Legacy Program

LEGACY October 22nd, 2023

TROY SAVINGS BANK MUSIC HALL

Albany Pro Musica Concert Chorus Celebrating the 10th season of José Daniel Flores-Caraballo, Opalka Family Artistic Director

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A MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD PRESIDENT On behalf of the Albany Pro Musica Board of Directors, I welcome you to this concert, and to our notable 43rd season. We’re grateful for the opportunity to share some musical adventures with you.

Throughout the past four decades, Albany Pro Musica’s commitment has never wavered: to offer Capital Region audiences choral music at a level of excellence that can elevate the human spirit. While we each absorb a musical performance differently, the coming together of musicians and audience creates – for a while, at least – a new community. And as great music touches us in a setting as glorious as the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, we are carried beyond mere entertainment: We are transformed. That’s what we hope to offer you today.

We are particularly proud to salute Maestro José Daniel Flores-Caraballo as we celebrate the 10th season of his leadership of our organization. José Daniel’s dedication to extraordinary musical standards and to a broader reach for the ensemble has made us all aware of how fortunate we are to have drawn his unique talent to our community. We hope you get a chance to connect individually with the maestro during this season so that you can share with him your own perspectives on these performances.

One more thing: Our organization in recent years has renewed its commitment to music education, with an expanded High School Choral Festival (now held annually at the University at Albany) and, last summer, with the first-ever Pro Musica International Choral Festival, a dazzling success at Queen’s University in Canada. We have more plans in the works to ensure that future generations will get the opportunity, which so many of us have treasured, to experience glorious music.

Your presence here helps Albany Pro Musica continue this tradition of great choral music in our community. Thank you for sharing all of this with us. We hope to see you often this season.

Rex Smith, President Albany Pro Musica Board of Directors

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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 Flores-Caraballo and is Chorus-in-Residence at the historic Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Now celebrating his 10th season with Albany Pro Musica, Maestro Flores-Caraballo 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.

Locally and Internationally Celebrated 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 Alturas Duo. Voices Capturing the Human Spirit at the Intersection of Creativity and Excellence 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.

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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 Pro Musica International Choral Festival, which was launched in July 2023 in partnership with the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.

Our Season Albany Pro Musica’s Concert Chorus is composed of 70 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.

Our Commitment to Education Music education is one of APM’s pillars, and the organization’s educational programs have made a mark on the lives of more than 4,000 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 FloresCaraballo and guest clinicians, on campus at the University at Albany. The festival culminates with a fun-filled concert in which all the students join the voices of Albany Pro Musica’s Concert Chorus on stage for a festival chorus performance.

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APM partnered with the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts at Queen’s University in Ontario and the University at Albany to offer the inaugural Pro Musica International Choral Festival in July 2023. The festival represented APM’s largest educational offering to-date and allowed 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. provided 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.

Our History 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, including most recently the first professional recording of Bradley Ellingboe’s Star Song. APM 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

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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, Andrea Bocelli, and The King’s Singers. 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.

TROY SAVINGS BANK MUSIC HALL 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.

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MISSION

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.

VISION

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.

CORE VALUES

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: • A lbany 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.

• T he ensemble is dedicated to inspiring new generations of singers through numerous educational programs and our continuous recruitment of talented new singers.

• A PM 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.

• F inally, 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.

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LETTER FROM THE OPALKA FAMILY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR As I enter into my tenth season with Albany Pro Musica, it is my great honor and pleasure to reflect on my time with this extraordinary organization, as we build a future together. APM’s founding director, David Griggs-Janower, built APM on a strong foundation; it has been a natural, organic process to build upon that legacy over the past nine seasons and bring APM into this next phase of the chorus’s life.

APM continues to elevate the quality of our performances by adding new talent and new growth opportunities for singers, performing ambitious repertoire, engaging remarkable guest artists, and more. Our Artist Series, launched in 2017, brings world-renowned instrumental ensembles to perform with APM. We continue to perform some of the great masterworks from the choral canon, in addition to more intimate works and contemporary repertoire. Through our Composer in Residence program, APM has engaged talented contemporary composers to commission and perform new works that add to the choral arts.

Albany Pro Musica has established and strengthened partnerships with educational and artistic institutions that inspire our chorus, invigorate our audiences, and open doors to new communities of music-lovers. They’ve also helped us expand our educational mission and programs, including the High School Choral Festival in partnership with the University at Albany, workshops and masterclasses, and the new Pro Musica International Choral Festival, launched in the summer of 2023 with Queen’s University. These ambitious and transformative programs are changing the lives of students in the Capital District and beyond.

For the 2023-2024 season we present four concerts that range widely in style. We launch the season in October with Legacy, an eclectic concert that celebrates our Composer-in-Residence program and features music by Donald McCullough, Ola Gjeilo, Bradley Ellingboe, and Steve Murray. My good friend Rafael Davila, celebrated operatic tenor, has special permission from The Met to join the chorus and orchestra for The Many Moods of Christmas

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in December. In March, APM and the acclaimed Alturas Duo explore the flavor and traditions of South America with Cadera de las Islas, or Oceana, an evocative work for chorus, guitar, charango, and viola based on the poetry of Pablo Neruda. Finally, we end the season in April with J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor, considered by some the most venerated work in the choral literature, with four phenomenal soloists and an orchestra comprised of period instrumentalists drawn from the Handel + Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Trinity Baroque, and others.

As I look ahead to Albany Pro Musica’s future, I am filled with tremendous optimism about the opportunities for continued excellence and growth in our artistic and educational mission. I am committed to expanding and strengthening those APM programs that make a difference in our community, which tell important stories, and which are inspiring and transformative—in both the concert hall and the classroom.

Our organization is strong, and our dreams are becoming a reality thanks to the generous support of our patrons and donors. APM’s budget has grown significantly in the past nine seasons, with increased fundraising to meet the operational and artistic needs of the organization. You, too, can be a protagonist in this exciting journey. Please consider joining APM’s committed donors, who make it all possible, by underwriting a concert or a season, contributing to the annual fund, becoming a corporate sponsor or providing foundation support, joining the Lux Aeterna Society for planned giving, or attending our special fundraising events.

Finally, I must add that I am humbled and honored by the tremendous trust and commitment of our Board of Directors, Council of Advisors, and staff; the remarkable artistry of our chorus; and the love and dedication of you, our audience. I’m so grateful for your continued support and shared vision.

MUCHAS GRACIAS!

José Daniel Flores-Caraballo Opalka Family Artistic Director

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ALBANY PRO MUSICA PRESENTS

LEGACY October 22, 2023 at 3:00pm Troy Savings Bank Music Hall ALBANY PRO MUSICA CONCERT CHORUS JOSÉ DANIEL FLORES-CARABALLO, Opalka Family Artistic Director NOAH PALMER, Assistant Director & Accompanist JAMECYN MOREY, Violin STEN ISACHSEN, Guitar MARY DARCY, Radio Host Support for our 2023-2024 season comes from our marquee season underwriters Christine and George R. Hearst III Ellen Jabbur Chet and Karen Opalka Wayne A. Senitta, Jr. and Daniel Washington William Tuthill and Gregory Anderson Additional season support provided by Michael and Linda Wolff

Support for this concert provided by

This event is being professionally recorded, photographed, and filmed for archival and promotional purposes.

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PROGRAM LEGACY is a celebration of Albany Pro Musica’s Composer-in-Residence Program, which engages contemporary composers in the commission and performance of works that are building a new legacy of choral music.

(b. 1957)

(b. 1978)

(b. 1958)

(b. 1939)

Donald McCullough 2017

Ola Gjeilo 2017-2020 Seasons

Bradley ellingboe 2020-2023 Seasons

Steve Murray Honorary Composer in Residence

Ola Gjeilo

Lake Isle (2015)

Ola Gjeilo

Across the Vast, Eternal Sky (2013)

Donald McCullough

Crossing the Bar (2010)

Bradley Ellingboe

“Everyone Sang” from Star Song (2014)

Steve Murray

From a Railway Carriage (2018) ~ INTERMISSION ~

Featuring compositions and arrangements by Steve Murray Children’s Letters to God (2021) i. Who Draws the Lines? ii. The Baby Brother iii. Different Religions iv. Dennis Clark v. A Trick? vi. Being Born vii. The Stars Indian Summer (2008) Small Feathered Bodies in Whom Reside the Ghosts of Drummers (2008) New England Love Song (2008) The Night You Were Born (2017) El Dorado (2019) The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald (arr. 2021) by Gordon Lightfoot (1938-2023) Pater Noster (2015) Spring Morning (2022) SooYeon Justesen, Katrina Fasulo, and Dan Foster, soloists The Island (2022) Tonya Burandt Hansen and Abigail Cowan, soloists Why We Sing for You (2020) arr. Steve Murray i. The U.S. Air Force Song by Robert Crawford ii. One Note Samba by Atonio Carlos Jobim iii. Comedy Tonight by Stephen Sondheim iii. The Church’s One Foundation by Samuel J. Stone

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The Lake Isle

Crossing the Bar

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made; Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee, And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea,

Text by W.B. Yeats (1865-1939)

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow, Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings; There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow, And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore; While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey, I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

Across The Vast, Eternal Sky Text by Charles A. Silvestri (b. 1965) Sunlight shines on my face; This is my grace, to be Restored, born again, In flame.

When I was young I flew in the velvet night; Shining by day, a firebird bathed in light!

Grey now my feathers, which once were red and gold; My destiny to soar up to the sun.

Do not despair that I am gone away; I will appear again When the sunset paints Flames across the vast, eternal sky.

Text by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1850-1892)

But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell, When I embark; For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crost the bar.

Everyone Sang

Text by Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) Everyone suddenly burst out singing; And I was filled with such delight As prisoned birds must find in freedom, Winging wildly across the white Orchards and dark-green fields; on - on - and out of sight.

Everyone’s voice was suddenly lifted; And beauty came like the setting sun: My heart was shaken with tears; and horror Drifted away ... O but Everyone Was a bird; and the song was wordless; the singing will never be done.

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From A Railway Carriage

Text by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1893) Faster than fairies, faster than witches, Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches; And charging along like troops in a battle, All through the meadows the horses and cattle: All of the sights of the hill and the plain Fly as thick as driving rain; And ever again, in the wink of an eye, Painted stations whistle by.

Here is a child who clambers and scrambles, All by himself and gathering brambles; Here is a tramp who stands and gazes; And there is the green for stringing the daisies!

Here is a cart run away in the road Lumping along with man and load; And here is a mill and there is a river: Each a glimpse and gone forever!

Children’s Letters to God

Written in 1999 by third grade Sunday school students at the United Methodist Church, Simsbury, Connecticut

from Nan: “Dear God, Who draws the lines around the countries?” from Joyce: “Dear God, Thank you for the baby brother, but I asked for a puppy.” from Arnold: “Dear God, “It’s O.K. that you made different religions, but don’t you get mixed up sometimes?” from Peter: “Dear God, Please send Dennis Clark to a different camp this year.” from Lucy: “Dear God, Are you really invisible or is that just a trick?” from Marsha: “Dear God, My brother told me about being born, but it doesn’t sound right.” from Jeff: “Dear God, It’s great the way you get the stars in the right places.”

Indian Summer

Text by Arthur Phinney (1920-2004) Now that I’ve learned the secret of September Now I’m looking forward all the way to December Remembering all the pretty ladies I’ve adored And adoring all the pretty ladies I remember.

Small Feathered Bodies in Whom Reside the Ghosts of Drummers Text by Joan Peronto (1929-2016)

The jazz trio in the woodlot, (mainly percussion) Tap, tap, taps their tempo, risking concussion.

Booked for early morning concerts, four thirty to six, Performing Sousa, Sergeant Pepper, Louis and Bix. Paradiddle in the tree-tops, kettle drums thump.

Instruments: a hollow fence post, a resonant stump.

Reincarnate virtuosos, feathered and neat.

On a never-ending quest for beetles and beat.

New England Love Song

Text by Arthur Phinney (1920-2004) I love you, you’ll seldom hear me say it though, But I’ll rise before you do, make coffee and poke up the fire.

Just saying it doesn’t make it so.

I love you, you’ll seldom hear me say it though, Words are cheap, but I’ll do the dishes and you may linger over dinner, Knowing there’s nothing else you have to do before you sleep.

I love you, you’ll seldom hear me say it though, But I’ll hoe the garden, paint the kitchen, mow the lawn, can tomatoes, split firewood, and shovel snow.

I love you, you’ll seldom hear me say it though, I think you know.

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The Night You were Born Text by Kathleen Kelley

The night you were born, The moon withdrew her veil, But first unlocked the sky so it would rain.

The night that you were born, Breathless maples, undid slip knots in their veins, And sweet sap flowed for you.

El Dorado

Paraphrased by Christopher Nye (b. 1937) Text by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1893) To be truly happy is a question of how we begin and how we progress, and not how we end; Of what we build, and what we strive for, not what we have.

We make the trail by walking, and it is the making that lets us grow, not the taking that results make it so.

Those imagined spires of El Dorado turn out to be made of mist.

No matter.

There is honor in the striving, for to travel hopefully is better than to arrive.

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Text by Gordon Lightfoot (1938-2023) The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake they called “Gitche Gumee.”

The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead When the skies of November turn gloomy.

With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.

That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed When the gales of November came early.

The ship was the pride of the American side Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin.

As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most With a crew and good captain well seasoned.

Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms When they left fully loaded for Cleveland.

And later that night when the ship’s bell rang Could it be the north wind they’d been feelin’?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound And a wave broke over the railing.

And every man knew, as the captain did too ‘Twas the witch of November come stealin’.

The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait When the gales of November came slashin’.

When afternoon came it was freezin’ rain In the face of a hurricane west wind.

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin’ “Fellas, it’s too rough to feed ya” At seven PM, a main hatchway caved in, he said “Fellas, it’s been good to know ya”!

The captain wired in he had water comin’ in And the good ship and crew was in peril.

And later that night when his lights went outta sight Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Does anyone know where the love of God goes When the waves turn the minutes to hours?

The searchers all say they’d have made Whitefish Bay If they’d put fifteen more miles behind her.

They might have split up or they might have capsized They may have broke deep and took water.

And all that remains is the faces and the names

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Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Spring Morning

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings In the rooms of her ice-water mansion.

Old Michigan steams like a young man’s dreams The islands and bays are for sportsmen.

And farther below Lake Ontario Takes in what Lake Erie can send her.

And the iron boats go as the mariners all know With the gales of November remembered.

Where am I going? I don’t quite know.

Down to the stream where the king-cups growUp on the hill where the pine-trees blowAnywhere, anywhere. I don’t know.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed In the maritime sailors’ cathedral The church bell chimed ‘til it rang twentynine times For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake they called “Gitche Gumee.”

Pater Noster Latin Prayer

Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum; Adveniat regnum tuum.

Fiat voluntas tua sicut in caelo et in terra.

Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.

Et ne nos inducas in tentationem; sed libera nos a malo.

Amen.

Translation: Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

Text by A.A. Milne (1882-1956)

Where am I going? The clouds sail by, Little ones, baby ones, over the sky.

Where am I going? The shadows pass, Little ones, baby ones, over the grass.

If you were a cloud, and sailed up there, You’d sail on water as blue as air, And you’d see me here in the fields and say: “Doesn’t the sky look green today?”

Where am I going? The high rooks call: “It’s awful fun to be born at all.”

Where am I going? The ring-doves coo: “We do have beautiful things to do.”

If you were a bird, and lived on high, You’d lean on the wind when the wind came by, You’d say to the wind when it took you away: “That’s where I wanted to go today!”

Where am I going? I don’t quite know.

What does it matter where people go?

Down to the wood where the blue-bells growAnywhere, anywhere. I don’t know.

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The Island

Why We Sing For You

Text by A.A. Milne (1882-1956)

Lyrical Adaptations by Steve Murray

If I had a ship, I’d sail my ship I’d sail my ship Through Eastern seas; Down to a beach where the slow waves thunder The green curls over and the white falls under Boom! Boom! Boom!

On the sun-bright sand.

Then I’d leave my ship and I’d land, And climb the steep white sand, And climb to the trees The six dark trees, The coco-nut trees on the cliff’s green crown Hands and knees To the coco-nut trees, Face to the cliff as the stones patter down, Up, up, up, staggering, stumbling, Round the corner where the rock is crumbling, Round this shoulder, Over this boulder, Up to the top where the six trees stand!

Hear us sing, we are the treble legions soaring there an octave above; Our voices ring in glorious upper regions, singing clear, showing the love.

High and loud is what we’re really good at, singing thus is what we do; We live to sing, we sing to live and nothing will keep us from singing for you!

And there I would rest, and lie, My chin in my hands, and gaze At the dazzle of the sand below, And the green waves curling slow And the grey-blue distant haze Where the sea goes up to the sky....

And I’d say to myself as I looked so lazily down at the sea: “There’s nobody else in the world, and the world was made for me.”

This is just a little samba, built upon a single note.

Other notes are bound to follow but the root is that that note.

Altos usually find their parts to be really boring, really dull, And they find themselves with just one note.

It becomes a great big lull.

Rarely do we get to sing a part that’s really interesting and good fun, somewhat like this one.

(There they go trying to steal our thunder.)

So when we get a chance to croon a really, lovely, lively tune, it’s so nice; like an exotic spice!

(The altos really should restrain themselves.)

Then we come back to that one note, as we altos usually do.

So we’ll pour into that one note, all the love we feel for you.

Anyone who wants the whole show, (Here is where most of the altos can’t go.)

Re, mi, fa, so, la, ti do; They will find themselves with no show, So we’ll sing the note we know.

Something heroic, something euphoric, something for everyone, it’s tenor time tonight!

Something historic, something folkloric, something for everyone, it’s tenor time tonight!

(Not again, tenors are making trouble.

There they go.)

Nothing but us, nothing to fear; (The tenors thing they’re very cool) We are the tenors, we’re glad we’re here.

(They seldom sing the same note as a rule.)

It’s something melodic, something hypnotic,

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Something we know will be just right.

(When tenors sing the melody it can be rather scary.)

Other parts tomorrow, tenor time tonight!

(We don’t think it’s right. Doesn’t sound quite right.)

We are APM’s foundation, we sing the lowest part (indeed we do).

It’s your deep admiration, we seek with all our heart.

And after your ovation, we basses do require, Usually one or two libations, and then we all retire.

Oh, we love sopranos dearly, the altos too for sure (that’s for sure); And of these lovely ladies our thoughts are always pure.

We tenors now will take our bow; we think it’s not too soon.

We know the basses love it when we sing our thirds in tune.

But in truth, and in summation we want to make it clear; When we all sing together, we find our greatest cheer.

For mutual admiration and love for all we do, It’s how we take our pleasure and why we sing for you.

That’s why we sing for you!

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PROGRAM NOTES Overview: How fortunate APM is to have a composer-in-residence program! The four artists who have held this position at various times since 2017 thus enable us to know their musical styles and their rationales for choosing their texts.

“The Lake Isle” (Ola Gjeilo) The APM audience first heard this arrangement of a poem by W. B. Yeats in the fall of 2019.

Guitar is one of my absolute favorite instruments, and while acoustic guitar can sometimes be too soft to be heard properly in a choral context—amplified, it works beautifully.

—Ola Gjeilo What does “wattles” mean? It’s a woven latticework of branches, often used to fence in animals.

This song is full of word-painting. The restlessness of “arising” is captured by the climbing guitar, piano, quartet, and chorus.

The “cabin”—that refuge—is depicted by music that is still, calm.

And then the second stanza takes up the notion of departing from wherever the speaker is (in urban settings, like “the pavements grey”), with more agitated music, which also suggests the movement (“lapping”) of the lake water that the speaker yearns for and has always in his heart.

“Across the Vast, Eternal Sky” (Ola Gjeilo) The librettist for this number, Charles Anthony Silvestri, says, “When Ola first approached me about a text for this piece we discussed several premises, including beginning with the last line of a previous collaboration, Tundra.

The line, “Across the vast, eternal sky,” was the starting point of a discussion which eventually came around to the idea of a phoenix, a twist on the theme of rebirth (and the subject of other collaborations with Ola). The legend of the firebird offered creative opportunities to explore the themes of spiritual growth and renewal.”

The piece alternates 4/4 and 3/4 meters as Gjeilo depicts the life-cycle of the phoenix. For example, in verse two, for piano and quartet, the bird dances in the air: “destiny to soar up to the sun” is a classic example of word-painting.

The third stanza describes rebirth, so we hear a series of modulations. And the final verse promises the bird’s return, with a conclusive E-major chord.

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“Crossing the Bar” (Donald McCullough) McCullough notes, “I wrote this choral setting of Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem ‘Crossing the Bar’ in loving memory of my dear friend Jean M. Riddell.

This poem is such a beautiful expression of a peaceful acceptance of death.

The ‘bar’ in the poem is a sand bar which represents the boundary between life and death. When the sea passes over the bar at low tide, it makes a moaning sound. Tennyson, however, hopes that the tide will be too full so that there will be no ‘moaning of the bar’ (i.e., no weeping or sadness) when he crosses the bar, where he hopes to see his Pilot (God) face to face.”

Musically, McCullough echoes the swells and diminuendos of the tide, repeating words and tunes that show the ebb and flow of all life and suggesting the distancing of the soul from this world into the next with a notable decrescendo at song’s end.

“Everyone Sang” (Bradley Ellingboe) This song is the eighth movement in Ellingboe’s 12-movement cycle called Star Song, which we heard last March. The text is Siegfried Sassoon’s 1919 poem, and the violin, like a freed, twittering bird, leads the way to a joyful chorus of people unchained from the agony of World War I. — Program notes by Paul Lamar

Save the Date!

Albany Pro Musica’s signature Spring Gala Presenting the 2024 Dr. Karen R. Hitchcock Award to Raona Roy

Saturday, May 18, 2024 I Colonie Country Club Co-chaired by Karen Opalka and Alan Goldberg

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COMPOSER NOTES My portion of today’s program does not have a grand, unifying theme.

Rather, it is eclectic, featuring aspects of nature as well as lessons of, and observations about, my life. Additionally, there is the influence of the poets themselves, three of whom are local to the Berkshires.

Of the 12 pieces, two are arrangements and 10 are original compositions, including seven world premieres. This music is meant to be varied, tuneful, accessible, and fun. Enjoy!

“From a Railway Carriage” This song, with words by Robert Louis Stevenson, is from my Train Travel Suite. Smooth jazz harmonies, short melodic phrases, and a rollicking 6/8 meter depict the train speeding across the landscape populated by ditches, meadows, hills, plains, horses, and cattle.’’

“Children’s Letters to God” (premiere) In the summer of 1999, I had the pleasure of playing with a jazz trio at a church strawberry festival in Simsbury, Connecticut. While on a break, I made a casual tour of the church and found myself at one point reading some students’ letters to God that had been posted on the wall of a third-grade Sunday school classroom. There were seven in all, short and to the point, as they are in this musical setting for treble voices. Ya gotta’ love ‘em!

“Small Feathered Bodies in Whom Reside the Ghosts of Drummers” Pittsfield poet Joan Peronto created this delightful description of the earlymorning music made by our feathered friends as they go about getting breakfast. Because she referred to some well-known jazz artists, in addition to J. P. Sousa, it became incumbent on me to have the APM women sing in a bluesy jazz style. I also wanted to give the piano a major role with an appropriate stylistic accompaniment. This piece was premiered in Lenox in 2010.

“Indian Summer” Extracted from my Blueberry Lesson Suite, written in 2008 to a text by Berkshire poet Arthur Phinney, this short piece offers the APM men the opportunity to reflect on the natural aging process, as well as a fond memory of past relationships—with an honest and sly, self-deprecating conclusion.

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“New England Love Song” Also from my Blueberry Lesson Suite, this song reveals shows how the words “I love you” can be expressed by sincere and committed actions. In this way, the stoicism of the archetypical New England male is replaced by a promise of real loving deeds.

“The Night You Were Born” (premiere) With poetry by Kathleen Kelly, this piece was composed for a choral workshop.

The poem was assigned to me by Ellen Gilson Voth, Artistic Director of Novi Cantori, which hosted the event. In like manner, a handful of other composers had been assigned other poems or poem fragments to set to music. These pieces were sight-read and performed for a small private audience. All participants were invited to discuss the music as the songs were presented. The small number of words in my poem made it advisable to lengthen and intensify the music through repetition, varied textures, and dissonance. The final section achieves a satisfactory closing with fuller textures and a wider pitch range.

“El Dorado” (premiere) Commissioned in 2019 by Ellen Kennedy, President of Berkshire Community College, this piece was to be the musical centerpiece of a celebration honoring the founding of the college sixty years earlier. Unfortunately, Covid 19 canceled the event. The text, “It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive,”

by Robert Louis Stevenson, is carved above an archway on the main campus, but it was too short to fill out even a brief choral work, so I called upon poet and friend Christopher Nye to paraphrase and develop the original Stevenson words I used a moderate, steady walking tempo, coupled with a tuneful series of rising melodic phrases, to deliver this inspiring message.

“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” (premiere) I have always liked and wanted to arrange this historical ballad by Gordon Lightfoot, Canada’s most famous folksong writer/singer. It tells the story of the loss of the big freighter on Lake Superior in 1975. All 29 crew members died in the November gale that took the ship down. The musical problem was how to deal with the eight-measure modal melody that repeats 24 times (!) as it tells the sad tale of this doomed vessel. I decided upon two details that needed my attention: the unison men’s voices should carry the narrative throughout, and, aided by a piano accompaniment that increases in tension, the women’s voices would carry the burden of bringing the needed drama as the story unfolds. It was fun plotting the growth span of this arrangement and rewarding for me to witness this version as it came together.

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“Pater Noster” The genesis of this piece was as an entry for an Italian choral composition contest that stipulated the work must be a Latin version of “The Lord’s Prayer.” One of the few sacred pieces I have composed, this effort lagged, so I never completed it to meet the submission deadline. Some weeks later, I started a new version in which I found purpose and to which I became committed. I decided upon an a cappella, neo-Renaissance style full of suspensions and canonic passages. The challenge of writing in a polyphonic style reminiscent of Palestrina and his brethren was a very satisfying one, and this time the effort was purposeful and the result quite satisfying.

“Spring Morning” (premiere) This song is one of seven movements set to the words of A. A. Milne in his best-selling book of poetry When We Were Very Young. It was originally commissioned by, and composed for, The Berkshire Children’s Chorus in 2009 as a treble version. At the time I did not know that the Disney Corporation was negotiating with the Pooh Properties to purchase the entire Milne oeuvre; thus, I was denied the opportunity to copyright my setting. In 2022, however, the collection fell into the public domain; and I was free to claim and protect my setting – and to compose a new SATB version. I am glad I waited for the time to pass, so this text would become available for setting.

“The Island” (premiere) The second of two movements from the Milne collection is set here in the style of a Bossa Nova or a closely related Brazilian-American style. Jazz harmonies, even-eighth notes, a brisk tempo, lots of syncopations, and general exuberance all combine to create a breathless romp into a beautiful, sunny, watery, and imaginary world. Who would not enjoy being in a place like that?

“Why We Sing for You” (premiere) This novelty piece started out life as a song for the bass section alone. Later on, I decided to let each section share in the nonsense and the attention-getting business. Basically, each section gets to brag about itself and to poke some fun at the others. All the melodies quoted are rip-offs of well-known numbers from the American musical culture, with the exception of one well-known melody by Samuel Stone, an English hymnist. In addition to making a fun concert-closer, the piece gives us an opportunity to say just how much pleasure we get from singing together and from singing for you, our beloved audience.

— Program notes and compositions by Steve Murray

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BIOGRAPHIES José Daniel Flores-Caraballo

Opalka Family Artistic Director 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.

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BIOGRAPHIES Noah Palmer

Assistant Music Director and Accompanist Conductor Noah Palmer is one of the Capital Region’s most in-demand collaborators. Noah was most recently appointed Artistic Director of Saratoga Voices and the Music at Trinity Lenox concert series; he also serves as 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.

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BIOGRAPHIES Steve Murray

Honorary Composer in Residence 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.

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ALBANY PRO MUSICA CONCERT CHORUS ALTO

TENOR

Rachel Balbi

Gussie Bargeron

BASS

Emily Ball

Martha J. Bond

Maria Bedo-Calhoun

Mitch Cohen

Henry Burke

Tonya Burandt Hansen*

Marie Bosman

Eamon Daley

Matthew Clemens

Brianne Conner

Carol Christiana

John Favreau

William Crankshaw

Marie Cox

Abigail Cowan*

Dan Foster^

Evan DeFilippo

Valerie Donovan

Katrina Fasulo

Claire Gonyo

Colin Helie

Meg Gallien

Meghan Garrison

Jonathan Hansen*

Jared Hunt

Paige Griggs

Shay Gauthier

Brendan Hoffman

Tom Johnson

Lauren Jurczynski

Carina Gregori Asadourian

Cal Miller†

Daniel Lane†

Xavier Ortiz-Reyes

Noah Palmer

Rose Honold

Joel Pattison

Christopher Price

Darcy Meadows

Greg Pratt

John Rodier

Sarah Ploof

Lincoln Walton

Eugene Sit

Devon Rooney

John Xia

Rex Smith

SOPRANO

SooYeon Justesen Nicole Lash Heather Lessard Rachel Logee Hannah Long Samantha Lyle†

Meredith Russell Grosshandler

Katie McNally

Emily Sturman

Xinyi Nam

Irina Tikhonenko

Diane B. Petersen

Julie Weston

Ross Brennan

Ryan Snyder† Daniel Washington* Michael Wolff

Emily Peterson Stephanie Saint Germain

*Section Leader

Sandra Schujman

^Teaching Artist

Teresa Maria Solé

†Intern

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ALBANY PRO MUSICA STAFF OPALKA FAMILY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR José Daniel Flores-Caraballo ARTISTIC STAFF Noah Palmer, Assistant Director and Accompanist SooYeon Justesen, Manager of Educational Programs Tonya Burandt Hansen, Abigail Cowan, Jonathan Hansen, Daniel Washington, Section Leaders Steve Murray, Honorary Composer in Residence Dan Foster, Teaching Artist Elizabeth Eschen Cacciola, Teaching Artist ADMINISTRATION Emily Sturman, Deputy Executive Director Jared Shortmeier, Director of Operations Liz Vinciquerra, Development Manager Rebecca Monaghan, Audition Coordinator 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

SPECIAL THANKS TO: Dan Czernecki

Matthew Rogowicz

Dan Foster

Primeau Fahey Studios

Gary Gold

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

Kathy Harris

University at Albany

Paul Lamar

WMHT Educational Telecommunications

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ALBANY PRO MUSICA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Rex W. Smith, President Jeanette Altarriba, Vice President Tom McGuire, Treasurer Jonathan E. Hansen, Secretary DIRECTORS M. Tracey Brooks Mitch Cohen Al De Salvo James M. Gaughan Ben Golub Robert T. Hennes Ellen Jabbur Gwen Krause Steven E. Lobel (emeritus)

Douglas Petersen Raona Roy (emerita) Wayne Senitta Marion Terenzio Margery Whiteman (honorary) Michael Whiteman Russ Wilks Michael Wolff Edelgard Wulfert

ALBANY PRO MUSICA COUNCIL OF ADVISORS George R. Hearst III and Chet Opalka, Co-Chairs Alan Goldberg E. Stewart Jones, Jr. Kimberly Sanger Jones Richard Miller Paul Milton

John Nigro Karen Opalka Ellen Sax Marcia White

THANKS TO OUR 2023-2024 CORPORATE CIRCLE GOLD

Massry Charitable Foundation SILVER

BRONZE

WITH SUPPORT FROM

Capital Bank

Fenimore Asset Management

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WAYS TO SUPPORT 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 Recurring donations are a important 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.

MATCHING GIFTS 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 Gifts of stock can offer tax advantages while allowing you to support Albany Pro Musica. Please contact us to learn more.

PLANNED GIVING 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 Director 518.687.1947 or emily@albanypromusica.org Thank you for your support.

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THANK YOU TO OUR 2022-23 SEASON DONORS! Listing reflects gifts made between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023 CIRLCE OF FRIENDS GOLD MAESTRO CIRCLE ($50,000 and above) Chet and Karen Opalka SILVER MAESTRO CIRCLE ($25,000-$49,999) Isabel Bader* Christine and George R. Hearst, III BRONZE MAESTRO CIRCLE ($15,000-$24,999) Gregory Anderson and William Tuthill Ellen Jabbur Wayne A. Senitta, Jr. and Daniel Washington MAESTRO CIRCLE ($10,000-$14,999) Al De Salvo Michael and Linda Wolff PATRON ($5,000-$9,999) John Nigro Douglas and Diane Petersen Michael and Margery Whiteman BENEFACTOR ($2,500-$4,999) Dr. Jeanette Altarriba Marie and Johan Bosman John and Joyce Carver Mitchell and Susan Cohen James Gaughan and Keith Lee Alan Goldberg Jill Harbeck E. Stewart and Kimberly Sanger Jones Gwen Krause and Ross Bennett Vaughn Nevin

John and Raona Roy Rex Smith and Marion Roach Smith David and Nancy Wagner Dr. Edelgard Wulfert SPONSOR ($1,000-$2,499) Wendy Blair M. Tracey Brooks Charlotte and Charles* Buchanan Carol Bullard and Worth Gretter Carol Christiana and Thomas Johnson Bradley Ellingboe Joseph and Linda Farrell José Daniel Flores-Caraballo and Dharma Sanchez Meg Gallien and William Hammond, Jr. Colin Helie and Julie Weston Robert T. Hennes Paul and Alane Hohenberg Fund of The Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region Mark and Kelly Kjos Steven and Vivian Lobel Barbara and Chuck Manning Tom McGuire and Barbara Bradley Dan and Sally Nolan G. William and Norah Pattison Havidán Rodríguez and Rosy Lopez Sharon Roy Sandra Schujman Harriet B. Seeley Stan and Jan Smith Edward Swyer Norman and Nancy Tellier David G. Tieman Marcia White Paul Wing Charitable Fund Mark and Lynn Zielinski

* Denotes individuals who are now deceased

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AFFILIATE ($500-$999) Deborah Byers and Francis Pitts Rebecca Chirolla and Michael Barrett Judith Ciccio Donor Advised Fund Dawn and Dick Dana Valerie and Kevin Donovan David* and JoAnn Duquette Frederick and Barbara Eames Anonymous Tony Esposito Frederick E. Faught Jonathan and Tonya Burandt Hansen Katharine Harris K. Drew Hartzell, Jr. H. Graham* and Amber Jones Anna Kuwabara and Craig Edwards Agnes Leahy Ralph and Jacqueline Marino Thomas Johnston and Keith McCauley Dr. and Mrs. Ronald Musto George Nisbet and Jennifer Dorsey Gary David Gold and Nancy Pierson Margaret and Paul Randall Marsha and Steve Ras Tom and Ann Sansone Sarah May and Douglass Johnston Anonymous Mayor Katherine Sheehan and Bob Sheehan Audrie and Larry Sturman Emily and David Sturman James and Mary Sullivan Russ and Carolyn Wilks FRIEND ($100-$499) Gregory and Judith Aidala Gayle Anderson and Sidney Fleisher Judith Arnold James B. Ayers and Miriam Trementozzi Timothy and Anne Barker Rebecca Baron Linn Becker Elmer Bertsch Sarah Boggess Bill and Carol Bott Pieter and Stacey Bridge

Crescentia and Bruce Brynolfson Judith A. Carlson Sara Carlson Joleen and Jim Chambers The Clarke Family Findlay and Marcia Cockrell Jane and John Corrou Joseph and Jeanne Costello Anne Marie Couser and Bill Kuchinski Joann Crupi Dr. Gladys I. Cruz John Defilippo Joyce Diwan Heather W. Drinkwater Marcia Dudden Seth Edelman Brian and Kathryn Enright Paul and Kelly Fahey Margaret Farrell Mr. and Mrs. John J. Ferguson Kathryn Fessenden Joanna Feuer Ann Filiault RoseAnne Fogarty and Perry Smith Francine Frank Linda Fruscione Faith Gay and Francesca Zambello Barbara Gigliotti David Gittelman and Tom Murphy Benjamin Golub Herb and Shirley Gordon Anthony Green Peter Haley Jeff M. Hall Michael Halloran Dr. David M. Hansen Philip and Dianne Hansen Frazer and Barbara Hilder Charitable Fund Alice Howard Linda Hunt Susan Jacobsen Priscilla and Eric Johnson Hugh Johnson P. Susan Jordan Mary C. Kahl Mildren and Albert Karoly * Denotes individuals who are now deceased

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Jean Kirsch George and Geraldine Koch Maureen Frances Leary Daniel Leinung Tara A. Lindsley, PhD Kathleen Lyman Stephen and Ann Lyman Michael and Susan Moyle Lynch William M. Lynch C. Ursula MacAffer* William and Gail Madigan Jean and Peter Maloy Robert and Carleen Marino Susan Linda Martin Mike and Suzanne Mason Joseph McCully Corinne McLeod Katie and Brendan McNally Robert J. McNamara Stephen Murray Judith Ann Mysliborski Nick and Carolyn Nicolay Lori Nieberg Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Older Edwin and Carol Osterhout Beth Ann Osthimer Judith and Richard Palmer Robert Pape Bob and Loretta Parsons Ruth Pelham Peter and Susan Pezzolla Chris and Carol Pfister Christopher Price and Leah Scott Edward Primeau Allan Randall Cheryl Reeves and Martha Schultz C. Michael Reger Dustin M. Reidy Alison Rhodes-Devey Gail and George Richardson Dr. and Mrs. Eric Roccario Yareli E. Rodriguez Rosemarie Rosen Steve Rosenblum Mary Scanlan Joanne Scheibly Kendra Schrader

Ralph and Dorothy Schultz Charles and Ann-Marie Schwartz Robert and Gail Schwartz Alison Sheahan Barbara Simoneau and Joseph Caron Gary and Kathie Smith Steve Snow Robin L. Soroka Donald Stauffer Sheila A. Sullivan Michele L. Susko and Fardin Sanai Frederick S. and Christine B. Szczepanek Jill Taylor Marion Terenzio and Patricia O’Connor Roger Tippy Doris F. Tomer Congressman Paul D. Tonko Lyle Van Vranken Jeff Vandeberg Liz and Joe Vinciquerra Ann Volpel Anonymous Dawn Stuart Weinraub Dan and Maribeth White Barbara Wiley Hannelore Wilfert and Karl Moschner The Woytowich Family Theodore and Susan Standfast Wright Peter and Lynn Young Barbara M. Zavisky GIFTS IN MEMORIAM In memory of H. Graham Jones E. Stewart and Kimberly Sanger Jones Jean and Peter Maloy John Nigro The Woytowich Family In memory of Hugh G. Nevin, Jr. Alison Sheahan We apologize for any errors or omissions and would be grateful to have them brought to our attention. * Denotes individuals who are now deceased

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THANK YOU TO OUR 2022-2023 CORPORATE CIRCLE AND INSTITUTIONAL SPONSORS! GOLD CIRCLE ($10,000 - $19,999) Howard and Bush Foundation New York State Council on the Arts SILVER CIRCLE ($5,000 - $9,999) IBM Corporation BRONZE CIRCLE ($2,500-$4,999) Amidon & Petersen Financials LLC Massry Charitable Foundation The University at Albany Foundation

CORPORATE SUPPORTERS (up to $2,500) Amazon Smile architecture+ Capital Bank Community Care Physicians Hannaford Supermarkets Pursuit Foundation Stewart’s Shops United Way of the Greater Capital Region, Inc. 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.

LEAVE A LEGACY WITH APM’S

LUX AETERNA

SOCIETY 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!

JOIN US FOR THE REST OF OUR 43RD SEASON!

FEBRUARY 17, 2024

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall | albanypromusica.org | 518-273-0038