SUN. MAY 7 I 3:00PM
Albany Pro Musica Concert Chorus and Masterworks Chorus
Orchestra Pro Musica
José Daniel Flores-Caraballo, Opalka Family Artistic Director
Evangelia Leontis, Soprano Kara Dugan, Mezzo-soprano Daniel Mojica, Tenor Philip Lima, Baritone
On behalf of the musicians, supporters, and board members of Albany Pro Musica, I’m proud to welcome you to our remarkable 42nd season.
Albany Pro Musica has been on a trajectory of growth in recent years, one that continued through a pandemic season and through our triumphal return to in-person performances last season, and which has been on display this year. At the core of our group’s success is our decades-long commitment to bringing audiences in our community choral music of extraordinary quality.
We know that people turn to the arts for more than just entertainment. Great art, in fact, challenges and nourishes the human spirit. What those of us engaged in presenting artistic performances know is that the arts both elevate and reflect a community’s values. No artistic presentation achieves much without the embrace of a supportive community.
That means there’s really not a line between performer and audience. So you who occupy the seats in our beloved Troy Savings Bank Music Hall—one of America’s great concert venues—are as much a part of this artistic endeavor as those on the stage.
It has been a privilege for me to sing with the musicians of Albany Pro Musica for more than half the ensemble’s life, and it is now my honor as board president to engage in supporting its future. That’s what you are doing, too, by your presence at our performances. I’m confident that you will be rewarded with the emotional and spiritual fulfillment that comes to those who experience great music. Thank you for joining us.
Rex Smith, President Albany Pro Musica Board of Directors
Albany Pro Musica (APM) is the preeminent choral ensemble in New York’s vibrant Capital Region and is renowned for its distinctive artistic style and mastery of a wide range of musical genres. Critically acclaimed for its performances of intimate a cappella pieces and large-scale choral works alike, APM is led by Opalka Family Artistic Director Dr. José Daniel FloresCaraballo and is Chorus-in-Residence at the historic Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Maestro Flores-Caraballo has led APM since 2014 and has elevated the ensemble through ambitious programming, prestigious national and international collaborations, a renewed commitment to civic and educational engagement, and a bold vision for the future.
Albany Pro Musica’s reputation as a world-class chorus attracts large, diverse audiences who encourage newer, bolder projects to satisfy their growing desire for exposure to a rich choral repertoire. It’s also a draw for distinguished guest conductors, soloists, and composers, including composers-in-residence Bradley Ellingboe (2020-2023 seasons) and Ola Gjeilo (2017-2020 seasons), who partner with APM for concerts, premieres, and commissioned works. In addition to long-standing hometown collaborations with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Musicians of Ma’alwyck, the Capital District Youth Chorale, and others, APM has developed exciting new relationships with numerous internationally renowned musicians and ensembles, including Canadian Brass, ACRONYM, the American String Quartet, The Philadelphia Orchestra, New York City Ballet, Vienna Boys Choir, the Escher String Quartet, and The King’s Singers.
Albany Pro Musica is now in its fifth decade as a driving musical force in the Capital Region, the Northeast, and beyond. At the heart of Albany Pro Musica is the vital realization that choral music at its best is not merely entertainment but rather a transformational and emotional experience for performers and audiences alike. This perspective is reflected in Opalka Family Artistic Director Dr. Flores-Caraballo’s vision for APM, which balances exceptional technical competency, exquisite artistry, and purposeful programming that is relevant and meaningful in today’s society.
Under the leadership of Dr. Flores-Caraballo, APM is continuing to push the boundaries of choral performance in the area, embracing challenging musical programming and innovative new partnerships that elevate the ensemble to new heights. Dr. Flores-Caraballo has laid out a bold plan for APM’s future that includes the premieres of commissioned works; concerts across the northeast; new civic events and partnerships; and the inaugural Pro Musica International Choral Festival, which will be offered in July 2023 in partnership with the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.
Albany Pro Musica’s Concert Chorus is composed of 64 auditioned volunteer singers from several counties and states. For large choral and orchestral masterworks, the group expands to more than 100 singers as the Albany Pro Musica Masterworks Chorus, and is often joined by the instrumentalists of Orchestra Pro Musica. Albany Pro Musica offers four series concerts each season, including “Artist Series” concerts which bring world-renowned artists and ensembles to share the stage with APM; “Masterworks Series” performances of oratorios and other large-scale choral works with orchestra; and an annual Christmas program, which has become a beloved holiday tradition in the region. Each season is deliberately curated to include classical masterpieces from the choral canon, new compositions from modern and contemporary composers, and popular selections from the worlds of Broadway, traditional and folk music, and more.
Music education is one of APM’s pillars, and the organization’s educational programs have made a mark on the lives of more than 3,500 young students in the Capital Region and beyond. APM’s annual High School Choral Festival brings together gifted musicians from high schools across the region for an intensive day of rehearsal and performance with Maestro Flores-Caraballo as well as a guest conductor and clinicians. The festival culminates with a funfilled concert in which all the students join the voices of Albany Pro Musica’s Concert Chorus on stage for a festival chorus performance. New this season, Albany Pro Musica is pleased to partner with the University at Albany to host the festival on campus.
APM will partner with the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts at Queen’s University in Ontario to offer the inaugural Pro Musica International Choral Festival in July 2023. The festival represents APM’s largest educational offering to-date and will be an opportunity for students from across the United States and Canada to study and perform with the Festival’s guest clinician and composer Dr. Rollo Dilworth, as well as other distinguished faculty and world-class musicians. Generous funding from Bader Philanthropies, Inc. provides full fellowships to all participating students, allowing the Pro Musica International Choral Festival to waive the tuition and room & board fees for every attending student.
Albany Pro Musica was founded in 1981 by University at Albany Distinguished Professor Dr. David Griggs-Janower, who created a community chorus capable of performing at a professional level. He remained the group’s Artistic Director until his death in August 2013. After an extensive national search, Dr. José Daniel Flores-Caraballo succeeded Griggs-Janower as Artistic and Executive Director in August 2014. Dr. Flores-Caraballo came to Albany Pro Musica with an ambitious vision to build upon the group’s impressive and cherished legacy and elevate APM to be among the best choirs in the nation.
APM has made numerous recordings and was one of only 16 choruses selected for inclusion on the 2005 National Public Radio (NPR) CD Christmas Around the Country. In 2004 APM collaborated with the Albany Symphony Orchestra and composer Michael Torke to record the opera Strawberry Fields for mass distribution. The group has toured nationally and internationally, including to France in honor of the 60th anniversary of D-Day at Omaha Beach, and to the Czech Republic, Spain, and Ireland.
Albany Pro Musica has commissioned numerous works from American composers and performed local and regional premieres of masterpieces such as Bristow’s Oratorio of Daniel and Handel’s Oratorio of Esther. Under the composer-in-residence program launched by Dr. Flores-Caraballo, APM has expanded the group’s library of commissioned works, sponsoring new compositions by celebrated local, national, and international composers including Steven Murray, Donald McCullough, Ola Gjeilo, and Bradley Ellingboe. APM is frequently invited to sing at high-profile events such as gubernatorial inaugurations, civic celebrations, and on stage with visiting
artists, including Judy Collins, Kenny Rogers, and Andrea Bocelli. APM continues to introduce local audiences to challenging and bold choral repertoire, including Frank Martin’s a cappella Mass for Double Choir, the New York State premiere of Requiem by Raymond Torres, entire concerts devoted to musical theater, innovative programs including art forms such as visual arts and dance, and a powerful multimedia presentation of Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace.
The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall opened in 1875, and its inaugural concert was performed to a full house, and glowing reviews. In 1890 the Hall installed an Odell concert organ, the only unrestored 19th-century concert hall organ in existence in the United States, which helped it become the acoustical wonder it is today. Throughout its history, the Hall has been a hub of community activity, attracting premier musical groups—among them the Albany Symphony Orchestra, Albany Pro Musica, and Troy Chromatic Concerts, whose association with the Music Hall spans more than a century— and serving as the site for more than 300 recordings. Today, the Hall is one of only a handful of 19th-century concert halls in continuous operation in the United States and is a National Historic Landmark building.
To perform a broad spectrum of quality choral music at the highest levels of artistic excellence that inspires and transforms our audiences, and to provide exceptional educational experiences that advance the choral art among new generations of singers.
Albany Pro Musica will be a leader in the choral arts in New York’s Capital Region, the Northeast, and beyond ― bridging cultures, ethnicities, and generations.
Perform with excellence
Inspire new generations of singers
Engage expanded and broadly diverse audiences
Operate with integrity
Respect each other and our community
Albany Pro Musica’s mission inspires all that we do. It is at the heart of every rehearsal and concert experience, each selection of musical compositions performed, and every collaboration and partnership. It also provides a foundation for us to build upon as we strive to serve as a leader in choral excellence and choral music appreciation in New York State’s Capital Region, the Northeast, and beyond.
Our vision of excellence and leadership, bridging cultures, ethnicities, and generations, depends on our core values, which we cultivate purposefully:
• Albany Pro Musica aspires to excellence in performance and repertoire, with a demanding rehearsal schedule for singers and a rigorous, uncompromising approach to choral technique that Opalka Family Artistic Director Dr. José Daniel Flores-Caraballo has continued and expanded upon from his predecessor, founding director David Griggs-Janower.
• The ensemble is dedicated to inspiring new generations of singers through numerous educational programs and our continuous recruitment of new, talented singers.
• APM is committed to engaging expanded and broadly diverse audiences through innovative programming, challenging repertoire, an emphasis on inclusivity, and a wide range of musical selections.
• Finally, we actively partner with civic, cultural, and educational organizations and institutions to leverage the talents, passions, and resources of our collaborators and amplify our joined voices for greater impact. APM’s partnerships with the University at Albany (SUNY), where rehearsals and master classes typically take place, and with the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, where the ensemble sits as Chorus-in-Residence, represent two of our most essential relationships.
I dream a world where man No other man will scorn, Where love will bless the earth And peace its paths adorn…
These words of Langston Hughes, which open the poem that inspired our October concert, ring constantly in my mind as I watch the world around me. The relentless waves of political unrest, economic tension, armed conflict, environmental disaster, and human cruelty threaten to rend apart our communities and our world. It’s overwhelming to think about all the despair in our world, and it’s certainly hard to hold onto hope in the face of such misery. And yet.
I still dream of a world “where wretchedness will hang its head, and joy, like a pearl, attends the needs of all mankind.” Because without hope and dreams, surely there can be no justice, no freedom, and no joy.
As artists, we have a responsibility to respond to our world—it is both our duty and our privilege to provide inspiration when outlooks are grim, to create beauty out of ugliness, to offer safe haven for diverse people to come together in celebration and enjoyment of art.
The COVID-19 pandemic underscored this important charge—our world needs music that captures and nurtures the human spirit, that heals and inspires. I’m so grateful for the extraordinary support of our patrons and donors, which allowed Albany Pro Musica to continue to make art during the virtual season, and then to resume live performances last year amidst great uncertainty.
The programs this season embody the hopes I have for our world. We started the season over the summer, with appearances with The Philadelphia Orchestra and New York City Ballet at SPAC. In October, APM launched our regular season with “I Dream a World,” which featured several musical settings of Hughes’ powerful poem, along with other music that highlights our shared humanity. In December, “The Many Moods of Christmas” inspired our audiences with both sacred and secular holiday favorites. In March, “Star Song” reminded us that, in the words of Carl Sagan, we’re all “made of star stuff.” This humbling and inspiring reality was captured by our composer-in-residence Bradley Ellingboe, in a piece that bridges historical periods, languages, and faith traditions. We performed last month with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, and are offering
our most ambitious educational programs to-date in partnership with the University at Albany and Queen’s University in Canada. Now, we are ending our season with a profound call for peace, with two masterworks by Haydn and Vaughan Williams.
It is an exciting season, with music designed to spark compassion, joy, and hope. It is our answer to the darkness that shrouds our world, and we hope you’ll join us in kindling the light of more inclusive, peaceful, and loving world.
José Daniel Flores-Caraballo Opalka Family Artistic Director
ALBANY PRO MUSICA PRESENTS
MUSIC FOR PEACE IN A TIME OF WAR
May 7, 2023 at 3:00pm
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
JOSÉ DANIEL FLORES-CARABALLO, Opalka Family Artistic Director
EVANGELIA LEONTIS, Soprano
KARA DUGAN, Mezzo-Soprano
DANIEL MOJICA, Tenor
PHILIP LIMA, Baritone
Support for our 2022-2023 season comes from our marquee season underwriters
Isabel Bader
Christine and George R. Hearst III
Chet and Karen Opalka
Additional season support provided by William Tuthill and Gregory Anderson
Al De Salvo
Ellen Jabbur
Wayne A. Senitta, Jr. and Daniel Washington
Michael and Linda Wolff
Support for this concert provided by Vaughn Nevin I John J. Nigro I Margery and Michael Whiteman
ALBANY PRO MUSICA CHORUS & ORCHESTRAMasterworks Chorus
Evangelia Leontis, Soprano
Kara Dugan, Mezzo-soprano
Daniel Mojica, Tenor
Philip Lima, Baritone
I. Kyrie
II. Gloria in Excelsis
III. Credo
IV. Sanctus
V. Benedictus
VI. Agnus Dei
Concert Chorus
Evangelia Leontis, Soprano
Philip Lima, Baritone
I. Agnus Dei
II. Beat! Beat! Drums!
III. Reconciliation
IV. Dirge for Two Veterans
V. The Angel of Death
VI. O Man Greatly Beloved!
Please silence all electronic devices.
Franz Joseph Haydn Missa in tempore belli (1796) (1732-1809) ~ INTERMISSION ~ Ralph Vaughan Williams Dona nobis pacem (1936) (1872-1958)(Mass in Time of War)
Latin mass text
I. Kyrie
Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison.
Translation:
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te, gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam, Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe, Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis; qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.
Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe, cum Sancto Spiritu: in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.
Translation:
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.
For You alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen
Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem cæli et terræ, visibilium omnium et invisibilium.
Et in unum Dominum, Jesum Christum, Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lumine, genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri; per quem omnia facta sunt.
Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de cælis.
Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est.
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato passus, et sepultus est, et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas, et ascendit in cælum, sedet ad dexteram Patris.
Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, iudicare vivos et mortuos, cuius regni non erit finis;
Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui locutus est per prophetas.
Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.
Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum.
Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi sæculi. Amen.
Translation:
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible:
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, God from God, Light from Light, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation descended from heaven. He was incarnate by the Holy Ghost out of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. He was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried: And he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures: And ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father: And the same shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead: Of whose kingdom there shall be no end; And (I believe) in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and life-giver, who has spoken through the prophets. And (I believe in) one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And I await the resurrection of the dead: and the life of the coming age. Amen.
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Osanna in excelsis.
Translation:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Osanna in excelsis.
Translation:
Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Agnus Dei. Dona nobis pacem.
Translation: Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Lamb of God. Grant us peace.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Dona nobis pacem.
Translation: Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Grant us peace.
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 the sleepers at night in the houses? No sleepers must sleep in those beds, No bargainers’ bargains by day—would they continue?
Would the talkers be talking? would the singer attempt to sing? 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 O terrible drums— so loud you bugles blow.
Poem by Walt WhitmanWord over all, beautiful as the sky, Beautiful that war, and all its deeds of carnage, must in time be utterly lost, That the hands of the sisters Death and Night, incessantly, softly, wash again and ever again, this soiled world; For my enemy is dead, a man divine as myself is dead,
I look where he lies, white-faced and still, in the coffin—I draw near, Bend down and touch lightly with my lips the white face in the coffin.
Poem by Walt WhitmanThe last sunbeam Lightly falls from the finished Sabbath, On the pavement here, and there beyond it is looking, Down a new-made double grave.
Lo, the moon ascending, Up from the east the silvery round moon, Beautiful over the house-tops, ghastly, phantom moon, Immense and silent moon.
I see a sad procession, And I hear the sound of coming full-keyed bugles, All the channels of the city streets they’re flooding, As with voices and with tears.
I hear the great drums pounding, And the small drums steady whirring, And every blow of the great convulsive drums, Strikes me through and through.
For the son is brought with the father, In the foremost ranks of the fierce assault they fell, Two veterans, son and father, dropped together, And the double grave awaits them.
Now nearer blow the bugles, And the drums strike more convulsive, And the daylight o’er the pavement quite has faded, And the strong dead-march enwraps me.
In the eastern sky up-buoying, The sorrowful vast phantom moves illumined, ‘Tis some mother’s large transparent face, In heaven brighter growing.
O strong dead-march you please me!
O moon immense with your silvery face you soothe me!
O my soldiers twain! O my veterans passing to burial!
What I have I also give you.
The moon gives you light, And the bugles and the drums give you music,
And my heart, O my soldiers, my veterans, My heart gives you love.
Poem by Walt WhitmanThe Angel of Death has been abroad throughout the land; you may almost hear the beating of his wings. There is no one as of old…..to sprinkle with blood the lintel and the two sideposts of our doors, that he may spare and pass on.
We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!
The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan; the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land…..and those that dwell therein….
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved…..
Is there no balm in Gilead?; is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
Jeremiah VIII. 15-22.
‘O man greatly beloved, fear not, peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong.’ Daniel X. 19.
‘The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former…..and in this place will I give peace.’
Haggai II. 9.
‘Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
And none shall make them afraid, neither shall the sword go through their land.
Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Truth shall spring out of the earth, and the righteousness shall look down from heaven.
Open to me the gates of righteousness, I will go to them.
Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled; and let them hear, and say, it is the truth. And it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues.
And they shall come and see my glory. And I will set a sign among them, and they shall declare my glory among the nations.
For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, so shall your seed and your name remain for ever.’
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward me.
Dona nobis pacem.
Adapted from Micah IV. 3, Leviticus XXVI. 6, Psalms LXXXV. 10, and CXVII. 19, Isaiah XLIII. 9, and LXVI. 18-22, and Luke II. 14.
OVERVIEW: What should choral music for peace in a time of war be like? Should it honor the dead? Should it provide comfort to survivors of war? Should it remind us of war’s horrors, so we never commit to another? Of course, there’s no one answer, but what is clear is that composers have often used their art to comment on conflict and its ravages. Many will recall APM’s stunning performances of Karl Jenkins’s anti-war “The Armed Man” and Benjamin Britten’s haunting “War Requiem.”
This afternoon we will hear works by two 64-year-old men, artists who at this point in their careers had experienced much of life and were able to bring to bear on their pieces considerable musical skills and informed points of view about the human condition. One was a dutiful employee of an Austrian prince, and the other an English WWI veteran. While they knew that music provides no remedy for political dissension or combat, they believed that it is a place of refuge and hope.
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)Papa Haydn: known by most of us as the father of the symphony (104 in all) and the string quartet (68).
But between 1750 and 1802 he also wrote 14 masses, the last six of which were composed to celebrate the name day of Prince Nicholas II of Esterhazy’s wife, Maria. “Mass in Time of War” was one of these, premiering at the Esterhazy estate during a perilous time in Austria. As Martin Pearlman observes in his program notes for a Boston Baroque performance of this piece, Vienna was under threat from Napoleon’s forces (the city ultimately fell in 1805). “While (Haydn) did not often express political views, his title for this mass, Missa in tempore belli (Mass in Time of War), as well as its music reflect a sense of foreboding as Austria and its allies were about to face Napoleon.” Indeed, an alternate title for the work, “Paukenmesse,” refers to the militaristic color of the timpani.
The piece, then, seems both temporal in its reference to current events and timeless in its spiritual consolation.
KYRIE: The chorus quietly outlines a C-major chord, appropriate for an act of prayer asking for mercy. The timpani speak, intensifying the mood. Soon the solo quartet appears, and the request becomes loud and insistent over the next four minutes, the speed and volume reflecting the urgency.
GLORIA: There are three parts to this movement, opening with two-and-a-half minutes’ worth of adoration, in a swinging 3/4 time, with strings propulsive, the timpani thumping, and the chorus spilling out roulades on words like “adoramus” and “glorificamus.”
The “Qui tollis” section is in cut time, featuring a warm cello solo whose tune in taken up by the stately bass. The chorus appears, for the sins are “ours,” and the text is supported alternately by fast/slow, loud/soft, and major/minor music: we are sinners, yet we remain hopeful of your mercy.
A return to the mood (and music) of the first part of the GLORIA characterizes the “Quoniam” portion.
CREDO: If the previous movements were emotional in nature, this one, also in three sections, has a narrative quality. The brief opening section is a confident and fugue-like statement of faith by the chorus, which then gives way to the quartet’s telling, in 3/4 time, of the story of Jesus’s birth and death. The C-minor key first suggests the wonder of spirit becoming flesh, and then it reflects the suffering (“passus”) of Jesus. The rhythm is slightly halting; the winds add emotional color to the narration.
Of course, what follows is the third, and, to Christians, most important part of Jesus’s story: resurrection. Musically, Haydn word paints as the line leaps up! The energy in the strings and the chorus is light and infectious: Jesus’s return to eternal life signals that possibility for us if we believe. That notion is enhanced by an extraordinary pause after the word “mortuorum.” The unmitigated joy takes over in a rhapsodic fugue in two.
SANCTUS: Two moods govern this section: hushed respect, featuring the tender alto and the oboe; and a clamorous celebration, highlighted by the clarion call of the tenor.
BENEDICTUS: Following a lovely string introduction, the quartet shines in a gentle 6/8 section commending anyone coming “in the name of the Lord.” The first key is C minor, then C major, punctuated overall by a brief “Hosanna!”
AGNUS DEI: It is in this movement, of course, that one can definitely hear that this piece may be more than the customary birthday gift by Haydn to his employer. The military timpani and trumpet seem out of place, but perhaps the spiritual peace that is often referred to in the Roman Catholic mass is equally of a secular nature here: no more war! The movement/mass then concludes with a clamorous C-major section in 3/4 as the chorus and soloists pray for peace.
The last words of Haydn’s mass are “Dona nobis pacem,” and the title of Vaughan Williams’ cantata is the same.
Thus Vaughan Williams gets right to the point in this choral work from 1936, fleshing it out with words from the mass, the Bible, 19th-century English statesman and orator John Bright, and one of his favorite poets, Walt Whitman. (In fact, by this time he had set a number of Whitman’s poems in pieces like “Toward the Unknown Region,” “Three Nocturnes,” and his Symphony No. 1. As the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society website notes, “Whitman’s structural and metrical freedom, his open-air style and spiritual intensity liberated Vaughan Williams’ musical imagination.”)
Both Whitman and Vaughan Williams knew first-hand about war. The former— too old to serve in the American Civil War—nursed soldiers in Washington, D.C., seeing up close the effects of battle. The latter lied about his age, shaving off three years, in order to serve in World War I, where he, too, experienced combat misery.
This work comes from a period when many in Europe imagined that a second war was imminent. It is thus a prayer for peace.
Like the Haydn, “Dona Nobis Pacem” is in six movements, but six uninterrupted movements: the drama is seamless.
The first movement begins with a soprano quietly imploring—God? politicians?—for peace. An undercurrent of distress is apparent in her line and in the sudden outbursts of sound, and the chorus laments more than it supplicates. What are the “peccata mundi” about which they sing? Perhaps not religious in nature.
The second movement is a sardonic imploring to the drums of war to infect every aspect of life, to overwhelm the natural course of things, things that Whitman, that famous poetic list-maker, rattles off. The layering of such images of ordinary living reminds us of the total destruction of battle and an uncertain future. The orchestra is a sonic military machine; the chorus pumps out chunks of phrases in a barely comprehensible way.
The chaos gives way to another poem by Whitman, “Reconciliation,” introduced on a gentle, sinuous line by the baritone and then taken up by the chorus. It’s a dramatic scene, its depiction of the connection between enemy soldiers anticipating the great poem by Wilfred Owen called “Strange Meeting,” wherein combatants find each other in the afterlife and come to a sad camaraderie. And then, once again, the soprano’s injunction, “Dona nobis pacem.”
That Whitman probably experienced what he writes about in the fourth movements is hardly to be doubted: he knew his soldier patients well and mourned them when he could not save them. A double burial? In this case, a father and a son, the horrifying fact of which comes midway through the poem. The moon, as seen through Whitman’s grieving eyes, is beautiful at first, then ghastly, then benign, like a mother’s countenance. All of the previous military pomp is thus deflated. The repetitious, plodding music wastes away from sentimentality to genuine sentiment in the last stanza.
The fifth movement describes the state of the world between the wars, the world Vaughan Williams was in as he composed the piece. The Angel of Death is out and about. Unlike the story in Exodus, Bright suggests, now there is no safety from slaughter. It will come. And the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah says, “We looked for peace, but no good came.” The vocal line is one great sigh, woven with sadness and complaint.
The final movement, which begins with a commanding bass solo—the powerful voice of God?—lifts up the despairing with words from the prophets. Then on the words “Open the gates of righteousness,” the note of hope is sounded, and for some giddy moments it’s as if peace has arrived. The percussion section goes all out, and the chorus, as with one voice, exults.
But it is the soprano who has the very last word, and it is optimistically cautionary: “Pacem.”
Concert notes by Paul Lamar
José Daniel Flores-Caraballo is a widely acclaimed conductor and musical director recognized for his artistry and integrity in stylistic performance of choral literature, his methodical and uncompromising approach to music learning, and his gifts as a patient and inspiring teacher. Dr. Flores-Caraballo brings that unique combination—along with an ambitious and energizing vision—to Albany Pro Musica (APM) as the Opalka Family Artistic Director, a role he has held since 2014.
As a trained organist as well as a celebrated orchestral and choral conductor, Dr. Flores-Caraballo places strong emphasis on technical precision as the fundamental seed from which musical artistry can grow. Dr. FloresCaraballo joined Albany Pro Musica with the goal of building upon the group’s impressive and cherished legacy and elevating APM to be among the best choirs in the nation. Through Dr. Flores-Caraballo’s leadership, APM is pushing the boundaries of choral performance in the area, embracing challenging musical programming, innovative national and international partnerships, and a renewed commitment to civic and educational initiatives. Dr. Flores-Caraballo also serves as Conductor-In-Residence at the University at Albany (SUNY) and Chorus Director for the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus. He has prepared his choirs for prominent orchestral conductors, including Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bramwell Tovey, Stéphane Dèneve, and Kensho Watanabe of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Andrews Sill of the New York City Ballet, David Alan Miller of the Albany Symphony Orchestra, and Anthony Princiotti of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Flores-Caraballo came to the Capital Region from Vero Beach, Florida, where he was a musical force for more than a decade. There, he founded and directed three auditioned, community choral groups that transformed the musical landscape in the Treasure Coast: the Atlantic Symphonic Chorus, the Atlantic Schola Cantorum, and the Atlantic Children’s Chorale. A native of Puerto Rico, Dr. Flores-Caraballo served as Dean of Academic Affairs at the Conservatory of Music in San Juan and has led prize-winning schooland church-based choral programs in Puerto Rico and across the mainland United States. He holds a Doctorate in Sacred Music with an emphasis on Choral and Instrumental Conducting from the Graduate Theological Foundation, a Master’s in Choral Conducting and Organ from the University of Illinois, and a Bachelor’s in Music Education and Instrumental Conducting from the Conservatory of Music in San Juan.
Conductor Noah Palmer is one of the Capital Region’s most in-demand collaborators. Noah was most recently appointed Artistic Director of Music at Trinity Lenox, a new concert series featuring chamber music, sacred vocal music, and more. He is the Assistant Director and Accompanist for Albany Pro Musica and the Assistant Conductor of Concerts in the Village, in Kinderhook, NY. In 2018, Noah made his orchestral conducting debuts with both Concerts in the Village and Albany Pro Musica, following his opera debut with the Midwest Institute of Opera in 2015.
As a choral conductor Noah has led, among other groups, Albany Pro Musica, the Battenkill Chorale, the Northern Berkshire Chorale, the Sage Singers, and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus. In 2016, Noah was the Chorus Master at the prestigious Merola Opera Program with the San Francisco Opera.
In addition to conducting, Noah is an accomplished vocal coach and pianist. He has worked with several regional opera companies, including Sarasota Opera and Opera North. In 2021, Noah was the principal coach and rehearsal pianist for Tom Cipullo’s “Glory Denied” at the Berkshire Opera Festival and was subsequently invited back in 2022 for their production of Jake Heggie’s “Three Decembers.” Noah has performed with some of the Capital Region’s finest singers, including Andrew Boisvert, Vedrana Kalas, Sylvia Stoner, Irina Petrik, and the late Kevin Kees. In 2022, he accompanied violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn in a vibrant program of Russian and Polish music at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.
As an educator, Noah was the Choral Director at Skidmore College in Spring 2021, where he led the college’s two choral ensembles through a series of innovative virtual performances during the COVID-19 pandemic. In collaboration with soprano Sylvia Stoner, Noah also directs the Skidmore College Opera Workshop.
Noah studied conducting with John Yaffe and Steve Osgood and attended conducting masterclasses with Markand Thakar, Christopher Zimmerman, Mark Gibson, and David Effron. Noah studied piano with the renowned Spanish pianist Jose Ramon Mendez at NYU (BA), and Bulgarian pianist Pavlina Dokovska at the Mannes School of Music (MM). Noah has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Europe, and China.
Soprano Evangelia Leontis has extensive experience on the opera, concert and recital stages. She has been seen on the operatic stage as Frasquita with Panopera, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro with UNCG Opera Theatre, Zerlina in Sieur Du Luth Opera’s production of Don Giovanni, as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with both Longwood Opera and Riverside Theatre Works, as Lucy in The Telephone at Boston University, as Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflote with Opera del West and Barn Opera, as Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Boston Youth Symphony and as Le Feu in L’Enfant et les Sortileges with MetroWest Opera. On the concert stage Ms. Leontis has been the soprano soloist in works by Berlioz, Britten, Schubert, Haydn, Fauré, Rossini, Bach, Grieg, Bizet, Charpentier, and Handel with ensembles such as the Keene Chorale, Newburyport Choral Society, Newton Choral Society, Clear Lakes Chorale, Fine Arts Chorale, Polymnia Choral Society, Greensboro Opera, Greensboro Oratorio Society, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Symphony, and the UNCG Sinfonia.
Additionally, Dr. Leontis is an avid recitalist and has sung recitals in Rochester, Greensboro, Brownsville, and Boston, as well as in her hometown of Bowling Green, OH. She serves as Administrative Director for Calliope’s Call, a New England-based ensemble committed to the performance and promotion of art song. She won the Bel Canto Award in the 2015 Orpheus Competition, was a finalist in the 2015 Kentucky Bach Choir Competition, a semi-finalist for the American Prize in 2015, and was a winner of the 2010 Greek University Women’s Club Music Competition.
Dr. Leontis received the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Carolina Greensboro in May 2017. She completed the Master’s of Music degree in vocal performance from Boston University and the Bachelor’s of Music degree in vocal performance from the Eastman School of Music.
Dr. Leontis currently serves on the voice faculty of Keene State College where she teaches voice and diction. She has previously served on the voice faculties of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, Guilford College, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. She has presented workshops and masterclasses at Harvard University, Oakland University, the Boston Conservatory, Texas A & M Kingsville, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Keene State College, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, the New School of Music, and Greensboro College. She serves frequently as an adjudicator and clinician for high school and university programs.
Mezzo soprano Kara Dugan has been praised by The New York Times for her “vocal warmth and rich character.” Her versatile career ranges from oratorio to world premieres. She made her Kennedy Center debut with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting his piece Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind with the National Symphony Orchestra. Her work with living composers also includes In a New York Minute: Miniatures for Voice and Piano, a newly commissioned song cycle with WQXR comprised of 5 one-minute songs by women composers and poets highlighting some of the joys and challenges faced by New Yorkers during the pandemic. Additional work with living composers includes her debut with the Albany Symphony singing This Land Sings by Michael Daugherty, and performances in the roles of Amadora/Stelladora in John Musto’s opera Bastianello for Festival Napa Valley. She can also be heard as a guest host on WQXR.
A passionate recitalist and chamber musician, she often performs with her husband, pianist Peter Dugan. Last season they were presented by New York Festival of Song, Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Portland Chamber Music Festival, Emerald City Music, and WQXR’s Greene Space. They have also been featured performers on PBS Great Performances “Now Hear This,” and performed as part of the Wigmore Hall’s Bollinger International Song Competition.
Recent awards include first prize in the Rochester International Vocal Competition, Regional finalist of the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont competition, a finalist prizes with the James Toland Vocal Arts competition, and in 2021 she was named a member of WQXR’s Inaugural Artist Propulsion Lab. Ms. Dugan has sung with the San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Institute, Boston Early Music Festival, North Country Chamber Players, Wolf Trap Opera, Alice Tully Hall, and Aspen Music Festival. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School.
Tenor Daniel Mojica made his debut at the Festival Casals in 2016 in El Retablo de Maese Pedro by Manuel De Falla. While a student, he had leading roles in the Opera and Lyric Theatre Workshops productions of Albert Herring, The Magic Flute, Falstaff, L’heure Spagnole, the Wagner Gala, Luisa Fernanda, Doña Francisquita, and A Little Night Music. He made his professional debut with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra as a soloist in the Zarzuela Gala and in concert staging of La leyenda del beso. He then sang featured roles in Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Merry Widow, and El Dúo de la Africana. He has played the tenor leads in Gianni Schicchi and La Bohème; as well as Yamadori in Madama Butterfly with Ana Maria Martinez. He was a soloist in the Teatro de la Ópera’s Verdi Gala and the Gala Zafiro for Ópera de Puerto Rico and sang the staged production of La leyenda del beso. He has performed abroad with the Festival IVAI in Montreal; in Orlando with Sherrill Milnes and Friends; the Mozart Requiem in Miami; La Périchole for Franco-American Vocal Arts in France; La Dolorosa and La Traviata in New York; Orpheus aux Enfers and La Tragédie de Carmen in Houston; as well as recitals in Manhattan and Long Island. Featuring leading roles, at the beginning of 2020, Mr. Mojica was in one week, tour with the opera company “Teatro Lirico D’Europa” in Orlando, West Virginia, and New Hampshire.
Mr. Mojica is an accomplished opera singer, pianist, choir director, orchestra director, and vocal coach. He has served as the Director of Worship and Arts at New Hanover UMC in Gilbertsville, PA, since May 2021. He graduated from the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, with a degree in Voice Performance and a minor in Piano. He performed opera roles and classic concerts around Europe, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United States, including Carnegie Hall. Daniel and his wife, Joely, had been married for thirteen years and were the founders of Daniely’s Music School in Puerto Rico (2008-2012), having more than 400 students in the first year. He was the Vice President of the Preparatory School of the Conservatory of Music in PR in 2014. In 2015 he became a New Jersey resident and worked as Worship Director for the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church (Livingston, NJ), Trinity Covenant Church (Livingston, NJ), and the Immanuel Lutheran Church (Rutherford, NJ). In 2020, during the pandemic, Daniel was called to be the Worship and Creative Arts Director of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbus, Nebraska, where he served for almost a year. Daniel has more than eighteen years of experience playing the Piano, leading worship, conducting orchestras, and directing church choirs. He is now finalizing a Master of Arts in Music and Worship at Liberty University.
Baritone Philip Lima has regularly garnered critical acclaim for his performances on both concert and operatic stages: “His singing was glorious” (The Boston Globe) – “vibrant baritone and a commanding presence” (Cleveland The Plain Dealer) – “keen musicianship along with total dramatic intention.” (Opera News Online).
He has sung leading operatic roles in Germany and for regional American opera companies in repertoire ranging from traditional favorites by Handel, Mozart, Puccini, and Verdi; to important works of twentieth century masters such as Samuel Barber, Benjamin Britten, and Viktor Ullmann; to the comic masterworks of Gilbert and Sullivan. Of particular note have been his featured roles in the world premieres of operas by jazz greats Leslie Burrs, Nathan Davis, and Mary Watkins, and by award-winning composer Larry Bell.
Mr. Lima has appeared as soloist with the Boston Pops and over seventy orchestras, choral societies, and concert series in the United States, Korea, and Ukraine in beloved choral works of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Fauré, Handel, Mendelssohn, Orff, and Vaughan Williams, as well as works by Bernstein (Arias and Barcarolles and major excerpts from Mass), Dave Brubeck (The Light in the Wilderness), Mahler (Kindertotenlieder), Ravel (Don Quichotte à Dulcinée), and Lee Hoiby (his setting of the “I Have a Dream” speech of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.).
The Assistant Chair of Berklee College of Music’s Voice Department, Mr. Lima is a frequent recitalist whose performance of Schubert’s Winterreise with pianist Beverly Orlove was cited by The Boston Phoenix in an annual summary of Boston’s “Unforgettable Classical Events,” and is featured in the recording of pioneering African-American composer Florence Price’s Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight that won the 2020 American Prize for the Performance of American Music.
More information about Mr. Lima is available at philiplima.com, and at his YouTube channel, PhilipLimaSings.
Bradley Ellingboe has led a wide-ranging career in the world of singing, including accomplishments as a choral conductor, soloist, composer, scholar, and teacher. As a choral conductor he has led festival choruses in 35 states and 14 foreign countries. He made his operatic conducting debut in December, 2011, leading the worldpremiere of Stephen Paulus’ opera Shoes for the Santo Niño in a joint production by the Santa Fe Opera and the University of New Mexico. As a bass-baritone soloist he has sung under such conductors as Robert Shaw, Helmuth Rilling, and Sir David Willcocks. Ellingboe has over 160 pieces of music in print, including the Requiem for chorus and orchestra, which has been performed more than 500 times in this country and Europe. His newest large-scale work, an oratorio about care for the environment called A Place Called Home, debuted in Carnegie Hall this spring. For his scholarly work in making the songs of Edvard Grieg more accessible to the English-speaking public, he was knighted by the King of Norway in 1994. As a teacher, the University of New Mexico Alumni Association named him Faculty of the Year in 2008.
Bradley Ellingboe retired in 2015 after serving on the faculty of the University of New Mexico for 30 years, where he was Director of Choral Activities, Professor of Music and Regents Lecturer. He is a graduate of Saint Olaf College and the Eastman School of Music, and has done further study at the Aspen Music Festival, the Bach Aria Festival, the University of Oslo, and the Vatican.
Ellingboe has won annual awards for his choral compositions from ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Arrangers and Publishers since 2000. His music has been performed and recorded by such groups as the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Philip Brunelle’s VocalEssence, the Saint Olaf Choir, the Harvard Glee Club, Craig Hella Johnson’s Conspirare, and the choirs of the University of Michigan and Luther College, among many others. He has prepared choirs for such luminaries as Dave Brubeck, Moses Hogan, Libby Larsen, Alice Parker, Morten Lauridsen, René Clausen and Robert Ray.
Steve Murray began playing string bass in high school, and while doing graduate studies at Miami University, he studied with Harold Roberts, principal bassist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Over the years, Steve has performed with a variety of notables such as Buddy DiFranco, George Wilson, Gray Sargent and Judy Collins among others. Steve has founded and directed his own jazz bands including the 19-piece Berkshire Big Band which he directed and arranged for two decades, and he has contracted for the likes of Burt Bacharach, Natalie Cole, Willie Nelson, and others.
Steve’s formal studies in composition were with Eugene Hill at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio and with Donald Freund at the University of Memphis where he completed his Doctorate in theory and composition with a minor in jazz studies.
Steve is also a singer and has performed with the Hartford Chamber Choral. He founded the Memphis State University Jazz Singers, and has been a member of Albany Pro Musica since 2002. He is the Honorary Composer in Residence for APM.
As a composer, Steve has been active in a variety of genres. He has written instrumental chamber and orchestral music as well as works for music theatre. For the past decade and a half, he has concentrated on choral and solo vocal music. He is published in the U.S. and Canada, was the recipient of the grand prize in the Harmonia Choir Composition Contest, Ottawa in 2006, the grand prize in the Vaughan Williams Choral Composition Contest, Yorkshire, UK in 2008, and he was co-winner of the 2010 New England Choral Composition Contest, Somerville, MA. He won the grand prize in the 2011 Freudig Singers (Buffalo, NY) Choral Composition Contest. He was a semifinalist in composition for the 2013 American Prize and a finalist for the 2014 American Prize. He was one of four composers chosen to have a work premiered by the Minneapolis based First Reading Project in May of 2014 and by Novi Cantori in March in Simsbury, CT. in 2015. In May of 2015 the Berkshire Concert Choir (Pittsfield, MA) premiered two of his recent compositions. He was the 2015 – 2016 Composer in Residence for Albany Pro Musica and he won the second prize in the 2016 Edwin Fissinger Choral Composition Contest. Steve teaches music theory, song writing, and computer music notation at Berkshire Community College.
Dr. Steve Murray is the recipient of Albany Pro Musica’s first Lifetime Achievement Award! We celebrated Steve’s remarkable contributions to APM at the Music in the Barn in September, and are featuring his music in several performances this season. Congratulations, Steve!
Martha J. Bond
Tonya Burandt Hansen*
Marie Cox
Diane Deacon†
Aleecea Denton
Megan Farrell†
Ann Filiault†
Rebecca Flinker
Meg Gallien
Paige Griggs
Lauren Jurczynski
SooYeon Justesen
Emmalyn Knapp†
Heather Lessard
Hannah Long
Mialisa Lindholm Herron
Samantha Lyle‡
Jaimee Meyer†
Emily Peterson
Yareli Rodriguez†
Stephanie Saint Germain†
Sandra Schujman
Teresa Maria Solé
Elaine Wall
Emily Ball
Marie Bosman
Joyce Cockerham†
Abigail Cowan*
Katelyn Dalakos
Ilse de Veer†
Kathryn Farris
Katrina Fasulo
Shay Gauthier
Christine Gervasi†
Kate Kilmer†
Terressa Mannix
Barbara MacLean†
Teyah Mason‡
Corinne McLeod†
Darcy Meadows
Susan Moyle Lynch†
Sarah Ploof
Devon Rooney
Meredith Russell
Grosshandler
Dharma Sanchez-Flores
Emily Sturman
Irina Tikhonenko
Julie Weston
Mitch Cohen
Conor Costello‡
Eamon Daley
John Favreau
Dan Foster^
Claire Gonyo
Jonathan Hansen*
Brendan Hoffman
Matthew Kreta
Deron Milleville†
Blake Nazarian‡
Xavier Ortiz-Reyes
Ryan Snyder‡
John Spinelli†
Lincoln Walton
David Wagner†
John Xia
Bill Bott†
Ross Brennan
Evan DeFilippo
Morgan Eaton
Colin Helie
Jared Hunt†
Andy Kettler
Daniel Lane‡
Dan Leinung†
Steve Murray
Noah Palmer
Benjamin Quist‡
Dave Roberts†
John Rodier
Rex Smith
Andrew Tidd†
Daniel Washington*
Aidan White
Michael Wolff
FLUTE
Norman Thibodeau
Emily Orr
Melanie Chirignan
BASSOON
Gerald Lanoue
Sue Daves
Will Safford
TROMBONE
Peter McIver
Jon Kusche
Dan Cordell
VIOLIN 1
Ann-Marie B. Schwartz
Jennifer Myers
Jamecyn Morey
Uli Speth
Ubaldo Valli
Michael Cleveland
Raymond Zoeckler
OBOE
Karen Hosmer
Sue Kokernak
FRENCH HORN
Emily Buehler
Katy Svatek
Victor Sungarian
Jessica Cunningham
TUBA
Nicholas Soldani
HARP
Karlinda Caldicott
VIOLIN 2
Mitsuko Suzuki
Hilary Cumming
Julie Signitzer
Marla Bracco
Barbara Lapidus
Olev Viro
VIOLA
Ariel Rudiakov
Laura Sacks
Beth Moll
Megan Dyer
Adam Warner
CLARINET
Raissa Fahlmann
Brian Carucci
TRUMPET
Eric Latini
John Fatuzzo
TIMPANI
Andrew Janack
PERCUSSION
Matt Dickson
Niko Nyman
Robert Sanderl
CELLO
Erica Pickhardt
Hikaru Tamaki
Janet Nepkie
Julian Müller
BASS
Philip Helm
Charles Seeley
Noah Palmer
José Daniel Flores-Caraballo
Noah Palmer, Assistant Director and Accompanist
Brendan Hoffman, Director of Education
Tonya Burandt Hansen, Abigail Cowan, Jonathan Hansen, Daniel Washington, Section Leaders
Bradley Ellingboe, Composer in Residence
Steve Murray, Honorary Composer in Residence
Dan Foster, Teaching Artist
Elizabeth Eschen, Teaching Artist
Emily Sturman, Deputy Executive Director
Jared Shortmeier, Director of Operations
Liz Vinciquerra, Development Manager
Julie Weston, Events Manager
Katie McNally and Rebecca Flinker, Audition Coordinators
Dharma Sanchez-Flores, Member Connections Liaison
Katharine Harris, Music Librarian
Ann-Marie Barker Schwartz, Orchestra Contractor
Michele Susko, Roya Consulting, LLC, Development Counsel
Primeau-Fahey Studios, Marketing and Public Relations
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Box Office, Marketing, and Financial Management
Rex W. Smith, President
Jeanette Altarriba, Vice President
Marie Bosman, Treasurer
Jonathan E. Hansen, Secretary
M. Tracey Brooks
Mitch Cohen
Al De Salvo
James M. Gaughan
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Tom McGuire
Douglas Petersen
Raona Roy
Wayne Senitta
Margery Whiteman (honorary)
Michael Whiteman
Russ Wilks
Michael Wolff
Edelgard Wulfert
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Dan Foster
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Gary Gold
Kathy Harris
Andrew Howell
Paul Lamar
Paul Milton
John Nigro
Karen Opalka
Ellen Sax
Marcia White
Matthew Rogowicz
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Hilton Garden Inn Troy
Primeau Fahey Studios
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
University at Albany
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($5,000 - $9,999)
City of Albany
Hilton Garden Inn of Troy
The University at Albany Foundation
BRONZE CIRCLE
($2,500-$4,999)
IBM Corporation
Massry Charitable Foundation
OrthoNY
St. Peter’s Health Partners
CORPORATE SUPPORTERS
(up to $2,499)
Albany Institute of History & Art
Amazon Smile
Amidon & Petersen Financials LLC
Architecture +
Community Care Physicians
Fenimore Asset Management
General Electric
Price Chopper’s Golub Foundation
Hannaford Supermarkets
MVP Health Care
Stewart’s Shops
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Albany Pro Musica is grateful for the support of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
Albany Pro Musica has a legacy in the Capital Region and beyond, as a choral group whose music truly captures the human spirit. Our Lux Aeterna Society allows donors to keep the “eternal light” of your own legacy alive through Albany Pro Musica, by including APM in your estate plans.
The Lux Aeterna Society recognizes individuals and their families who have remembered APM in their estate plans through a planned gift. A planned gift to Albany Pro Musica can offer tax advantages, and allows you to designate a contribution – large or small – that will support the music you love, for years to come.
To learn more about how to include Albany Pro Musica in your estate plans, please visit our website or contact us for a confidential consultation.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO ALBANY PRO MUSICA!
Did you know that ticket sales make up only a portion of the funds needed to present the high-quality performances and dynamic educational programs that you love? Like most performing arts organizations, Albany Pro Musica relies on the generosity of our donors to deliver our season. Please consider making a contribution today to ensure that Albany Pro Musica can keep singing, this season and for years to come.
To make a gift to Albany Pro Musica, please scan with your smartphone or visit our website to donate safely online: albanypromusica.org/donate.
Recurring donations are a vital resource that form a revenue stream we know we can count on, which allows us to plan our programs with confidence. Contact us to set up a monthly or quarterly donation.
Many employers offer matching gift programs and will match charitable contributions made by their employees. Some companies also match gifts by retirees and/or spouses. If your company has a matching gift program, please consider designating Albany Pro Musica as the beneficiary of your match. With matching gifts, you can double the impact of your gift! Examples of companies offering a corporate match include Bank of America, General Electric, IBM, Key Bank, MetLife, and many more.
Gifts of stock can offer tax advantages while allowing you to support Albany Pro Musica. Please contact us to learn more.
Planning for the future is vital, not only for individuals but for organizations as well. Turn your passion for music into a lasting legacy with a gift to the APM’s Lux Aeterna Society. If you’ve already made plans to recognize APM in your estate plans, or to learn more about supporting APM with a planned gift, please contact us.
Emily Sturman Deputy Executive Director518.687.1947 or emily@albanypromusica.org
Thank you for your support.
JULY 16-22, 2023
Featuring a week of in-person and livestreamed choral performances! Visit promusicafestival.org for details and tickets.
Albany Pro Musica’s 2023-24 season marks Maestro Flores-Caraballo’s 10th anniversary with APM, and we have a very special season year ahead. Be sure to save these dates and stay tuned for information about subscriptions and tickets coming this summer!
Albany Pro Musica’s composer-in-residence program has, since 2016, strengthened the legacy of new compositions that advance the choral arts. This performance will include works by APM’s resident composers, including Ola Gjeilo, Bradley Ellingboe, Steve Murray, and others.
Albany Pro Musica’s beloved holiday concert, The Many Moods of Christmas, brings the light of the Christmas season to the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.
Composers have, for centuries, drawn inspiration from the immense beauty, power, and vastness of the seas. The acclaimed Alturas Duo joins Albany Pro Musica for Oceana, or Caderas de las Islas, a work for chorus, guitar, and viola by contemporary composer and guitarist Javier Farías. This chamber work sets the poetry of Pablo Neruda to music and evokes the wonders of the ocean; the concert will include additional works that pay musical homage to the seas.
Albany Pro Musica closes its 43rd season with J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor. This work is Bach’s only “Missa tota”—or complete setting of the full Latin Mass—and is revered as one of the greatest masterworks in the choral canon.
