award (2003) in recognition of Warland's artistic contributions, the Distinguished Master Artists Award from the University of South Florida (2004), the Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Vision (2003), and a special award from Chorus America and ASCAP for Warland's "pioneering vision, leadership and commitment to commissioning and performing new choral works at the highest level of artistry" (2002).

Other awards and recognition include the 2001 Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal; the 2001 McKnight Distinguished Artist Award in recognition of his lifetime achievements as a choral conductor and his continued contribution to the arts in Minnesota; and the 1995 Michael Korn Founder's Award, the highest honor for a choral conductor in the , previously awarded to Robert Shaw, Margaret Hillis, and Roger Wagner, among others.

Warland's appearances as a guest conductor have taken him to the podiums of the Swedish Radio Choir, Danish Radio Choir, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble, the Utah Chamber Artists, the Grant Park Music Festival and Israel's Cameran Singers, to name a few. Warland has also rehearsed and prepared choirs for performances of major works in collaboration with notable conductors and composers including Robert Shaw, Edo de Waart, Leonard Slatkin, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Sir Neville Marriner, Kryzstof Penderecki, Roger Norrington, James Conlon, Hugh Wolff, and Bobby McFerrin.

Warland is committed to sharing his knowledge about the choral arts and has served on the jury for the Eric Ericson Award (an international choral conducting competition held in Sweden); was a faculty member for the All-Japan Chorus League National Competition in Fukuoka, Japan; has lectured on American music at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland; served on the artistic staff of the Tolosa Choral Festival in Spain; acted as co-chair of both the choral and recording panels of the National Endowment for the Arts; and completed a 19-year tenure as Director of Choral Music at in St. Paul, Minnesota.

8 artistic staff

Ruth Palmer began her association with the Dale Warland Singers in January 2003 with the preparation of Messiaen's Trios Petites Liturgies de la Presence Divine, a collaboration with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and as assistant conductor for the DWS 30th Anniversary concert. She is currently Director of Music Ministries at Unity Church-Unitarian, St. Paul, Minnesota, and music director and vocal coach/pianist at The Institute for Art Song Recital Performance. Ruth Palmer assistant conductor Ruth has spent her concert career playing for singers on stages such as Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall, The National Gallery of Art, The Beaux Arts Society of Brussels, the Ordway McKnight Theatre and Orchestra Hall. She has been accompanist for master classes by Elly Ameling, Gerard Souzay, Dalton Baldwin, and David Garvey. She has performed world premieres of works by Gian-Carlo Menotti, Libby Larsen, and Richard Hundley. Ruth played national competitions for NATS Artist Award, Carnegie Hall International American Music Competition, Metropolitan Opera Auditions, and she was official accompanist for the Rosa Ponselle Vocal Competition in Tully Hall. As a vocal coach/pianist she has worked extensively with art song and opera, preparing singers for roles in major opera houses as well as in universities.

Ruth has taught at Philadelphia College of the Arts, West Chester University, University of Delaware, , and at the NATS Master Teachers Intern Program at Penn State University.

Northwest composer John Muehleisen specializes in composing works for voice and for choral ensembles. Since 1996, he has served as composer-in-residence for Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble directed by Loren Ponten, and completed eight commissions for the Seattle-based group. Two of these works, The Great '0' Antiphons and De Profundis appear on Opus 7 CDs on the Gothic/Loft Recordings label. John Muehleisen composer-in-residence Besides the Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble, Muehleisen's works have also been performed by the Dale Warland Singers, Seattle Girls Choir, Seattle Pro Musica, The Esoterics, Dulces Voces, Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, Washington Kantorei (D.C.), Quake, and the Louisville Orchestra. His compositions have been featured at the Sixth World Choral Symposium in the Twin Cities; the International Choral Festival in Cantonigros, Spain; Greenwich House's Cutting Edge concert series; the Ernest Bloch Music Festival; Seattle Spring; June in Buffalo; the 22nd Contemporary Music Festival at Indiana State University; and the Modern American Music Festival at California State University, Sacramento.

John was the 1988 recipient of the Louisville Orchestra's Orchestral Composition Competition Award and has received awards and grants from Meet the Composer, ASCAP, the American Music Center, the University of Washington, and Indiana University. John was a finalist in the 2000 Dale Warland Singers Choral Ventures" Program, and, in August of 2002 his epitaph for SATB choir and trumpet, entitled Snow (The King's Trumpeter), was featured by the Dale Warland Singers in the final concert of the Sixth World Choral Symposium held in Minneapolis. He holds a Master of Music degree in Composition from the University of Washington, where he studied with William Bergsma, William O. Smith, and Diane Thome. During doctoral studies at Indiana University, he studied with John Eaton, Donald Erb, Eugene O'Brien, and Harvey Sollberger.

9 10 from the executive director

Dear Friends,

Thank you for joining us for our final subscription concert of the 2003-04 season. A River Journey was conceived more than three years ago as Saint Paul began planning for the Grand Excursion 2004. As a Grand Excursion partner organization, DWS agreed to commission a new choral work for our April 2004 concert. Little did we know that this pair of April concerts would be among our last.

Gayle Ober As Dale began programming this concert, he decided to commission not executive director one composer but four. The result is River Journey Suite, a quartet of masterful and distinctly unique short works that can be performed together or on their own. Taken together, these pieces are an homage to our own and to the powerful, life-giving force of water and waterways everywhere.

For those of us who wish we could capture the DWS sound from this last season and never let it go, take heart. Over the past nine months, Dale and the Singers have spent many hours in the recording studio with the ambition of making much of this year's music available on two CDs, entitled Cathedral Classics II (working title) and another American folk song recording (which will contain selections from tonight's concert).

To date, we have raised enough money to ensure that the raw musical material is captured in the studio. However, the resulting tapes must be edited and mastered before they can be released by our publisher, Gothic Records.

Not only is time running out for us to complete these projects, there are many competing needs for every dollar raised during this last year of operation. With gratitude for all that our friends and audience members have done to champion the choral music of DWS, I trust we can turn to you one last time for your support.

Within tonight's program you will find a donation form, which we fervently hope you will use to make a gift to our final recording projects. Any amount you can give will help us reach our goal and ensure that this beautiful music is yours for all time. Thank you so much.

Sincerely,

Gayle Ober, Executive Director

11 special guests

tom crann pre-concert moderator and narrator

Every weekday from 9 am to 1 pm, Tom Crann is the host on Minnesota Public Radio's classical music stations, including 99.5 FM in the Twin Cities. Listeners nationwide also hear Tom during those same hours as a part of Classical 24, the live round-the-clock classical music service produced by Minnesota Public Radio. Tom Crann A 20-year radio veteran, Tom has worked at stations in St. Louis, Evansville, Buffalo, and Los Angeles. He was a founding voice of Classical 24, when it first went on the air in December 1995, and of Ireland's Lyric fm, when it first started in 1999.

In addition to his work for Classical 24, Tom is the host for a variety of special programs from Minnesota Public Radio, including the US broadcasts of concerts from England's BBC Proms Festival, as well as the 2003 broadcasts by the Dale Warland Singers, Cathedral Classics and the annual Echoes of Christmas concert. john muehleisen commissioned composer

See page 9 for composer-in-residence John Muehleisen's bio.

william banfield commissioned composer

Born and raised in Detroit, Banfield's home was filled with the sounds of Beethoven, Ellington, Pavarotti, Al Green and traditional gospel. He earned a Bachelor of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1983, a Master of Theological Studies from Boston University in 1987, and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan in 1992. He served as a W.E.B. Dubois fellow at Harvard and was invited by Nobel William Banfield Prize winning author Toni Morrison to be the Ather Visiting Artist at Princeton University last year.

Banfield holds the Endowed Chair in Humanities and Arts at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is director of the American Cultural Studies program, chairing Jazz, American Popular, World Music Studies, and an Associate Professor of Music. The Bmagic Orchestra, of which Banfield is the founder, has recorded or performed with such artists as Patrice Rushen, Bobby McFerrin, Billy Childs, Don Byron, VocalEssence, Sounds of Blackness, Mark Ledford, and Nelson Rangell. Banfield has composed eight symphonies, six symphonic concertos, four operas, music for ballet, musicals, chorus, chamber ensembles, jazz ensembles, and song cycles for voice and keyboard.

12 guest composers

steve heitzeg commissioned composer

Emmy Award winning composer Steve Heitzeg is known for his orchestral and chamber works written in celebration of the natural world, with evocative and lyrical scores which frequently include naturally found instruments such as stones, birch bark wind chimes, acorns, bones, and sea glass shards.

Steve Heitzeg Heitzeg's music has been performed by the Atlanta Symphony, Chanticleer, Dale Warland Singers, Detroit Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra and VocalEssence (formerly Plymouth Music Series), among others. Marin Alsop, Philip Brunelle, William Eddins, JoAnn Falletta, Giancarlo Guerrero, Jahja Ling, Lawrence Renes, Christopher Seaman, Joseph Silverstein and Dale Warland are among the conductors who have led his works.

The recipient of a 2001 McKnight Fellowship, he has also received commissions and grants from the American Composers Forum, Meet The Composer, the Walker Art Center and the Jerome Foundation. In 2000, he received a regional Emmy for his original score for the public television documentary Death of the Dream: Farmhouses in the Heartland. Heitzeg received his Ph.D. in music composition from the University of Minnesota.

kirke mechem commissioned composer

Kirke Mechem is the composer of more than 250 published works in almost every form, including the operas T'artuffe, John Brown, and most recently, The Newport Rivals. Indeed, vocal music is at the heart of Mechem's work. He is often called the "dean of American choral composers."

ASCAP has registered performances of Mechem's music in 42 countries last year. He was guest of honor at the 1990 Tchaikovsky Competition in

Kirke Mechem Moscow and was invited back for an all-Mechem symphonic concert by the USSR Radio/Television Orchestra in 1991. Mechem's talents have been acknowledged through numerous honors from, among many others, the United Nations, the National Gallery, the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Choral Directors Association, the Music Educators National Conference and the National Opera Association (lifetime achievement award).

Mechem was born and raised in Kansas and educated at Stanford and Harvard universities. He conducted and taught at Stanford and was for several years composer-in-residence at the University of San Francisco. He lived in Vienna for three years where he came to the attention of Josef Krips, who later championed Mechem's symphonies as conductor of the San Francisco Symphony.

13 A River Journey presented by Deluxe Corporation Foundation

Saturday, April 24, 2004, 8:00 pm Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church, St. Paul Sunday, April 25, 2004, 4:00 pm This concert is dedicated to the memory of Charlotte Straka, First Lutheran Church, Columbia Heights charter member and alto section leader of the Singers.

I. Traditional American

+ * Cindy Traditional (Carol Barnett)

Beautiful River (Shall We Gather at the River) Robert Lowry (William Hawley)

Gentle Annie Stephen Foster (Edwin Fissinger)

+Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me? Traditional (Robert DeCormier)

n. A River Journey

River Journey Suite (world premieres)

*Prairie Waters by Night.. John Muehleisen commissioned by the Jerome Fbundation for Please hold your the Dale Warland Singers final concert season, April 2004 applause until the *Deep Like the Rivers William C. Banfield end of each section. commissioned by the Dale Warland Singers *By the Rivers of Babylon Kirke Mechem commissioned for the Dale Warland Singers with funds provided by the Alice P Ditson FUnd at Columbia University *Elegy on Water Steve Heitzeg commissioned for the Dale Warland Singers by Fred and Gloria Sewell in honor of their grandchildren Jackie, Rex, Mona and Oliver

m. Folk Music and Spirituals

Please note: No cameras or Deep River Spiritual recording devices of any (Norman Luboff) Brian Steele, Bass kind may be used during performances. Please turn off any electronic beeping *Shady Grove American devices (watches, pagers, (Chen Vi) etc.) or leave them with an usher prior to the Give me a little more time (world premiere) Eskil Hemberg performance. Please hold your applause until each Sourwood Mountain American section is completed. (John Rutter) Joel C. Fischer, tenor Duane Andersen, bass

14 this concert was made possible by a generous gift from the National Endowment for the Arts

INTERMISSION

Iv. The Pioneering Spirit

Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine Eric Whitacre Marie Spar Dymit, Lynette Johnson, sopranos Susan RamJet, alto Instrumentalists: Steve Sheppard, bass

Linda Chatterton, flute V. A Country at War Jeffrey Van, guitar In Flanders Field Derek Healey hew Culloton, percussion

Lynette Johnson, percussion Beat! Beat! Drums! (from A Procession Winding Around Me) ....Jeffrey Van

Hal Snyder, percussion Shiloh: A Requiem (April 1862) (world premiere) Jeffrey Van Marie Spar Dymit, Lynette Johnson, sopranos

VI. North American Heritage

+Buffalo Gals (Cool White [John Hodges]) (Alice Parker) Joel C. Fischer, tenor

*The Water is Wide Traditional (Jeffrey Van)

A la claire fontaine (The Fountain) French (Norman Luboff)

*She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain Spiritual (Emma Lou Diemer)

Minnesota Public Radio is recording this performance of A River Journey for broadcast on May 26, 2004 at 7pm.

+ Recorded by the Dale Warland Singers. * Commissioned and premiered by the Dale Warland Singers.

15 program notes by brian newhouse

A River Journey presented by Deluxe Corporation Foundation

Nearly any commute across the Twin Cities metro will take you over at least one bridge and a great river. The Mississippi, the Minnesota, the St. Croix... to our ancestors these rivers meant fresh water and trade. The towns they built on the shorelines grew and their mills prospered, and no matter how fast our cars or sleek the eight-lane bridge, these ancient waters are very much why we are all here.

St. Paul is recognizing that fact with a celebration of its Mississippi River ties called Grand Excursion 2004, and the DWS was invited to participate. So here is our musical excursion, A River Journey. The selections of this concert wend through folksong, new music, and treasured choral standards - much of it having to do with rivers - just as rivers wind through a variety of landscapes.

In the opening quartet of pieces, river water touches the middle two. "Beautiful River" is one of the great old revival hymns of the Civil War, and "Gentle Annie" is almost contemporary with it, penned in the 1850s by Stephen Foster after witnessing the death of a young girl in a carriage accident. These melancholy tunes are book-ended by lively arrangements from former DWS composer-in-residence Carol Barnett and Robert DeCormier, who knows a thing or two about Americana, having served as Peter, Paul and Mary's music director for many years.

I. Traditional American

Cindy Traditional (Carol Barnett)

Beautiful River (Shall We Gather at the River) Robert Lowry (William Hawley)

Gentle Annie Stephen Foster (Edwin Fissinger)

Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me? Traditional (Robert DeCormier)

16 Il, A River Journey

The centerpiece of the concert is this suite of four brand new works, written by four composers. River Journey Suite uses texts of contemporary and past poets, as well as the author of the Psalms,who were all touched by the power of rivers.

River Journey Suite (world premieres)

Prairie Waters by Night John Muehleisen

Of his Prairie Waters by Night DWS composer-in-residence John Muehleisen writes:

As I was searching for a text to set, I focused on works about the Mississippi and on writers from the Midwest. I had for a long time owned a copy of The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg, but never found inspiration until this opportunity. I was struck by the peaceful, nocturnal quality of this text and drawn particularly to Sandburg's wonderful musical metaphors. My music serves to amplify these images and to bring them to life. What a joy it has been to rediscover his poetry, words that uplift, refresh, and renew the spirit.

Prairie Waters by Night

Chatter of birds two by two raises a night song joining a litany of running water - sheer waters showing the russet of old stones remembering many rains.

And the long willows drowse on the shoulders of the running water, and sleep from much music; joined songs of day-end, feathery throats and stony waters, in a choir chanting new psalms.

It is too much for the long willows when low laughter of a red moon comes down; and the willows drowse and sleep on the shoulders of the running water.

- Carl Sandburg

Deep Like the Rivers William C. Banfield

William Banfield, of St. Paul, says of his Deep Like the Rivers:

This music is based on poet Langston Hughes' The Negro Speaks of Rivers, and seeks to evoke several layers of meaning. The Mississippi represents a great flow of culture, people, hopes, aspirations, and movement. It also represents a constant reminder of its depth, its muddy bottom lined with thousands of black bodies and dreams which never got a chance to rise, surface, and fly. My work is about the depth of that river.

17 The Negro Speaks of Rivers

I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I've known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

- Langston Hughes from THE COLLECTED POEMS OF LANGSTON HUGHES by Langston Hughes, copyright 1994 by The Estate of Langston Hughes. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

By the Rivers of Babylon Kirke Mechem

San Francisco's Kirk Mechem on his By the Rivers of Babylon:

The favorite motet of my university choir days was Palestrina's moving Super Flumina Babylonis. These rivers of ancient Babylon were the same Tigris and Euphrates of present-day Iraq, not far from what is now Baghdad, where every day we have new reason to weep, whether we are Iraqi, American or come from other countries. I am not trying to be political. I am responding to the eternal suffering of war. I believe that Palestrina and the author of Psalm 137 were moved by the same emotion, which is why this text still resonates with such power.

Psalm 137 (adapted by the composer)

By the Rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept. Yea, we wept.

On the willows of Babylon we hung up our instruments and wept. Yea, we wept.

Dona nobis pacem. (Grant us peace)

18 Elegy on Water Steve Heitzeg

St. Paul's Steve Heitzeg writes of his Elegy on Water:

Having long admired Robert Bly's poetry, I was drawn to his eloquent and introspective Mourning Pablo Neruda. What intrigues me about Ely's poem is that it moves from the intimate to the collective to the infinite and is a reflection on immortality. The elegy embraces the notion of impermanence and is more for the living than the dead. The dead, like water, are elusive now; like water, they are free to move "always closer, to where they have to be."

Mourning Pablo Neruda

Water is practical, The only Especially in Thing they have August. Left that is theirs. Faucet water For the dead remain inside That drops Us, as water Into the buckets Remains I carry Inside granite - To the young Hardly at all - Willow trees For their job is to Whose leaves have been eaten Go Off by grasshoppers. Away, Or this jar of water And not come back, That lies next to me Even when we ask them, On the car seat But water As I drive to my shack. Comes to us- When I look down, It doesn't care The seat all About us, it goes Around the jar Around us, on the way Is dark, To the Minnesota River, For water doesn't intend To the Mississippi River To give, it gives To the Gulf, Anyway, Always closer And the jar of water To where Lies It has to be. There quivering As I drive No one lays flowers Through a countryside On the grave Of granite quarries, Of water, Stones For it is not Soon to be shaped Here, Into blocks for the dead, It is Gone. - Robert Bly

Used by permission of the poet. Copyright 1999 Robert Bly. All rights reserved

19 m. Folk Music and Spirituals

Folk music almost always makes its own best case and needs little, if any, introduction.

Deep River Spiritual (Norman Luboff)

Shady Grove ·············· .American (Chen Yi)

Give me a little more time (world premiere) Eskil Hemberg

Sweden's Eskil Hemberg wrote Give me a little more time for DWS last fall while battling an aggressive form of cancer. At 66, Hemberg, an acclaimed composer, as well as the former head of Swedish Opera and the International Federation of Choral Music, was inspired by African American spirituals. Who at one point hasn't been able to empathize with Hemberg? He writes: "Sometimes in my struggle with cancer I feel like a weeping child crying to the Lord for help. There are situations in your life when words are small and don't help - this is one such occasion, where music speaks. Please listen and enjoy life now." '-

Give me a little more time

Give me a little more time, dear God. Give me a little more time. Give me a little more time to live my life. I've got a lot of things I need to do before I leave this earth and all behind. Give me a little more time.

Sourwood Mountain ·····Traditional (John Rutter)

Iv. The Pioneering Spirit

Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine Eric Whitacre

We leave the riverscapes for the next two sections of the concert, taking wing with Eric Whitacre here and surveying infamous battlefields a few minutes later. Whitacre's Lux Aurumque was the surprise piece in the DWS' Echoes of Christmas concert last December, and if you were there you probably remember the utter silence in the hall as the choir wove those luminous harmonies of his. Whitacre, 33, follows that up with Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine, of which he says: "Writer Charles Anthony Silvestri and I started with a simple concept: what would it sound like if Leonardo Da Vinci were dreaming? And more specifically, what kind of music would fill the mind of such a genius? We approached the piece as if we were writing a short opera. The drama would tell the

20 story of Leonardo being tormented by the calling of the air, tortured to such a degree that his only recourse was to solve the riddle and figure out how to fly."

Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine

Tormented by visions of flight and falling, More wondrous and terrible each than the last, Master Leonardo imagines an engine To carry man up into the sun ... And he's dreaming the heavens call him, Softly whispering their siren-song: "Leonardo, Leonardo, vieni a "Leonardo, Leonardo, come fly." volare."

L'uomo colle sua congiegniate e A man with wings large enough grandi ale, and duly connected might learn to facciendo forza contra alla overcome the resistance of the air. resistente aria.

As the candles burn low he paces and writes, Releasing purchased pigeons one by one Into the golden Tuscan sunrise ...

And as he dreams, again the calling, The very air itself gives voice: "Leonardo, Leonardo, vieni a "Leonardo, Leonardo, come fly." volare."

Vivina all' elemento del fuoco ... Close to the sphere of elemental Scratching quill on crumpled paper fire... (Rete, canna, filo, carta.) (Net, cane, thread, paper.) Images of wing and frame and fabric fastened tightly . .. .sulla suprema sottile aria. ... in the highest and rarest atmosphere. As the midnight watchtower tolls, Over rooftop, street and dome, The triumph of a human being ascending In the dream of a mortal man. Leonardo steels himself, Takes one last breath, and leaps ... "Leonardo, Leonardo, vieni a volare! "Leonardo, Leonardo, come fly! Leonardo, sognare!" Leonardo, dream!"

- Charles Anthony Silvestri

21 V. A Country at War

Three pieces from two of America's costliest wars.

In Flanders Field Derek Healey

Brooklyn-born Derek Healey wrote his In Flanders Fields in the 1970s on a text by John McCrae (1872-1918). McCrae was a Canadian physician, soldier, and poet. As the chief medical officer at a WWI hospital in France, he dealt daily with horrific injuries and death, none more overwhelming than those brought to him on May 3, 1915, after the Second Battle at Ypres in Belgium - notorious for the German introduction of chlorine gas as a weapon. McCrae's fellow Canadians suffered nearly 6,000 casualties in that battle alone, and this, McCrae's most well-known poem, was written that day.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

- Lt. Col. John McCrae, M.D.

Beat! Beat! Drums! (from A Procession Winding Around Me) ....Jeffrey Van

St. Paul guitarist and composer Jeffrey Van has been a long time friend of Dale and the Singers. He has written several works for DWS over the years, and has performed countless times with them. Van appears on DWS recordings as guitarist and composer. He wrote his A Procession Winding Around Me: Fbur Civil War Poems of Walt Whitman in 1991, a year after visiting the fields of Gettysburg, where, in July 1863, 43,000 lost their lives. Describing "an immeasurable, palpable sadness there," Van began Procession, inspired by the poems of Walt Whitman (1819-92) who served as a volunteer nurse during the war. Beat! Beat! Drums! is the second piece in Van's powerful four-movement suite.

- /"

22 Beat! Beat! Drums!

Beat! beat! drums! - blow! bugles! blow! Through the windows - through doors - burst like a ruthless force, Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation, Into the school where the scholar is studying; Leave not the bridegroom quiet - no happiness must he have now with his bride, Nor the peaceful farmer any peace, ploughing his field or gathering his grain, So fierce you whirr and pound you drums - so shrill you bugles blow.

Beat! beat! drums! - blow! bugles! blow! Over the traffic of cities - over the rumble of wheels in the streets; Are beds prepared for sleepers at night in the houses? no sleepers must sleep in those beds, No bargainers' bargains by day - no brokers or speculators - would they continue? Would the talkers be talking? would the singer attempt to sing? Would the lawyer rise in the court to state his case before the judge? Then rattle quicker, heavier drums - you bugles wilder blow.

Beat! beat! drums! - blow! bugles! blow! Make no parley - stop for no expostulation, Mind not the timid - mind not the weeper or prayer, Mind not the old man beseeching the young man, Let not the child's voice be heard, nor the mother's entreaties, Make even the trestles to shake the dead where they lie awaiting the hearses, So strong you thump 0 terrible drums - so loud you bugles blow.

- Walt Whitman

Shiloh: A Requiem (April 1862) (world premiere) Jeffrey Van Jeffrey Van dedicates this work to the Dale Warland Singers.

Though Whitman was the Civil War's great poet-chronicler, Herman Melville, his exact contemporary, was also a witness. Van takes Melville's Shiloh: A Requiem (April 1862) as his text to commemorate the battle on April 6-7 of that year at Shiloh Church in southwestern Tennessee in which nearly 25,000 died. Van writes: "Officially,the Union won; actually, everyone lost, and General Grant said that 'a person can walk in any given direction without stepping on ground.' Shiloh is a Hebrew word meaning Place of Peace. Well, perhaps now - now that all is hushed at Shiloh."

23 Shiloh: A Requiem (April 1862)

Skimming lightly, wheeling still, The swallows fly low Over the field in clouded days, The forest-field in clouded days, the forest-field of Shiloh- Over the field where April rain Solaced the parched ones stretched in pain Through the pause of night That followed the Sunday fight Around the church of Shiloh - The church so lone, the log-built one, That echoed to many a parting groan And natural prayer Of dying foemen mingled there - Foemen at morn, but friends at eve - Fame or country least their care: (What like a bullet can undeceive!) But now they lie low, While over them the swallows skim, And all is hushed at Shiloh.

- Herman Melville

VI. North American Heritage

Back down to the river now, for two of these final four pieces, as the concert closes with folksongs in new arrangements. Before our arrangers got hold of them, the original tunes had traveled and transmogrified perhaps endlessly - and it would be fun to sing any of these for the original writer to see if he or she recognized them!

Buffalo Gals (Cool White [John Hodges]) (Alice Parker)

Buffalo Gals was published in 1844 by the minstrel singer John Hodges (pseudonym: Cool White) under the title Lubly Fan. As the tune spread, people changed the words and the title, so some knew this by New York Gals, others Philadelphia Gals, and still others, Lou'siana Gals.

The Water is Wide ·· Traditional (Jeffrey Van)

Originally, the Scottish tune 0 Waly; Waly, was a bit shorter and rougher around the edges than we hear it today. On this side of the Atlantic, new verses were added and the melody bent here and there to sweeten the heartbreak in lines that now go by The Water is Wide.

24 A la claire fontaine French (Norman Luboff) A la claire fontaine

II y a longtemps que je t'aime, My heart will always remember, Jamais je ne t'oublierai. true love it cannot forget. A la claire fontaine, m'en allant Deep in the quiet forest, so deep promener, that no one knows. Jai trouve I'eau si belle que je m'y There where my heart was happy, suis baiqne. one lovely fountain flows. II y a longtemps que je t'aime, My heart will always remember, Jamais je ne t'oublierai. true love it cannot forget. Sous les feuilles d'un chene, je me Deep in the crystal water your suis fait secher: tender face I see, Sur la plus haute branche,un Oh, what a sweet reflection there rossignol chantait. smiling up at me. II y a longtemps que je t'aime, My heart will always remember, Jamais je ne t'oublierai. true love it cannot forget. Chante, rossignol, chante, toi qui How lonely is the forest, save for as Ie Coeur gai: the nightingale, Tu as Ie coeur a rire, moi, je l'ait a Sweet song that once was happy, pleurer. now tells a sadder tale. II y a longtemps que je t'aime, My heart will always remember, Jamais je ne t'oublierai. true love it cannot forget.

She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain .Spiritual (Emma Lou Diemer)

She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain sprang from slave quarters of the South and was called When the Chariot Comes. Railroaders laying track in the 1890s picked it up and adapted it to fit the new scene of westward trains comin' round the mountain.

MPR SALUTES DALE WARLAND SINGERS DURING MONTH OF MAY!

Celebrate the Singers with MPR all during the month of May with the following regional broadcasts:

Wednesday, May 5 7:00 pm Re-broadcast of the 30th Anniversary Concert Wednesday, May 12 7:00 pm 2003 Cathedral Classics concert Wednesday, May 19 7:00 pm 2004 Cathedral Classics concert Sunday, May 23 9:00 am Saint Paul Sunday Tuesday, May 25 8:00 pm Saint Paul Sunday Wednesday, May 26 7:00pm A River Journey concert (April 2004)

TIme in to KSJN 99.5 FM for all of the above concerts For more detailed information, visit www.minnesotapublicradio.org

25 the singers

Soprano Beth Althof teaches music at Rice Lake Elementary and choir at Centennial Middle School in Lino Lakes. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a music education degree. Before joining the DWS, Beth was a member of the Elysian Singers, a five-voice early music group based in La Crosse, WI, and the LaCrosse Chamber Chorale. She lives in White Bear Lake with her husband, Jay, and their two daughters. This is Beth's ninth season with the Singers.

Duane Andersen, bass-baritone, made his solo debut in England in 1994 singing Beethoven's Mass in C at the International Church Music Festival, conducted by Sir David Willcocks. Previously active in Abendmusik-Lincoln, Duane performed the title role in Mendelssohn's Elijah in 1998 and was a soloist in Horatio Parker's Hora Novissime, a release by Albany Records, in 1992. Duane participates in area church and musical productions and in 1989 and 1994 received honorable mentions in the Metropolitan Opera auditions. He holds a bachelors degree in Business/ Computer Science from Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska and works as a senior programmer/analyst in Bloomington.

Abbie Betinis, an alto in her third year with the Singers, is a freelance music engraver and composer. A recent graduate of St. Olaf College, she has also studied composition with faculty at Juilliard and the Paris Conservatory. Abbie is currently working for composer Libby Larsen while pursuing a master's degree in music composition at the University of Minnesota. She is from Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

Soprano Wendi Buck sang with the Dale Warland Singers from 1992 to 1996 and feels privileged to be able to return for the ensemble's last two seasons. Wendi holds a B.A. in music from the College of William and Mary and an M.A. in occupational therapy from the College of St. Catherine. She currently works part time as an occupational therapist in the St. Francis school district and full time as mom to Elsa and Henry.

Matthew Culloton is currently in his fifth season with the Singers, where aside from singing duties he serves as Music Advisor, Bass Section Leader, and Choral Librarian. He is in his fourth year as Director of Choral Activities at Hopkins High School. Since 1999, Matthew has served as ACDA of Minnesota's Male Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair, and is this year's recipient of the VocalEssence/ACDA Creative Programming Award. His choral compositions and arrangements are published with Mark Foster Music and Hinshaw Music.

Marie Spar Dymit has sung with the Dale Warland Singers since 1985 and became soprano section leader in 1991. Marie teaches vocal music at White Bear Lake High School's South Campus, where she is in charge of four performing ensembles. She holds music degrees from St. Olaf College and Arizona State University and serves as the Women's Choir Repertoire and Standards Chairperson for ACDA of Minnesota. Marie is a frequently heard soloist with the Singers and has sung on eleven DWS recordings.

A native of Moscow, Russia, GaUna Erickson is in her third season with the Dale Warland Singers. She holds a Bachelor of Music Performance degree from North Central University, has sung with the Minnesota Opera chorus and now serves as a section leader at the Cathedral of St. Paul. Currently she works as a Russian medical interpreter.

26 Tenor Joel Fischer is a native of Sleepy Eye, Minnesota and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Iowa State University in 1998. He has been a soloist at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis and at St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth. Joel, in his sixth season with the DWS, has also sung with the Rose Ensemble and is Director of Liturgy and Music at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in St. Louis Park.

Joanne Halvorsen, alto section leader, is in her twenty-sixth season with the Dale Warland Singers. As a member of the ensemble, she has toured Europe, Canada and around the United States, singing in some of the finest concert halls in the world. Jo recently retired from teaching after 31 years at Fridley Middle School as choral instructor and Fridley High School as musical and artistic director for the drama program. She is currently Music Director at Faith United Methodist Church, conducting the Sanctuary Choir and her youth group, "Able Cain Raisers."

Eric Harstad, bass, is from West Allis, Wisconsin. He has an A.A. from Bethany Lutheran College, a B.M. from St. Olaf College in music education, and a M.M. from Minnesota State University, Mankato in choral conducting. Eric teaches choirs, general music, and music theory at Buffalo Lake-Hector. He also enjoys directing the church choir at Grace Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, and composing and arranging music. This is his first year with the Singers.

Jon Hermanson, tenor, from New Ulm, MN, is beginning his first season with the Dale Warland Singers. Currently, he is working toward a degree in music education from Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN. Jon also sings with the Martin Luther College Choir and studies voice privately.

Carole Hofstad, soprano, has been performing in the Twin Cities area for over 20 years. An advocate of contemporary music and a lover of early music, she premiered many new works under the auspices of the American Composers Forum and was a founding member of Minstrels, an early music ensemble that recorded under the Lyrichord label. As a soloist, she has appeared with numerous local organizations, including the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Lyra Consort and the Plymouth Music Series. Carole has also performed with other orchestras around the country including the Kansas City Symphony, among others. She graduated from Concordia College Moorhead and earned her Master's degree at the University of MN. Carole is currently on staff at MacPhail Center for Music and sings at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis. She returns to the Singers after a twenty-year hiatus.

Melissa Holm-Johansen, mezzo-soprano, is currently a DMA candidate in voice at the University of Minnesota and an independent voice instructor. A native Norwegian, she frequently sings at the Norwegian American Lutheran Memorial Church and has appeared several times in the annual Leiv Eriksson Festival, performing music by Grieg, Sommerro and Mozart. Melissa spent the summer of 2002 traveling through Tuscany, Italy performing Italian operatic music. She holds a MM in voice and vocal pedagogy from the University of Minnesota and a BM in voice and music education from St. Olaf College.

Eric N. Hopkins, tenor, from Oregon, IL, is in his fifth season with the Dale Warland Singers. Eric holds a bachelor's degree in vocal music from Luther College where he sang in the Nordic Choir under the direction of Weston Noble. He also sings with the Hosanna Choir of St. Steven's Lutheran Church in Bloomington.

Dave Jacobson, baritone, is in his eighth season with the Dale Warland Singers. He has sung with many diverse ensembles, such as the Rod Smith Big Band, Voce Magna, and the Minneapolis Vocal Consort. Currently, Dave serves as the bass soloist/section leader for Wesley United Methodist Church.

Lynette Johnson, mezzo soprano, joined the Dale Warland Singers in 1987. She is a past member of Voce Magna, a small, local voice ensemble and has appeared as a guest soloist with the Valley Chamber Chorale and at several area churches. Lynette also sings with the worship ensemble and choir at Excelsior Covenant Church. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from North Park College in Chicago.

Tenor Justin Karch, in his fourth year with Dale Warland Singers, holds a B.A. in music from North Dakota State University. At NDSU he was a soloist as well as president and secretary of the NDSU Concert Choir. For the last two years, Justin has been a member of a quartet of singers featured during Minnesota Public Radio's holiday broadcasts. He is also a past section leader at St. Patrick's Church in Edina. In addition to singing, Justin works in customer service for Ecolab Inc. in St. Paul.

Natalia Kojanova, alto, is in her second year with the Dale Warland Singers. A native of Russia, she is a graduate of Novosibirsk State Music College, Russia, with degrees in choral conducting and vocal performance. Natalia has sung with some of the finest ensembles and choirs, including The Chamber Choir of the Novosibirsk Philharmonic Society, the vocal ensemble "Markell's Voices," a vocal quartet at All-Saints Russian Orthodox Church, Russia, Shadyside Presbyterian Chancel Choir and Bach Cantata Choir, Pittsburgh, PA.

27 Tenor Nicholas Eugene Lemme of Rapid City, South Dakota is honored to be in the DWS for their final season. He received a BA in Music Education with a voice emphasis from the University of Wyoming, Laramie, where he had the opportunity to study under Larry Hensel. Since being in Minneapolis, he has taught music at Saint Francis Saint James United School in St. Paul and sang as a tenor for the Basilica of Saint Mary Cathedral Choir.

David Lower, tenor, is a native of Iowa City, IA and recently moved to the Twin Cities. He graduated from Luther College in 2003 where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Performance. At Luther College, David sang in the Nordic Choir under the direction of Weston Noble. This is the first year David will perform with the Singers.

Patrick McDonough, bass, completed his undergraduate work in music performance at the University of Wisconsin- Superior and subsequently undertook graduate studies in choral conducting at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Patrick has previously held the position of Director of Music for several Twin Cities churches and is a former member of the Rose Ensemble and the Minnesota Chorale. Currently, Patrick works for American Express Financial Advisors as a Business Systems Analyst.

Anna George Meek, alto, is a freelance violinist who plays professionally with the Minnesota Sinfonia and the Aurora String Quartet. She also serves as concertmaster for the Mississippi Valley Chamber Orchestra. She has studied voice and violin at Yale University and The Peabody Conservatory and currently has her own studio of violin students. Also a writer, Meek teaches at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. Her book of poems, Acts of Contortion, won the 2002 Brittingham Prize from the University of Wisconsin Press. She was recently awarded a 2002 Minnesota State Arts Board grant for her poems.

Bass Michael Meyer attended St. Olaf College and graduated with a degree in economics in May 2000. While at St. Olaf, he sang for three years in the Choir under the direction of Anton Armstrong. Since graduating, he has been a member of the Singers and is currently in his fourth season. On the side, Michael sings in a quartet, plays the piano, and volunteers at the Animal Humane Society.

Mary C. Maiden-Mueller, alto, is a graduate of Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in both vocal and flute performance. Mary has sung with the Dale Warland Singers in previous years and more recently participated in a number of choral projects in the Twin Cities area as well as serving as soloist and section leader for various church choirs. Mary is currently employed by the Hazelden Foundation as Development Data Systems Manager.

Jack Nelson is in his second season with the Singers. He studied music at Bradley University and Northwestern University. After receiving his Masters in vocal performance from Northwestern, he studied voice with Margaret Harshaw at Indiana University. Throughout, Jack performed many of the great choral works with choral groups in Illinois as Baritone soloist. He participated as Baritone in the Bradley University Chorale when it took the Grand Prix at the 1976 Recontres des Internationales, in Tours, France, and again in 1981 when the Chorale placed third. He is currently an attorney in Saint Paul.

Deborah Loon Osgood joined the Dale Warland Singers in 1984 and has been heard in DWS concerts and recordings regularly since then. A soprano, Deb is a graduate of St. Olaf College and holds a degree in Political Science. While at St. Olaf, Deb sang in the St. Olaf Choir, where she was a regular soloist and soprano section leader. Deb has sung with Magnum Chorum and has served many area churches as a soloist and section leader. She is also president of The Osgood Group, a consulting firm that helps clients meet their objectives through communications, leadership and management services. She specializes in providing interim executive director services for non-profit organizations.

Krista Palmquist holds a BA in voice performance from Bethel College, an MA in voice performance from Eastern Michigan University, and a DMA in voice performance from the University of Minnesota. She is a cantor, soprano section leader and soloist at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, and she maintains voice studios at North Central University and at St. Joseph's School of Music. Krista is also an active art song recitalist, performing music from a wide range of countries and musical periods. Krista lives in Saint Paul with her husband and three children. This is her third season with Dale Warland Singers.

Tenor Robert Pontious is the choir director at Mahtomedi High School and the adult choir director at the Church of the Nativity in St. Paul. He graduated from Truman State University (Kirksville, MOl with a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Arts in Conducting and Vocal Performance. Rob is a returning member of the DWS having sung from 1992-1998 and also served as their Director of Operations for five of those years. He lives in White Bear Lake with his wife Jody and two children, Megan and Andrew.

28 Susan Ramlet, alto, is pleased to join the Singers for a 5th season. Susan is the alto soloist for St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth and has served as a soloist and section leader for several churches in the Twin Cities, Houston, San Antonio, and Santa Fe. Susan has conducted several youth choirs and handbell choirs and has worked as a French language coach for singers. She sang four seasons with Houston Grand Opera chorus and was in the company of Houston's Stages Repertory Theater for three seasons as an actor and music director, performing in productions such as Marry Me a Little, Hair, and Merrily We Roll Along. Susan studied voice under Kay Paschal and Joseph Amaya. She studied conducting under Bruce Chamberlain, and has a degree in Music and French from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

Soprano Jennifer Rissman graduated from Drake University in Des Moines with a degree in vocal performance where she studied with Leanne Freeman-Miller and sang with the Drake University Choir under the direction of Aimee Beckmann-Collier. Before moving to the Twin Cities, Jenny taught voice lessons at Drake University and worked as a grant writer in Des Moines. This is Jenny's first season with the Singers.

Soprano Jodi Rowe is excited to be in her second season with the Dale Warland Singers. Since graduating from Doctor Martin Luther College with majors in Elementary Education and Music Education, Jodi has taught in the elementary classroom, elementary level music and directed both children's choirs and adult choirs. Jodi has had the privilege of singing under Marin Alsop at the Cabrillo Music Festival and LeRoy Kromm in the San Jose Symphonic Choir. She is currently serving as a Professor of Music in the areas of voice and choir at Doctor Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN.

Soprano Dawn Schuffenhauer recently attended St. Olaf College and received a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Music Education. While at St. Olaf, Dawn was a member of the St. Olaf Choir. She is currently employed at Donaldson Company, Inc. This is Dawn's fourth season with the Singers.

Bass Thomas Shaffer is a charter member of the Dale Warland Singers returning this season after an eighteen year absence. He is a retired music educator, school administrator, and university instructor. His performance credits include: The Minnesota Bach Society including performances in Canada; The Plymouth Music Series including performances in England; The Sateren Choir including performances in Norway; The Norman Luboff Choir touring the United States and Canada; Center Opera; The St. Paul Opera; and The Minnesota Opera. He has also performed for early DWS recordings and radio broadcasts as well as concert tours of Sweden, Norway and Germany.

Steve Sheppard, bass, attended Macalester College in St. Paul, MN to study with Dale Warland. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music, he moved to Nevada to teach music K-12. Steve has sung with the Las Vegas Opera Company and spent nine years as a singer, arranger, orchestrator and producer for Back to the Bible, an international radio ministry. During that time he traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Canada and Jamaica. Steve is currently a Database Administrator and continues to sing and teach music. This is his third season with the Dale Warland Singers. He lives in Elk River with his wife, Dawn Joy, and their six boys.

Originally from Houston, TX, tenor Hal Snyder is in his fifth season with the Singers. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Texas Tech University where he studied voice under the direction of Karl Dent.

Anthony Sofie, tenor, is beginning his second year with the Singers. A native of East St. Paul, Tony spent six years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth achieving a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre. Thny also has an extensive background in accompanying and music theatre.

Music strikes a special chord that creates a melodious balance in life. Naomi Christensen Staruch is extremely honored to be a soprano in the Dale Warland Singers. The demands of being Vice President at UBB Securities often need to be equalized. This is her sixth season in the ensemble. Previously she has sung with the Augsburg College Choir, the (Leland B.) Sateren Singers, and Bethlehem Lutheran Church Choir. Naomi lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Steven, where they enjoy gardening, traveling and making music together.

Bass Brian Steele teaches voice at Minneapolis Community and Technical College and is on staff with the Westminster Presbyterian Church as soloist and choir section leader. His MFA degree in Vocal Performance is from the University of Minnesota where he studied with Clifton Ware and Roy Schuessler and sang with the U of M Minnesingers, touring Germany and Austria. He has sung with the Montana Chorale, the Grammy winning Oregon Bach Festival Choir and as a studio vocalist as singer and voice-over artist on numerous recordings. His wife, Jackie, can usually be found in the back of the concert hall selling DWS recordings.

Soprano Teresa Tierney is returning for her 10th year with the Singers. She received her bachelor's degree from the College of St. Catherine, in St. Paul, Minnesota, and her masters degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder where she studied music theory and composition in addition to voice. Currently, she teaches at Century College, Robbinsdale Armstrong High School, and Eagan High School and maintains a private studio at her St. Paul home.

29 honor roll

The Dale Warland Singers gratefully acknowledges the generous annual fund contributions of its friends and supporters who made gifts between March 1, 2003 and March 31, 2004.

exultate ($25,000 +) The Hoeschler Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation applause ($250-499) The Bush Foundation Paul Jeske Mardag Foundation David and Mary Beth Koehler Russell P.Allen Marshall Field's Project Imagine John and Karen Larsen Dr. and Mrs. Arden O. Anderson with support from the Target George and Dusty Mairs Paul J. and Mary A. Anderson Foundation Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Sally and Peter Anson McKnight Foundation Griggs Burke Foundation Alex and Martha Barron Minnesota State Arts Board Daniel McKeown Fred and Cynthia Betz Lawrence M. and Elizabeth Ann Ronald Blackmore laudate ($10,000 - 24,999) O'Shaughnessy Charitable Kimberly J. Bowman Income Trust in honor of David Briggs Disciplined Growth Investors Lawrence M. O'Shaughnessy Conley and Marney Brooks Ecolab Foundation Lynn and Thomas Pabl Bob and Gerry Bullard General Mills Foundation Terry and Mary Patton Jerome and Linda Carlson Katherine B. Andersen Fund of the Peregrine Capital Management, Inc. Steve Cornils and Saint Paul Foundation Fund of Minneapolis Foundation Leslie Quigley-Cornils National Endowment for the Arts Sally and George Pillsbury Sheldon and Carol Damberg Frederick K. Martin Rahr Foundation Carl and Charlotte Drake Nancy and Everett Rotenberry Michael and Kathie Reeslund with Marie Spar Dymit The Sewell Family Foundation matching funds from Dorsey & Keith and Genny Ellefson The Thomas Mairs and Marjorie Whitney Mrs. Dewey S. Ewald Mairs Fund of The Saint Paul Margaret Rivers Fund David and Katherine Galligan Foundation Stanley E. and Shannon L. Dr. James and Dorothy Halverson Romanstein Michael C. Jordan and Brenda J. Ginger Sisco and Larry Griffith Powell ovation ($5,000 - 9,999) Sit Investment Associates Don and Joann Leavenworth Foundation Vivian Mason, in memory of Jack Aaron Copland Fund for Music Barbara Spradley and Neil Kittlesen Mason Andersen Foundation Charles Upcraft David and Kari Mink Pete and Margie Ankeny Tom and Marty Whelan with Pamela Mink Don Davies and Catherine Rose matching funds from Minnesota Robert and Kay Moline Kenneth' and Judy Dayton Monthly Publications Carolyn Norquist Susan S. Fauver Paul and Arlene Williams Patty and Stephen Paulus Mike and Kay McCarthy Xcel Energy Foundation John Pearson Gayle and Tim Ober David and Marty Raymond John Provo, Maslon, Edelman, Professor and Mrs. Calvin J. Roetzel Borman & Brand, LLP fanfare ($500 - 999) Sue A. Shepard Dan Schmechel and Mimi Wright Kevin and Lynn Smith Fred and Gloria Sewell Dr. Michael J. and Linda Anderson Glenn and Mary Steinke Jack Weatherford and Walker Pearce Anonymous Fred Stoutland and Lilli Alanen Wenger Foundation Dr. Elisabeth R. Bennett, M.D. Joseph and Cynthia Tambornino Carrie Benson Mr. and Mrs. E. R. Titcomb David and Jane Cooper Dwight and Carolyn Thwnes bravo ($2,500 - 4,999) Tvrone and Delia Bujold Stewart Widdess Mary Lee Dayton Baker Foundation Ann Fleischauer Arland and Sharon Brusven Nancy Erickson Hoffman donors ($100 - 249) Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Elizabeth A. Jensen Foundation S. Jerome and Leticia Johnson in Elary Allen Hall Deluxe Corporation Foundation memory of Dr. LaVonne Mr. and Mrs. Elmer J. Andersen Dick Geyerman Bergstrom Henry and Mary Andersen William Hueg and Hella Mears Hueg Doug and Mary Jones Bonnie Anderson Dr. Sam and Thelma Hunter Glenn and Madelaine Karwoski Joyce L. Anderson Huss Foundation Louise King Marie Anderson Robin Keyworth Sarah Lutman and Rob Rudolph Stephen Anderson and Barbara Jim and Donna Peter James and Jane Marentette Randolph-Anderson Thomas and Gwynn Rosen Tina Meckel and Jeff Benson Mr. and Mrs. Milo Arkema Dale and Ruth Warland Ford and Catherine Nicholson Anton E. Armstrong, D.M.A. Patricia M. Whitacre John L. Nuechterlein Kay and Ron Bach Jackie and Peter Reis Michelle Baltus Don and Estelle Sell Jeffrey Barnett and Jamie Earl encore ($1,000 - 2,499) Nancy Slaughter William and Paula Bathke Naomi and Steven Staruch Duane and Connie Bell Susan Barnes Vern Sutton Vickie Benson Dorsey and Whitney, LLP Jeffrey and Brenda Vredenburg Jack and Bobby Brose Teresa and Jerry Elsbernd Nancy P. Zwickey Ray and Julie Brovold Gerald B. and Catherine L. Fischer Barbara and Tim Brown Ruth and Paul Hauge Maria Bucka in memory of Chuck Risser

30 Wilbur C. Christensen Margaret Meyer Direct Steve and Kathy Coleman Minnesota Public Radio Thomas E. Davis Julie Pauley / Pauley Design Humphrey and Elisabeth W Partners Doermann John Provo, Maslon, Edelman, Susan Dulek Borman & Brand, LLP Emily Ellsworth Michael and Kathie Reeslund E. Duane and Marlene Engstrom Stems and Vines, Tamara Barlau Geneva Eschweiler Floyd and Caron Farmer, Jr. Margaret Flanagan recording fund John and Priscilla Folin Sam and Kay Gerth Robin Perry Allen Robert and Katherine Goodale Beth and Jay Althof Bill and Pat Gurnon Duane Andersen Karin and Erick Hakanson Henry and Mary Andersen Wendy Halverson To Honor James Peter and his Ron and Betty Hemstad years of devotion to the Dale Anders and Julie Himmelstrup Warland Singers Ken and Julie Hoyme Ann and Robert Baker Bonnie Jaeger Iverson in memory of Carol Barnett Jack Jaeger Carrie Benson Margaret and Peter Johnson Sara Boos Thomas C. Johnson Robert Cooper Romona Bole Kaszas Lynda Crane Dr. Genell Knatterud Don Davies and Catherine Rose Camille A. Kolles Teresa and Jerry Elsbernd The Dale Warland Singers thanks Jean and Larry LeJeune Galina Erickson Diana J. Leland Charles R. Facer the 130 people who made gifts up Robert G. Mairs Floyd and Caron Farmer, Jr. to $100, the combined total of Richard and Lois Merrill Susan S. Fauver which was over $5,200! Dan and Christina Meyer Roger and Ricky Herrick Judy and Peter Mitchelson William Hueg and Hella Mears Hueg Jim and Carol Moller Eric Hopkins Peter B. and Karla Myers Paul Jeske Brian and Angela Newhouse Susan Knight In spite of the staff's efforts to avoid Lucretia and David Paddock Terry Knowles and Marshall Rutter errors and omissions in this year's Gunta and Arijs Pakalns Gunilla Luboff honor roll of contributors, mistakes Margery Pearce in honor of Walker Thomas G. Mairs can occur. If your name was Pearce Mike and Kay McCarthy omitted, listed incorrectly or Curtis and Shirley Ramlet Albert J. McNeil Dr. Paul and Joyce Riedesel David and Carol Nordli misspelled, please notify us of the Carolyn Roby Deborah Loon Osgood error: Bernis S. Rubright Dr. Earl Rivers Carol Mae Sandstrom David A. Robinson 651.632.5870, phone Angela Gill Saunders Thomas and Gwynn Rosen 651.632.5873, fax Karen Schreiner and Ron Ellingson Nancy and Everett Rotenberry Mariana and Craig Schulstad Dawn Schuffenhauer Randall E. Schumacher The Sewell Family Foundation Arturo L. Steely Steve and Naomi Staruch Jim and Judy Thomas Brian and Jackie Steele Dr. Lynn Trapp Eric and Juni Stevens Gene Vader Rosita Tendall Gretchen T. Westergard Jeffrey and Rica Van J. Kimball and Helen W Whitney Dale and Ruth Warland Timothy J. Wicker and Caroline M. Arlene and Paul Williams Deters Jane Wilson Paul and Carolynn Wiggin Duain Wolfe Jerry and Billie Wollan Mike and Donna Wolsted commissioning fund The Alice P. Ditson Fund at Columbia University in-kind donations The Jerome Foundation Karen and John Larsen Steve Barnett / Barnett Music Mike and Kay McCarthy Productions M. Walker Pearce and Jack Linda Chatterton Weatherford Cooper & Hamilton, LLC James and Donna Peter Gaviidae Common, Brookfield Gloria and Fred Sewell Properties Brian and Jackie Steele Graphic Design Inc. Hal Leonard Hex Graphics, Inc. Jan Johnson 'deceased Martin Marty Members of the Dale Warland Singers Richard and Lois Merrill

31 PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING THE FINAL CONCERT SEASON OF THE DALE WARLAND SINGERS!

Your support of the Dale Warland Singers is more important than ever during this final concert season. Here's how you can help.

D SUPPORT THE FINAL CONCERT SEASON $ _ (indicate how much you'd like to allocate to this project)

-- Five Concert Programs performed a total of 12 times in Minnesota -- 16 Commissions from 14 established and emerging American composers -- Flawless performances of choral masterworks and new works

D SPONSOR A DWS RECORDING $ _ (indicate how much you'd like to allocate to this project)

CDs will be released and internationally distributed by Gothic Records (www.gothicrecords.com) during the next two years. All gifts of $500 or more will be recognized in the jewelcase booklet.

Cathedral Classics II (working title) (Biebl, Howells, Hanson, Lauridsen, Whitacre, Schnittke) The Road Home (working title) (American folk and hymn tunes)

D HELP FUND THE DALE WARLAND SINGERS' FAREWELL CONCERT $ _ (indicate how much you'd like to allocate to this project)

The Dale Warland Singers farewell concert on May 30, 2004, in Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, is being held to honor the Singers and Dale. Your contribution will help defray the expense of this event.

NAME: _ ADDRESS: _ D My gift is enclosed. CITY: STATE: ZIP: _ HOME PHONE: WORK: _ D Please contact me E-MAIL: _ about making a gift.

Check (payable to Dale Warland Singers) Visa Mastercard Name on Card _ Account # Exp. Date _ Signature _

You may leave this page with an usher, or mail your gift to:

Dale Warland Singers 2300 Myrtle Avenue, Suite 120 St. Paul, MN 55114

32 acknowledgements

board of directors administrative staff

Officers Gayle Ober, executive director Daniel J. Schmechel, president Tina Meckel, development director Jacqueline Reis, vice president Tracy K.S. Yue, marketing and James W Peter, treasurer communications director David L. Cooper, secretary Elary Allen Hall, office manager Michael E. Reeslund, of council Beth Pickering, business manager Arlene Williams, emeritus board chair Ruth Anderson, office volunteer Dick Geyerman, office volunteer Directors Jackie Steele, concert volunteer coordinator Michael Brand Donald M. Davies Susan S. Fauver artistic staff Ann Fleischauer Glenn J. Karwoski Dale Warland, founder and music director Robin Keyworth Debra Harrer, general manager Lynn Pahl Ruth Palmer, assistant conductor M. Walker Pearce Matthew Culloton, librarian and music advisor Stanley Romanstein John Muehleisen, composer-in-residence Thomas J. Rosen Joanne Halvorsen, wardrobe coordinator Nancy Reitz Rotenberry Thomas Shaffer, education coordinator Ginger Sisco Brian Newhouse, program annotator Gloria Sewell Cheryl Friedrichs, house manager Vern Sutton Jared Anderson, stage manager Dan Ober, assistant stage manager Dale Warland, founder and music director* Gayle Ober, executive director* Tom Crann, pre-concert moderator Deborah Loon Osgood, singer representative* Minnesota Public Radio is the official broadcast partner of the Dale Warland Singers. Emeritus Board Margie Ankeny* Arland D. Brusven* Jerry Fischer" Thelma Hunter* Terry Knowles* Mike McCarthy* Nancy Slaughter* Mary Steinke *

*denotes ex officio mission statement

The mission of the Dale Warland Singers is to enrich, inspire and entertain its audiences through the superb, world-class performance of important a cappella choral music, while fostering awareness, understanding and appreciation of recent choral music repertoire.

Thank you for helping us accomplish this! If you have any questions or comments about this program, please let us know:

dale warland singers 2300 myrtle avenue, suite 120 st. paul, mn 55114 651.632.5870, phone 651.632.5873, fax www.dalewarlandsingers.org

33 sponsors

special thanks v -/ ••• -I.., -I •.••.•--

Lawrence Barnhart Julie Brovold MINNESOTA Ted Cadwell, Steve STATE ARTS BOARD McLaird and Paul Robbenholt of Dorsey & Whitney LLP Children's Home Society & Family Services Concert Volunteers and Ushers Mary Ann Feldman Helen Franczyk Gala Friday Committee and Volunteers Cheryl Friedrichs TARGET NATIONAL e Graphic Design, Inc. ENDOWMENT Anne Hunter Women's concert dress was provided by FOR THE ARTS Igor Kojanov and Natalia Thrget Stores and Mervyn's California by Kojanova the Thrget Corporation Loft/Gothic Recordings May 30 Celebration Committee and Volunteers Minnesota Public Radio Susan Barnes, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Inc., Julie Pauley, Pauley Design Partners MINNESOTA John Provo, Maslon, AMERICA PUBLIC RADIO Edelman, Borman & Brand LLP MPR is the official broadcast Naomi Staruch Dale Warland Singers partner of the Dale Warland Singers. is a member of Chorus America.

IIACC

Choral risers provided by Wenger Corporation.

To make a contribution via a gift of stock, please contact our Development Director at: 651.632.5870.

34

The Deluxe Corporation Foundation has been a proud sponsor of the Dale Warland Singers for 25 years.

DELUXE

Deluxe Corporation Foundation